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Another year, another Hoka Clifton, perhaps Hoka’s most popular shoe. A highly cushioned, neutral high mileage trainer. A workhorse for endless miles.  HOKA called it their ‘Ultra comfortable go to daily runner’ – it’s hard to argue with that Not designed for speed, but for long distances or easy runs. The Clifton 7 is very similar to the Clifton 6 – a nice, soft, lightweight, cushioned ride. The only significant changes are a new upper (mesh) and various minor changes to it’s last/upper/heel counter. The differences between the 6 and 7 are pretty much negligible, some minor tweaks, but hardly noticeable. Runner’s Tribe took these shoes through 110km of mostly road and light trail running, and below is our unpaid for analysis.
If a higher stack height, coupled with a carbon fibre plate and the correct foam, is correlated to more speed, then Asics must have another theory in mind. The Asics is more of a traditional racing flat, but with an extra springy ride thanks to the carbon fibre. There is ample ground feel, and the cushioning feels mild. A vastly different feeling to the Vaporfly road racing shoes so many are used to. Horses for courses.
Hoka's Bondi 7 encapsulates all that the brand Hoka One One is about, better than perhaps any other shoe.  High stack heights, metarocker midsole geometry and oh so soft midsole foam.  Runner's Tribe took the Bondi 7's through about 150km of road and light trails, below is our unpaid for review.
HOKA took all the good traits from the original Carbon X and stuck with them, while replacing the things that needed some work.  The upper is high-end, providing a snug sock like fit with an in-built mesh bootie.  In terms of improvements from the original Carbon X; the heel pull tab is way better, and the heel cup seems to provide a better lockdown.
If a higher stack height is correlated to more speed, then ON must have another theory in mind. The Cloudboom is more of a traditional racing flat. There is ample ground feel, and the cushioning feels mild. A vastly different feeling to the Vaporfly road racing shoes so many are used to. Horses for courses.
The Hoka One One Torrent 2 is a neutral, lightweight trail shoe with aggressive outsole lugs. It is designed for trail runners who want to run fast on varied terrain. It’s a shoe with a modest amount of underfoot cushion,  no where near as much as say the Hoka Speedgoat or EVO Mafaete shoes.  The Torrent 2 is much more like a ‘traditional’ shoe that one of the ‘old school’ brands would release, but with the unique Hoka touches like a 5mm drop, soft foam, and a rocker bottom.
Nike are the kings at marketing, among other things. And few shoes exemplify this more than the Infinity React. Nike’s marketing machine had people spinning with talk about injury risk reduction. They cited an external study by the British Columbia Sports Medicine Research Foundation (BCSMRF) on 226 runners using the Nike React Infinity Run as well as the Nike Structure 22. It indicated that runners using the former had a 52% lower injury rate. It’s an area in which more research is required. So, is this all complete BS, or are the shoes legit? Runner’s Tribe took them through 310kms and below is our unpaid for review.
The oldest running shoe company of them all, Saucony, have landed their latest high mileage trainer, and it does not, repeat, does not, disappoint. Saucony states the following about the Triumph 17: ‘First-class long runs are lighter than ever. For those who crave the ultimate in protective cushioning, the Triumph 17 is our most cushioned shoe, giving you everything you need to cruise through the longest of runs. Make running hangovers a thing of the past.’ So, are Saucony’s claims accurate, is this shoe worth the $250 investment? Runner’s Tribe took the Triumph through the paces, and below is our unpaid for review.
In our second ever review for HOKA ONE ONE (see our first one here on the Clifton 6), we dive into the Rincon, an incredibly light weight and versatile training shoe. The Rincon is sort of like the Clifton 6, but lighter and faster.  It has enough structure and support that it can still be used as a high mileage trainer.  However, its lightness makes it feel more like a shoe perfect for up tempo shorter runs, speed sessions , or even racing. Runner’s Tribe took these shoes through 100km of mostly road and light trail running, and below is our unpaid for analysis.
The most famous daily trainer of them all, the Nike Pegasus, is back with their 36th edition. For those who loved the Peg 35 then you can rejoice, as the 36 has only some very minor tweaks.
                   

Brilliantly

SAFE!

2022