The Hoka Cielo X1 and Nike Alphafly 3 are two of our favourite new carbon plate running shoes of 2024, with both offering bouncy, propulsive rides that are perfect for marathons in particular. Nick is a big fan of both shoes and has used them for several key runs during his marathon training this year. In this video he runs through the pros and cons of each shoe, and says which he’d get.
Check out our reviews of both shoes:
Nike Alphafly 3 Review:
Hoka Cielo X1 Review:
JUMP STRAIGHT IN:
00:00 – Intro
00:16 – Design & Key Stats
02:29 – How’s The Fit
03:12 – The Run Test
06:42 – Verdict
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Hello welcome to the Run testers my name Is Nick in this video we're going to be Comparing the hokus yell X1 and the Nike Alphafly 3 so the Ally 3 and the C X1 are both New carbon plate racing shoes for 2024 They sit at the top of their brand Respective ranges as their mainly Long-distant focused racing shoe a bit Bigger than the shoe other shoes in the Range of vly 3 and the Hoka rocket X2 Both very expensive both very impressive Shoes two of the shoes I've really loved Testing this year right up there with The metas speed Sky Paris is my favorite New carbon shoes of the moment the cell X1 slightly cheaper it's £250 $275 Whereas the alphafly 3 is £285 $285 C X1 Is the heaviest shoe it's 253 G or 8.9 o In my uk9 the Ally 3 is 220 G or 7.7 oz In my uk9 the Hoka has a 7 mm drop from Hill to toe and the Nike has an 8 mm Drop from h to toe so with the Y X1 You've got a mid soole made up of two Layers of PE foam with a winged carbon Plate running through them got a lot of Cutouts on the midsole and it's obiously Almost decoupled basically in the middle Of the shoe there and you've got a very Aggressive rocket geometry with the shoe Really is designed to push you through Your foot strike quickly and onto your Toes you've got a knit upper with a Partially gusted tongue you've got these
Very weird stiff laces on the shoe Little bit of padding around the heel to Support the Achilles and then you've got Some internal heel structure there to Add some support at the back of the shoe But as you'd expect from a racing shoe It's a pretty minimal upper you have a Rubber out sole that covers most of the Bottom of the shoe anywhere basically Isn't a cutout you've got some rubber There to add grip and a bit of Durability and it's fairly thick layer Of rubber as well for a carbon shoe Which is probably one of the reasons It's fairly heavy the alphafly 3 you've Obviously got a zumex midsole that's Nike's peber based foam the one they've Used on all their Racing shoes for a Long time it's now a continuous midsole Doesn't have that decoupled design like The hoker but you do get big cutouts in The bottom of the shoe you've got a full Length carbon plate running through the Shoe and then Nike's Air Zoom pods under The forefoot which are a little bit Firmer and give a bit more energy return Than having the zoomx foam alone in the Midsole you have an atom knit 3.0 very Breathable upper it's got a booty style Here where the tongue is integrated into The upper Fair bit of padding at the Heel of the shoe and then a little bit Of structure as an internal heel counter To add some support got a far shot
Rubber out soole pretty good 4ot Coverage there very minimal around the Midfoot got a lot of exposed foam there And then you've got little sections at The back of the shoe again key impact Areas are covered here I haven't seen Any real problems with durability but You probably got slightly more complete Coverage on the Hoker So when it comes to the fit of the two Shoes I've got a uk9 in both which is a Us10 in the Nike and a us99.5 in the Hoka it's the same size I have with Really all shoes from Nike and hoker and The fit is pretty good it's quite Similar across the two shoes actually You've got just enough room in the toe Box there to have a comfortable amount Of room for long runs I've done long Runs in both shoes and had no problems But it's also not too loose because you Want a racing shoe to have a fairly Tight feel good hold around the heel and Midfoot I really like the way the hoker Is designed at the back of the shoe it's G me like zero EES IR rotation even over Like 24 mile long runs it's pretty good On on the Nike but I think in general I Really like the way hoker does the back Of its shoes don't love these laces Nike Has the perfect racing laces with these Little knobbles that make sure they stay Tied everyone should just use these
Laces on Racing Shoes so I've done a lot of running in Both of these shoes and probably a bit More in the Nike cuz I had that one Early and the hoker arrived in the midst Of testing loads and loads of shoes but I've done I think about 100K 110k in the Nike about 60k in the hoker and I really Loved using both of these shoes like I Mentioned along with the A6 met speed Sky Paris these are the shoes I enjoyed Spending my time in the most this year During marathon training I think they Are fantastic shoes both of them but There obviously are a fair few Differences between them on the Run They're both bigger shoes for sure but The alphafly is notably less so with the Third Edition of the shoe the hoker Almost feels more like the alphafly 2 Ally 3 has been trimmed down in weight It's got this more aggressive design I Think with the new continuous midsole That pushes you through your footstrike Onto the Air Zoom pods really Effectively it's a smoother ride it's Still really bouncy and you get a lot More punch from those Air Zoom pods I Find it's the the version of the outfly Yet for me although some still prefer The outfly 1 had probably a slightly More balancy Design but I find the Transition more fluid and effective with The outfly 3 myself also feels lighter
And easier to turn over the new design I've used this for 5K and 10K races and Really like the feel of that as well as On you know track sessions I've done Like short sharp reps in this shoe down To kind of 310 pet reps and I've also Done a 20m long run with the second half Done at a decent pace I think I was Doing Sixers per mile in the second half Of that run and yeah it just feels Really good for every kind of run the Outly I've Loved using it very good shoe The the best Al play yet in my opinion And the hoker is so much fun to run it It is a bouncy Beast of a shoe like it Feels really good at a wide range of Paces so done a really hard track Session in this shoe doing 15 times 1K Reps where I went from 330 PK down to 310 PK so the last five reps were really Very fast for me especially with only 100 meters recovery and you know it was Good for that you know it's a big shoe But when you're running hard it doesn't Feel as heavy as it is on paper you Really get a lovely amount of punch from The double layer of peber in there and The Rocker is really effective too it Does kind of skip over the ground really Nicely also done a 24m long run in the Shoe and that's where you know it's Quality at a range of pace is told cuz I Started that run nice and slow around 430 PK and rolled down to about 330 PK
By the end felt really good legs Unbelievably well protected by the shoe The next day I felt really surprisingly Fresh really bouncy throughout I think It's got a lot of potential as a Marathon distance racer in particular Doesn't maybe feel quite as you know Light and Nimble as the alpha flow when You're looking at shorter stuff but it Still can't do that stuff quite well and I do think it's very impressive over Those long runs because of the level of Bounce and comfort you get here so I did Do a short run running in both shoes at The same time and a couple things that Pretty stood out to me there was one is Actually a bit surprising that the Ally In comparison to the H feels pretty much As bouncy like when you're running by Itself it doesn't feel quite as bouncy As the older alphafly so in my mind I Almost H it down as not as bouncier shoe More of that kind of Tippy forward Aggressive shoe which I do think it is But it is still a very bouncy shoe the Ally and when you're putting it up Against the hoker which in my mind is Like the bounc issue out there the fact That it was similarly bouncy was Surprising and then I do think you get That smoother more fluid transition with The Ally 3 now the Hoka has that you Quite decoupled midsole design lots of Cutouts on it and actually I didn't
Really notice that at all when I've been Running in it in general but I'll ran it At the same time as the Ally you did Feel that slight disconnect in the Transition onto your toes with the shoe Compared to the Ally with have which has Its new continuous midsole design so I Think that was a bit of a surprise when I was running in Bow shoes they both Still felt great bouncy fast fluid but Those things did stand out the AL Definitely had that really bouncy feel In a slightly faster transition did not Notice the weight when I was running in Both shoes at the same time like the Hooker is heavy but when you're you know On the run it doesn't feel that heavy The outlay is a slightly nimbler shoe For sure and it is a little bit lighter But I don't think that difference in Weight is going to be quite as telling As I thought it might be when you're Actually running in the Shoes comes to the verdict I definitely Love both of these shoes I think they're Really fantastic new carbon racing Options they are great for the marathon In particular but they can do a little Bit of everything quick obviously I Think the Nike is the more impressive All distance racing shoe if you're just Looking for one shoe to round out your Racing you are doing everything from 5K 10K up to a marathon the outly really is
Brilliant for all those distances great For hard trading sessions as well just a Fantastic all round racing shoe so if That's what you want I think the Nike is Probably the one to go for even though It is a little bit more expensive comes To just picking a shoe for a marathon It's a little bit closer for sure the Out flight almost feels like the more Business-like shoe it like pushes you Through your foot strike onto those pods Bounces you on your way it's you know It's going to be very effective a Brilliant Marathon racing shoe for sure Hoker is so much fun to run in though Like I say it is very bouncy and it is Really exciting the lock is really well Done I know it's a bit heavier but I Think over the marathon I think probably The bounce and protection you get from The shoe would be more telling than the Slight extra weight gain you have here But hard to say that for sure I've done You know a marathon in the shoe but I Have done nearly a marathon with 24 Miles and you know a mile cool down but That wasn't all at race pace so doesn't Really count in the same way obviously But yeah I do think they're both great Marathon Sho it's probably what I'm Saying there I wouldn't want to Discount The hoker just because of the weight Gain I think on the run you wouldn't Matter so much compared to the
Impressive performance you get from this Mids soole I almost feel like if you Have tried the Ally 3 and the Ally 1 and Feel like the Ally 3 doesn't give you That same level of bouncy joy that you Got from the AL 1 or even the Ally 2 This yellow does deliver it a bit more But yeah you've got to be able to accept That weight and I think it's a hard Thing for runners to do like you you can Talk about whether weight's overstated When it comes to the difference of 30 gr Per shoe but these are both amaging Shoes I love them both and fact that one Is lighter is one clear thing that Stands out so yeah overall I probably Will still be going alphafly one myself Or round but I have such high hopes of Where the clo is going to go in the next Couple years I think really if the clo X2 could almost return everything about The shoe the ride the bounce and just Drop 30 G of weight somehow you you Could trim that outsole back for sure I Think you could definitely replace these Laces with something that wasn't you Know weird and stiff and then you'd have You know a magnificent longdistance Racing shoe in particular at the moment I' still give the edge to the Ally 3 Myself all right that is my comparison Of these two shoes both fantastic shoes If you're lining up a marathon or any Kind of race in either of these shoes
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