Hiking shoes for those who need support: Hoka TenNineGTX

[B the Hiker]

Outside's Gear Guy has a review of the Hoka TenNineGTX, and it's extremely positive.

The reviews are fantastic, if you can get over the looks of them. I use different Hoka One One shoes both for road and trail running, and they're fantastic products.

Brian

 

[skiguy]

I tried Hoka and found them to be way to cushy. Fortunately I got them from REI so I returned them. The salesman said either you love ‘em or hate them. I was in the latter category.

 

[Rhody Seth]

Those things look wild.

I've had a couple pairs of Hokas for road running and enjoyed them. I tried a pair for the trails but found they rolled on me too much and relegated them to road use instead.

 

[B the Hiker]

I have a friend, he has a few extra pounds on him, and when we hike, his knee bothers him. I was thinking these shoes might be good for him, providing just a tad more cushion that might allow him to keep hiking without doing permanent damage.

 

[maineguy]

I have seen lots of literature (an Oregon State study in 2018 comes to mind) that states that these super cushioning shoes actually result in increased impact loads on your legs. It sounds counterintuitive, but it has been studied for a few years now. Now these were dealing with running shoes, but I would think that they would apply to hiking shoes as well.

 

[skiguy]

The problem with the Hokas which were highly cushioned trail runners I had was what seemed like reduced energy transfer. They were so cushy I felt very little rebound from the shoe itself while hiking. I felt I actually had to put more energy into each step to get the same propulsion than if I were using a lighter weight shoe.