Type a shoe name, like Pegasus, Clifton or Kayano.

HOKA Carbon X 2

Daily trainer · Neutral · Road

Discontinued — we no longer see this shoe in stock. The HOKA Carbon X 3 replaced it

How it ranks

The HOKA Carbon X 2 ranks above most daily trainers in our data. Looks and cushioning are its strongest sub-ratings. The rating rests on 4 runner reviews and 2 other rated shoes in the Carbon X product line. Another 8 reviews would set the confidence on this shoe's own reviews.

Good

85/100
Overall
85
Appearance
90
Cushioning
85
Comfort
75
Durability
60
Value
60
Confidence

Confidence

How settled the rating is against every other rated shoe. A shoe can rate high on confidence with relatively few reviews of its own when its product line has a long record and external ratings from retailer sites agree. Confidence will score low when we have few ratings or when runners disagree.

See the product line's history

Confidence

64/100

64

What runners say

“Helps my legs and form feeling good, especially for tempos and long repeat workouts”
5/5 Full review 30 mpw training for 5K and 10K came from the Nike Air Zoom Vomero 12
“Carbon plate kept it responsive while propelling me up hills on any run”
5/5 Full review 35 mpw training for 5K and 10K came from the HOKA Clifton 8

Prefer this shoe over another

50% 3/6

Where to buy

No offers available

Affiliate links included. They never affect our ratings.

Prices updated daily. Last checked Sep 14.


Pros

  • Two reviewers say the carbon plate helps on tempo runs and hills.
  • Reviewers rate appearance 4.8 out of 5, its highest dimension.

Cons

  • Reviewers rate durability 3.5 out of 5, and one had it fail inside 80 miles while another had to stitch it back together.
  • The Carbon X before it scores 99 on thirty-five reviews, against this version's 84.

Rating & Confidence vs. other shoes for sale

Each dot is one rated shoe for sale, placed by its rating and by how much evidence sits behind it. Shoes toward the top right are both well rated and well established.

Confidence
50 60 70 80 90 100 25 50 75 100

Better Shoes Rating

Carbon X 2 rates 85. This shoe has low certainty. See how we rate shoes.

Better Shoes Rating of prior versions of the HOKA Carbon X

Each dot is one version of the Carbon X, placed by its rating and release year. The gold dot is this shoe.

Rating

Release year

We use the reviews of past versions to inform this shoe’s rating. See why.
  • Carbon X 3

    2022 · 6 reviews

    88 Good

    58 Confidence

  • Carbon X 2 This shoe

    2020 · 4 reviews

    85 Good

    64 Confidence

  • Carbon X

    2019 · 35 reviews

    99 Exceptional

    99 Confidence

Reader Ratings

4 ratings
5/5 3
4/5 1
3/5 0
2/5 0
1/5 0

Specs & fit

Sizing and ride details at a glance.

Release
2020 Q4

Runner reviews

Write a review

Showing 1–4 of 4 written reviews

Favorite shoe. Sick shoe, Sick I tell you..

5/5

Overall

I use another shoe for my warm up, then put the carbon Vs on n log the run under 1st shoe.  I don t want to know the real miles. 

So there is that.  (And I have 2 pair n do the same for both.)

Anonymous runner · Jun 14, 2024

20 mpw training for ultramarathons came from the HOKA Bondi 7

Comfort
4/5
Cushioning
4/5
Durability
3/5
Appearance
5/5
Value
4/5

Hoka carbon x2

4/5

Overall

Shoe was great in the beginning but durability was lest than 80 miles which is why I won’t be buying them again

Jeffrey Ellis · Dec 18, 2023

training for 5K and 10K came from the On Cloudswift 3

Comfort
4/5
Cushioning
5/5
Durability
3/5
Appearance
5/5
Value
4/5

Best Shoe I’ve ever ran in, but fell apart

5/5

Overall

Fast when needed

Although I used this shoe as a daily trainer, it’s carbon plate kept it nice and not for workout days while also propelling me up hills on any run.

Durable?

Although the shoe fell apart by the end of it’s use, I was able to stitch the shoe together and it continued to work impressively well.

Omek Kumar · Aug 8, 2023

35 mpw training for 5K and 10K came from the HOKA Clifton 8

Comfort
4/5
Cushioning
3/5
Durability
4/5
Appearance
5/5
Value
4/5

My favorite Hokas

5/5

Overall

This supposedly isn’t a performance improving super-shoe but it seems to help my legs and form feeling good, especially for tempos and long repeat workouts. Fits snugger than other Hokas I’ve tried (which have been too roomy in the forefoot for me).

Steve Nelson · Jun 6, 2023

30 mpw training for 5K and 10K came from the Nike Air Zoom Vomero 12

Comfort
5/5
Cushioning
5/5
Durability
4/5
Appearance
4/5
Value
4/5

Alternatives

Other shoes worth considering.

More from HOKA

Compared to other shoes

See how this shoe compares to others like it.

Current shoe
Choose a model
Reference shoe
Lightest
Newest / Best overall / Best comfort
Shoe properties
Type
Daily trainer
Racing
Daily trainer
Pronation
Neutral
Neutral
Neutral
Weight
8.3 oz M Lightest
8.5 oz M
Stack
37/32mm
40/35mm
Drop
5mm
5mm
Release
2020 Q4
2022 Q2
2023 Q1 Newest
MSRP
$145
Best price
$149.99
Ratings
Overall
Good (85)
Good (88)
Exceptional (99) Best overall
Comfort
Decent (75)
Good (83)
Exceptional (99) Best comfort
Cushioning
Good (85)
Good (84)
Exceptional (99) Best cushioning
Durability
Bottom-tier (60)
Bottom-tier (55)
Very good (92) Best durability
Appearance
Good (90)
Good (88)
Very good (91) Best appearance
Value
Bottom-tier (60)
Bottom-tier (57)
Good (88) Best value
Specific shoe

Search for the exact model to add to this comparison.