Ok guys seeing as this got some face book time I thought I'd write a brief review
(stick with me as I not the best grammatically )
As a typical triathlete, middle aged with a little too much disposable income and a little over weight and unfit I always on the look out for free speed.
I never been an endurance runner short bursts on a field of play is fine but the thought of anything more always makes me cringe.
In 2011 I decided on my first triathlon, I hadn't run any distance ever! I'd suffered a snap ACL in 2002 and thought of running at 17 stone was impossible but I managed.
Then I got caught by the hype the sport and bought a par of Newtons, my running improved but i was doing more, I was loosing weight and getting my 5km to under 30 mins but still the knees and ankles suffered but i was and still am quite a big lad.
Still working at my running early this year I went to the sketches go run, looking for that free speed in this light weight shoe i managed a sub 25 min 5km I also managed 50 km in 10 days on holiday but still my knees and ankles knew about it.
Not sure how I found them but I did, so in September i bought a pair of Hoka.
Firstly the feeling of a soft squashy sole is like no other you can really feel your feet sink into the shoe, they dont feel heavy and I didn;t feel them large or built up, I had no problems with ground clearance or didn't felt top heavy at any time, the toe box is roomy which also works for me. Living a the the top of a hill my fist steps are always downhill, this for me has always been a steady potter to the bottom ( i call it a warm up ) but with the Hoka I can just bound down the hill to the bottom, knee and ankle impact is absolutely minimum.
Once into my stride the shoes feel very soft and forgiving, i used to spend the first 1km panicking about my joints and the stiffness i felt while getting warmed up, but now I'm into my stride from the off.
The biggest plus is the feeling after a run, yes i'm tired as you should be but tired in the right places not hobbling back like a cripple and I can run day after day.
Build quality seem fine I've no issues not a massive fan of their speed laces and will swap them for race time.
SO for me as a big guy who hates running who's heavy on his feet this tick a lot of boxes, don't get me wrong if I were to run a 5km track race (which I never will) I might opt for the Sketches but for anything else I going Hoka