The Hoka Mach 6 builds upon the superb status of the Hoka Mach 5 in being a easy, light-weight each day coach that may deal with a variety of coaching runs. It’s snug for straightforward cruises, however gentle and poppy sufficient for once you need to up the tempo. The Mach 6 is a good various to plated coaching sneakers just like the Saucony Endorphin Pace 4 for many who’d moderately run plate-free exterior of races.
It’s one of many finest trainers and is in competitors with the New Stability FuelCell Insurgent v4 and Asics Novablast 4 for the title of finest each day coach and not using a plate. I believe the Insurgent v4 simply edges the battle, however the Mach 6 is extra cushioned and a few might want it for straightforward runs.
Hoka Mach 6: Value And Availability
The Hoka Mach 6 launched in February 2024 and prices $140 within the US and £140 within the UK, which is similar worth because the Hoka Mach 5. It’s related in worth to different each day trainers, and cheaper than super-trainers just like the Hoka Mach X, which use plates and foams from the finest carbon plate trainers.
How I Examined This Operating Shoe
I’ve run simply over 30 miles within the Hoka Mach 6, utilizing it for a wide range of coaching runs together with a straightforward to regular 15-mile development run ending at my marathon tempo. I’ve additionally examined the Mach 4 and Mach 5, and a wide range of the most effective trainers obtainable from different manufacturers.
Design And Match
The Hoka Mach 4 and Mach 5 had been glorious sneakers that caught to an identical design, with a dual-density midsole with a layer of Supercritical EVA foam on high and an ordinary EVA foam on the underside—with this backside layer additionally performing because the outsole since there was no rubber on the underside of both shoe.
Hoka has made important updates to the design of the Mach 6, which now has a single-layer midsole that’s created from Supercritical EVA, and a rubber outsole, which provides weight however ought to enhance the sturdiness and grip of the shoe. Even with the outsole the Mach 6 is a light-weight shoe at 8.2oz/233g in my UK measurement 9. That’s a slight acquire in weight on the Mach 5, however just some grams, which is a good alternate for a rubber outsole.
The Mach 6 has a drop of 5mm: The lads’s shoe has a stack of 37mm on the heel and 32mm on the forefoot, and the ladies’s has 35mm on the heel and 30mm on the forefoot. That’s numerous cushioning for such a lightweight shoe, which is the advantage of making the midsole from the light-weight Supercritical EVA foam.
I discovered the shoe fitted effectively in my traditional operating shoe measurement, however that’s as a result of I’ve a slender foot. As with many Hoka sneakers, the Mach 6 may be a bit tight across the midfoot and forefoot you probably have a large foot. The creel jacquard mesh higher is snug and breathable, with padding across the collar of the shoe to cradle the again of the foot.
Operating Efficiency
I’ve been an enormous fan of the previous two variations of the Hoka Mach, with the Mach 4 and 5 providing versatility and a pure really feel. By that I imply they had been sneakers that it was straightforward to neglect about whereas operating—they rolled alongside properly at straightforward or quick paces with out intruding on my ideas.
The Mach 6 retains that admirable attribute. It’s snug from the second you pull it on and, no matter tempo you’re operating at, it supplies a clean trip. It’s not as explosively bouncy or propulsive as a plated shoe, however the brand new midsole set-up has spring in it, and the rockered form of the shoe helps transfer you thru your footstrike and up onto your toes.
Because it’s so gentle, choosing up the tempo feels good within the Mach 6, particularly for brief bursts. On my longest run I did the final 5 miles of a 15-mile run at sub-6min/mile tempo, rushing as much as round 5min 40sec/mile for the final three. Whereas holding these paces is simpler to do in a plated shoe just like the Saucony Endorphin Pace 4, the Mach 6 nonetheless feels good for them, and it’s extra snug for straightforward runs.
I did a few relaxed restoration runs and it was snug and steady at sluggish paces. It’s a shoe you possibly can deal with nearly all your coaching in, and would additionally make an incredible marathon racing choice should you don’t need to use a plated shoe. That stated, based mostly on efficiency alone I’d want to make use of a sooner plated shoe for key exercises and races.
Is The Hoka Mach 6 Price It?
The Mach 6 is an efficient each day coach, providing the right mix of consolation and pace and positively an choice for a operating shoe rotation. That’s particularly apt should you want to coach in non-plated sneakers, because the Mach 6 is without doubt one of the quickest and most satisfying plate-free choices, rivaled solely by the FuelCell Insurgent v4. The Insurgent has extra bounce and is lighter nonetheless than the Mach, however the Mach is extra cushioned for straightforward runs,
Inside Hoka’s line-up the Hoka Mach X is the plated super-trainer that you might use for a similar type of runs because the Mach 6. I want the texture of the Mach 6, and it’s lighter and cheaper, and so will get my vote over the Mach X. The Hoka Clifton 9 is a extra cushioned and fewer speedy Hoka choice for many who discover the Mach 6 too speed-focused, although I’d want to be within the Mach over the Clifton.
In case you are joyful to make use of plated sneakers in coaching then the Saucony Endorphin Pace 4 and Adidas Adizero Boston 12 are among the many finest trainers close to versatility. They’ve a extra propulsive really feel than the Mach 6 and are higher for holding quick paces, and likewise snug for straightforward tempo runs—although the Mach 6 feels extra cushioned for these.
