Yep i have the clayton, shoe feels good, super light, there seems to be a problem with insole that was killing my foot after 5 miles, switching it out today and will try new one.

---

2024: Bevoman, Galveston, Alcatraz, Marble Falls, Santa Cruz

One a scale of 1 (vibram) to 10 (clifton), how soft is the ride?

Let's say a NB fresh foam 980 is a 5; I would give the Clayton a 7.5. Dont feel like you would get 200 miles out of them with them feeling like that but hope I am wrong.

---

2024: Bevoman, Galveston, Alcatraz, Marble Falls, Santa Cruz

200 miles at $150 is crazy! Thankfully I get a discount.

I also never expected these to be a full on training shoe. I just want these as my speed and race day (even Ironman) shoe. The Clifton was too spongy and the Huaka was too heavy.

Agreed, that was going to my use for these: race only. Clifton gives me foot numbness so I run in oddessy now and just trying to find a less spongy shoe that still does not hurt legs. Seeing if Clayton will fit that void....racing on them Sunday so will see how they feel.

---

2024: Bevoman, Galveston, Alcatraz, Marble Falls, Santa Cruz

Let us know what you think after. What kind of race?

I'm taking the Vanquish 2 out this weekend. I think that'll be a solid long slow run shoe. I'm hoping this and the Clayton will be my go to combo.

REI has both on their site for pre-sale. 20% off member dividend going on right now.

I have picked up/ examined both, not run in, and the Clayton could the successor to the Clifton 1. The 2 colors I have seen are pretty awful in my opinion.

The Tracer was going to be my Olympic or sprint shoe but the tongue I have heard is rather sloppy if you're putting the shoe on in a fast transition.

I tried the Vanquish was little to stiff for me. I am trying out Infiniti on a med paced 10 mile run to see how it is. Interesting enough did a 6 mile run on clayton yesterday, calfs actually felt little sore which is what i get from a "regular" shoe, or maybe it was those 7 hill repeats on the bike that i did, IDK.

Clayton will get a race break in at a olympic race; will report back late sunday.

The Tracer seems interesting; looks like a "normal" running shoe would love to hear from someone that has worn them.

---

2024: Bevoman, Galveston, Alcatraz, Marble Falls, Santa Cruz

i think the clayton is the hot race shoe for most triathletes. the tracer will be used by pros, tho i don't know that it should be (esp for 70.3 and longer). we had a pretty good deal going with the bondi as the trainer and the clifton as the racer. it might now be the vanquish 2 as the trainer and the clayton as the racer.

---

Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Exactly... and forgive me if I'm wrong but doesn't the Tracer lose the midsole "wrap" or whatever its called? That basically makes it a boring old school racing flat. But I'm probably wrong.

I ordered a pair of Claytons from Road Runner Sports with a 25% discount. They should be here on Monday. I'll report back when I have some miles in them. I'm hoping for a Lunaracer feel with a bit more durability. We'll see.

Been a few weeks, curious if anyone has more feedback on the clayton now that they're out in the wild.

I've been out of the loop for a bit, ran a pair of clifton 1's into the ground a year or so back then picked up a pair of huaka's cheap and did the same and trying to decide to where to go next.

I know you were not big on the huaka's at all but they worked well for perhaps because I do 99% on my running on dirt surfaces (mostly non-technical). If I were doing a lot of road running I think I'd get the claytons but given I try to never touch pavement if I don't have to I'm considering the vanquish or maybe even going trail specific w/ speedgoat.

Sounds like you might like the ATR 1s, I think you could find some cheap online.

I have 3 runs in my Claytons and like them so far. They are more like the huaka than the Clifton 1. Firm midsole, no squish, wide forefoot and a quick turnover for me. Those wanting some room for their toes compared to other Hoka's will enjoy the room in the Clayton. They are comfortable, although as a fan of the Clifton 1 (still have 2 not run in yet) I wish they had a little more of the 1's squish. I do love the stable feel of the shoe....there is none of that Hoka teeter-totter some of the taller shoes in their line can get. The tongue is sliding a bit but like the flat laces.

I talked to the Hoka rep at Oceanside who said the Tracer was outselling the Clayton which surprised me.

I ran yesterday on my Claytons for the first time and they felt pretty awesome!

They feel true to size and the toebox is a bit bigger than clifton 2.

---

The entire event (IM) is like "death by 1000 cuts" and the best race is minimizing all those cuts and losing less blood than the other guy. - Dev

As you can read above, I was pretty freaking stoked to try these shoes as soon as possible.

HATED THEM!

The ride felt hard, the upper felt sloppy and not having the "rocker" was annoying. I only ran 100 yards in them and gave up because I just didn't see the point in trying to like something that felt so crappy straight out of the box.

I also pre-ordered a pair and didn't even bother running in them. Just didn't fit my foot right through the arch and seemed much harder than the Clifton. Ended up with a pair of adizero Bostons which I am loving.

I bet I've tried on nearly 30 different shoes in the last 3 weeks and I'm down to:

New Balance 1500v2
Adizero Boston
Adizero Tempo
New Balance Vazee Pace

Still need to try the Super J33s, DS Racer (its going to be too light) and Brooks PureCadence 5.

NOTE: The DS Trainer is left off because I don't understand why anyone would choose a 9.1 oz shoe that feels like a 7.5oz shoe.

This is my big complaint about the Hoka line in general. It seems they are almost twice as expensive and last half as long. I am not sure whether this is planned obsolescence in the design or if shoes just don't last like they used to because they are lighter, etc.

When I was a kid, running shoes were $80 a pair and lasted 400 miles.

I've had the Claytons for about two weeks now, probably have about 60 or so miles on them. As has been mentioned, they are much more like the Huaka than the Clifton both in terms of ride and sizing. They have a very wide forefoot, which adds quite a bit of stability. If, like me, you prefer a very neutral shoe, then they probably won't be great for you. Honestly, I'm not that impressed with them. The Claytons also feel pretty cheaply made. The upper just feels cheap and doesn't fit that well. The material on the sole also feels somewhat cheap and doesn't seem like it will last very long. The "nubs" on the bottom almost feel like you could tear them off if you tried. I definitely would not recommend them for off-road running because I don't think they would last very long.

The Nike Lunaracer is, for me, a shoe that is 100 times better. Much better upper, much better ride quality, just as much cushion.

Thanks for all the input. I actually like the firmer ride on the huaka more than the softer clifton feel and I also prefer a lighter lower shoe in general.

The obvious question would be that if I tend to prefer light/low/neutral shoes why would I be looking at Hoka's in the first place? Even though I feel slower in Hoka's my switch over to them roughly correlates to when I stopped having recurrences with some chronic ITBS I had been suffering. They really may have nothing to do with it, but overall I have felt less fatigued / less battered running in them so losing a little top end speed doesn't concern me as much in my new goal of simply running for the enjoyment of it rather than being competition focused.

All that said, the Clayton look cheap to me as others have said and they don't look like they would hold well at all even on modest off road. Will probably pass on them and just put some miles on the pair of newton boca sol's I've had sitting around unused for the last year before I decide what I want to switch to next.

I have had a pair of the Adizero Boston 5's and they have been my primary training shoe. I have logged most of my miles in various versions of Kinvaras for the last few years and that is my favorite all around shoe. The Adizeros are expensive, but they last forever. Way longer than the Kinvaras - they start out more firm, but really haven't changed much over 250+ miles (I weight 170lbs).

Just got a pair of Cliftons - they feel kind of like a Kinvara with two soles - and I do like switching back and forth between the two. I may be way off here, but one reason I think I have avoided injury is because I run in several different shoes. Kinvara, Adizero, couple types of trail shoes, now Cliftons. But if I want to go fast, my favorite shoe is the Saucony A6.

---

/kj

http://kjmcawesome.tumblr.com/

Sounds like you want a more neutral shoe than me.

I wore Kinvaras for years, then Cliftons for years and am now finally admitting I was just wearing a shoe that was "alright". I know I want a race shoe a hair under 8oz and a "slow" training shoe around 9-10oz. And now know I truly need a very mild amount of support for the late stages of runs.

That narrows the field of shoe drastically. Then add that you want a little kush... even more narrowed. And want a firm forefoot, even more narrowed.

Once you narrow down, you quickly realize how the running industry is divided into two pretty distinct categories:
Lots of cushion
Minimal racing flats

And even worse, when they make a shoe that fits in between, they tend to botch it somehow. Vazee Prism is a great example. All they had to do is make the 1500v2 with more cushion and they still screwed up the upper for no reason whatsoever.

I agree with your thoughts on the cost of Hokas, that has kept me from buying them in the past. I have run in new balance, saucony, Adidas, asics, and newtons. I love running in newton's but admit they leave my feet feeling a bit beat up after several runs in a row. I ordered last year's model hoka Clinton from amazon, $80. I ran with them for the first time today and my feet feel awesome. Maybe they are worth it after all.

And yet you run in Newtons. I haven't kept up with their pricing but when I tried a years ago (didn't like them) they were around $150.

For the record I've been a Hoka guy exclusively since 2012. I've tried most of the models although not the Clayton yet. So far I'm averaging between 600-700 miles per pair although it takes me awhile to get there as I rotate a lot of shoes at the same time. My current lineup is:

Bondi 3 - 535 miles
Conquest - 430 miles
Clifton 2 - 395 miles
Bondi 4 - 284 miles
Clifton 2 - 247 miles
Challenger - 24 miles