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Back last year I asked about trail running shoes and as a result I tried a pair of Hoka Speedgoats. Ive had them 8 months and split the usage between these and a pair of La Sportiva Mutants. I was led to believe the Speedgoats would last a while, instead they have failed in the same way which my Salomon shoes did, across the top of the shoe where the toes hinge. I am unsure of my weekly mileage, but I would probably guess about 30km between both shoes.
On reflection i think i prefer the La Sportiva shoes anyway. If i were to purchase another pair of La Sportiva shoes which ones would be the most comparable to the Hokas? I like to have two shoes at my disposal dependant on conditions and whether a pair is wet after a wash. The La Sportiva ones i think are my fave brand so far of all those ive tried however im not at all familiar with their line-up.
Shoes shouldn’t be splitting at 30km, I’d be speaking to Hoka about that. The Speedgoat is really well regarded and I know people who’ve ran hundreds of miles in them so you might just have an dodgy pair.
Can’t help beyond that though.
Akashas are la sportivas ultra shoe. They do not have the same level of cushioning as speedgoats and the rocker effect is less pronounced. With la sportive you really need to try them on as sizes vary significantly between models. For akashas they size up small so you should expect to go up 1/2 a size.
So if I’ve read correctly you have done approx 300 miles in the shoes ?
If they are proper off road miles in mud etc then 300 miles is good for any trainer !
Hoka generally last quite long compared to the likes of Inov8 etc
Hmmm , Hoka have kicked out some shoes in the past that had form for falling apart very quickly but they seem to be past that now. Good idea to have two pairs, at least the uppers hold up a lot better that way.
Good luck deciphering Sportiva's range tho' - it is very , very confusing. What sort of trails - rocky, muddy, sandy???
I was going to say decathlon mt2. But given the fact that decathlon are still operating in Russia I would skip them. Bit of a shame as so far 1000k and the uppers are good. Grip is starting to wear out now. Much bette than any others I have had.
Second best have been Brooks cascadia that lasted 600k or so. I have some inovo8s that look like they might last better than the brooks.
I’m on my third pair of LS Akasha shoes. Absolutely love them. Find them pretty good on everything .. comfortable … wear them for local short runs right through to 60 mile ultra’s without any discomfort. Hence I just keep buying them!
Generally getting 370+ miles out of them before I change them.
Generally I’m a size 11 in shoes.
Brooks ghost road shoes I wear 11.5.
LS Akasha I wear the 11.5+ (as opposed to the standard 11.5)
300 miles seems to be the benchmark for off road shoes IME, upper fails in the forefoot pretty much universally, seems to be some manufacturer driven demand for solutions to the demand for lightweight shoes that no one actually benefits from apart from them.
IME quality of Hoka shoes has declined in recent years due to inferior materials - I had Speedgoat uppers fail after a few hundred km - I would expect to wear out the sole before the uppers failed. GoreTex also makes uppers stiffer/ less flexible/more likely to fail.
My mutants are on 700km and looking like they’ll happily do another 700km.
do people really bin running shoes after 3-400km?
Having a couple of (maybe more) pairs is good. But why not two pairs of the same things at different states of wear so the fit is always the same? My newer Mutants are for the grassy wet stuff where grip matters more and the part worn ones do the rest.
All my running mates buy expensive hoka/Scott etc trail shoes. They all fail same as cheaper ones !
I’m on my second pair of more mile cheviots £35 a pair all good 🙂
And my mutants look brand new too. They've probably done more miles than the Speedgoats, which also look like they haven't worn out, apart from a hole in the fabric in the uppers. Some interesting point above - thanks 🙂