Comfortable and lightweight everyday trainer or tempo shoe
Anonymous runner · Sep 28, 2025
5/5
Overall
I got this shoe last year for road and track training as I mostly run trail and ultra races now. I was looking for a shoe that was light enough where I could run threshold/tempo intervals and not feel like I had a normal training shoe's bulk or weight, but that offered enough cushion that a 20-miler on the roads wouldn't feel too stressful or wouldn't beat me up too much.
I've worn other Hokas, many of their trail models like the Speedgoat and EVO Mafate, and these are a completely different last and feel, much more supple, lighter, more responsive as you might expect from a lighter road shoe. But, I fit into a US Men's 11, and the toe box room is ample for me--strange given that I wear 11.5-12 for the aforementioned trail shoes and the toe box in them is the limiting factor, aka the reason I have to go up to that size. I usually can wear 11-11.5 in NB or Brooks, etc, but I've found Hoka's to typically run narrow and small in the toe box, but these Mach 2's fit true to size.
I've put over a 100 miles on them, some smooth trails, and mixed track, concrete and blacktop, and they show no signs of wear or tear on the uppers which is a comfortably knit fabric. The tongue is a bit thin, typical of Hoka, but stays in place though I notice I have to be careful not to lace them too tightly. Overall, I'm very happy with the Mach 2's and would definitely recommend them. For reference, I'm 6'00" and 160 pounds; run ~ 50 miles per week and have a marathon PR under 2:40. I'd say they would be a bit heavier than what I'd wear for a competitive half, but maybe suitable for a full. They definitely work well for workouts and even longer runs as I said before.
- Comfort
- 5/5
- Cushioning
- 5/5
- Durability
- 5/5
- Appearance
- 5/5
- Value
- 5/5