Hoka Clifton 6 Review

We went to the Hoka product page for the factoids in this section. We have also added our own commentary to aid you in your purchase decision. We also aggregated and analyzed several hundred customer reviews, retailer descriptions, and professional/hobbyist blogs dedicated to running. Luckily, distance running as a sport inspires its devotees to learn the specialized knowledge and training techniques that will keep them going over the long haul. The advantage for your editors (and you) is the wealth of accurate information available on the Hoka Clifton or any other high end running sneaker you may be considering.

None of their shoes are cheap unless you are lucky enough to find one used (happened to us at a thrift store!). The shoes are high enough quality that the treads will have life in them and the cushioning will be cushiony, at least enough to try before you buy a new pair, when you scout out a secondhand deal. Also, since they are forever upgrading their designs, you can go to their site or somewhere like Zappos and buy a new but slightly outdated pair for a discount. If you want the Hoka One One Clifton 6, though, and you need it new in the box, you can expect to spend more than a hundred dollars anywhere you look.

For that investment, you get a durable shoe that will completely shield your joints and bones from hard pavement impact or pebbles and other debris. Are you an urban runner, like some of your editors? Broken glass doesn't stand a chance against these outsoles, even somewhere like New York.

Now, another thing about the big city--if you live in one, you know space is at a premium. It is why we write so much about compact exercise equipment, like folding elliptical machines. It is hard to imagine if you live in the suburbs, but city closets can be so small that you have to think about how many shoes you can fit. And that brings us to the only real downside we found with the Hoka Clifton 6: it is "just" a running shoe, providing massive comfort and support for runners who need it. If you cross-train or lift at the gym, you will need a good cross-training sneaker and/or lifting shoe for heavy squats. You can wear the Clifton 6 on cardio or Nautilus style machines, sure, but they are not suited to exercises where you need your toes to connect and splay on the gym floor.

So, if space is super tight, and you need one pair of shoes to meet several needs, the Clifton 6 may not be the best choice.

They offer the Clifton 6 in regular and wide sizes. This is good news for runners with larger feet or those who like to spread their toes. The toe box is roomy; it, along with the ample cushioning, will strongly discourage conditions like plantar fasciitis. Pair these shoes with some breathable compression socks for women, and you will feel unstoppable.

As an odd aside, did you know the Clifton 6 and most other Hoka maximalist runners are pretty close to zero drop shoes? That means the heel and toe are on a flat plane and there is little to no difference in height between them. This is a prized feature of both lifting shoes and barefoot runners. It is also not what you would expect on running shoes. If you look at a pair made before 2010 or so, there will be a difference between heel and toe. But what the Clifton 6 does have is a high stack height. That is the amount of rubber and foam between the bottom of your feet and the ground. This is what gives you such great shock absorption, and also what makes the shoe a terrible choice for standing Olympic weight routines.

Though, as we said, you can run almost anywhere in the Hoka Clifton 6, they are best suited to road runners. Distance running, on a road, may mean pounding a combination of concrete sidewalks, asphalt blacktop, and the odd patch of grass or vegetation. You also encounter obstacles like trash thrown out of cars. With this shoe, you are safe and protected from all of it, with less soreness and tightness on your next recovery day.

In describing the Clifton line, Hoka uses the word "lockdown." The shoes are not tight, and will not generate extra heat. But they do help keep your feet still. This makes them an excellent choice if you have ankles that are prone to rolling, or if you typically wear an ankle brace or wrap (both can pair with the Clifton 6). So while you get a snug fit, you do not get the socklike feel of a minimalist runner or lightweight lifting shoe. Since introducing the Clifton 1, they have kept a fine balance between lightweight and rigidity--lightweight so you can move around, rigidity so you do not get injured or experience tight, aching, inflamed hip flexors after a long run. The Clifton 6 is marathon ready, so it can definitely handle your training runs.

They reinforced the mesh with embroidery, similar to Nike Flyknit or Reebok Flexweave fabric. This gives the shoe extra strength and flexibility to reduce tearing or fraying. The cohesion of the layers also helps lock down your midfoot, ensuring a solid heel strike every time during a run. It is refreshing to see Hoka, the understated geniuses, using a special synthetic fabric without resorting to ad copy hype or making it sound like they synthesized a new element to add to the periodic table. The historical truth is, Hoka almost singlehandedly kicked off the maximalist shoe trend with their flagship Hoka One One, introduced in 2010 and soon endorsed by a French endurance athlete named Nicolas Mermoud.

Critics compared that shoe to clown shoes or moon boots, because of the sole stack--but Hoka laughed all the way to the middle of the pack in American runner's favorite running shoe. 9% of runners called it their favorite shoe in 2017. That figure gets more impressive when you realize Nike, who has been around 3 decades or so longer than Hoka, only measured as the favorite for 12% of runners. (These figures are from a credible business analytics website called Statista).

Hoka specializes in maximalist shoes--those with thick outsoles, extra cushioning, and a snug fit that does not constrict toe movement. Ground feel is negligible with most Hoka shoes. The whole idea is to glide over rough terrain or obstacles without feeling anything. Hoka has become remarkably popular in the running community, in a short amount of time. They put maximalist shoes on the map, and the Clifton 6 is both lighter and more supportive than the previous 5 generations (which continue to enjoy brisk sales).

While maximalist shoes are not for everyone, they could be for you if you are an overpronator, have a large body frame, suffer from chronic pain or inflammation, or just enjoy a padded ride and want to avoid soreness whenever possible. Those are all valid reasons to embrace thick, supportive running shoes. If you go with Hoka, you will be joining millions of satisfied runners with a durable product that will last you a long time and take you anywhere you want to go with your running practice.