Hoka one one tor summit mid or your experience with wear on your other hoka’s

Been wearing the Mafete speeds for a few months now, i really like them, i use them for both hiking and trail running, so far the soles are standing up to the sharp rocks here (Greece) without any problems.

I wouldn't buy those boots though, the main point with HOO's is the cushioning, not only does it mean less jarring on your joints it also gives fantastic grip as the sole tends to wrap and and grip surfaces.

So to fit a vibram sole seems to completely eradicate the main selling point of HOO's

But then i'd never buy another shoe/boot that has a Vibram sole, in my experience they're terrible in wet conditions

Thanks Mark, I appreciate the feedback.

jimmyb

No problem Jimmy

Different soles completely, but if it helps any, these are the soles of my Mafate speed's can't remember the exact KM (ain't Strava great) on them when the pic was taken but it must be over 200km

All of these km's are off-road on extremely abrasive rocks and paths that we get here in Greece.

Wow Mark, I'm impressed. The side view shows the soft lugs in great shape. Not what I would have predicted. They must have hit a sweet spot for durability and gummy traction. As mid's are best for me I may try a pair. I can live with the trade off of the vibram part of the sole for the comfort and lighter weight. I was also willing to trade off some wear issues but looking at your pics they may be good for me after all.

Thanks man for taking the time and posting those pics. VERY helpful :)

jimmyb

Probably not a big market for these as most are able to use a low cut shoe but for the odd few like myself I thought I would throw in a quick review on these. Over the last couple seasons one of my main goals has been to lessen the dead weight carried on my feet. I have mentioned I have some wicked balance issues so I prefer the mid version of shoes not for support but for the extra feed back they offer me. Ok enough about handicaps. I first tried on the Ultra high top version of HOO's a few weeks ago and was impressed by some things and turned off by others. I really did not like the high top version strangling my ankles and they have a really wide based sole. That was pretty foreign to me and would have been a hit or miss in my opinion. The thing that impressed me most was the cushioning they offered. Also they were going in the right direction as far as weight. Fast forward to an REI email featuring the new HOO's TOR mid. At first glance they looked like just about every other mid out there. Much toned down from the multi colored orange high top version. Retail was $180 before the REI dividend. A bit more than I usually part with for footwear but much less than their high top version at $230 retail. With our BPing trip to Montana a few days away I decided to at least try them on for size. First impressions: I have a high standard for fit for my footwear. I will spend all of about 30 seconds in a shoe before I will give it a try or shelve it. The HOO's fit really nicely. Plenty of room in the toe box, well fitting along the full length of my foot and a comfortable well fitting heel. Pro,s – Ok so they fit nicely. They were also the lightest mid footwear I have tried to date and the cushion/comfort factor was impressive. Trying to jam a sharp edge of the simulated rock surface in the store into the soft center of my foot proved to be futile. The rubber/EVA foam combo seemed like it was going to be the shock absorber I was looking for, for the sharp edged rock strewn trails we usually hike. The soles of these HOO's where more standard fair than the wide bottomed high tops. Cons – Not too much here. I don't like the flat old style sneaker laces they come with. I have since replaced with a more sturdy pair of laces and a cord lock set up that I have been using for years now. No tying laces, no loose laces and very fast to get into and out of :) Here nor there – The overall construction seems about average for light weight footwear. I accept the fact that lighter footwear might mean shorter replacement intervals. Well worth the enjoyment factor of lightening my steps. A couple other impressions were that the shoes seemed to stand a little taller and with a more rounded off heel to the sole. That worried me a bit but I couldn't dismiss them on that alone before giving them a go. Second impressions – I have never had blister problems with (well chosen) new footwear in the past and I didn't anticipate problems with such a comfortable shoe as these so I took them as my only footwear on our trip out West. At least in my case there was really no break in to speak of and I had no issues with the new footwear. Although most of the trail we encounter in the West is much less rock strewn than in the East I still feel at the end of the day the shoes offered more comfort to my feet with less overall punishment in the rocky sections we encountered. As I describe my post inner ear loss hiking as a sustained controlled stumble the toe area of the shoes offered plenty of protection from stumbling toe kicks to rocks. The perceived higher stance of the shoes is probably the most foreign aspect to me but after a week of trekking I still cant count them out. I did have one hell of a fall that scared the sh*t out of the wife and I but I was lucky to drive my shoulder into the only soft spot within miles on a gentle slope rather than going over a cliff. Wheh! It would be almost impossible for me to connect the two unless this became a constant problem which so far it has not been. In fact I'm not really sure until I do a little measuring that the higher stance of the shoe is actual or just perceived. Old worn soles are a slow unnoticed process until you throw on a new set of rubber. Most days started with long uphill stretches so I ran the footwear on the looser side for added comfort. When headed downhill on some "goat" like trail I did have to stop and tighten up to prevent my toes from cramming in the toe box. That prevented any further annoyance. So FWIW these will be my go to for the near future and I suspect for some time to come. I am happily enjoying the additional comfort of ever lightening footwear combined with a real shock absorbing sole. jimmyb EDIT= thanks again to Mark S. I probably would not have tried this footwear if his results of sole wear were not posted.

Thanks for the update Jimmy, be interested to read how you get on with them after you have a fair few miles in them

OK, maybe then also look at this thread