Are you referring to a specific model or the Hoka brand in general. I've been a committed Hoka wearer since the original Bondi. As you likely know over the years the models have changed sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. I've currently got the following shoes in rotation:

Bondi 5
Clifton 2
Clifton 3
Challenger 1
Challenger 2

And I just retired some Bondi 4's with about 700 miles on them.

So far all of these shoes have worked for me. A couple of models that I've tried within the last year or so that did not work for me were the Claytons and the Mafate 3's. The Clayton's were too stiff and I felt the Mafate's were too sluggish, even when compared to their road cousin the Bondi.

The old Clifton 3 made in China was perfect in size 12. The new ones that look exactly the same were made in Vietnam and are too short.

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David
* Ironman for Life! (Blog) * IM Everyday Hero Video * Daggett Shuler Law *
Disclaimer: I have personal and professional relationships with many athletes, vendors, and organizations in the triathlon world.

Hmm, I'll have to double check tonight when I get home where mine were manufactured.

Tell me about the Challenger compared to the Clifton. Do I lose anything on the road? Thanks,

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David
* Ironman for Life! (Blog) * IM Everyday Hero Video * Daggett Shuler Law *
Disclaimer: I have personal and professional relationships with many athletes, vendors, and organizations in the triathlon world.

On the road I consider the Challenger a "tweener" when compared to the Clifton and the Bondi.

I use one of my Challengers as my commuter shoe for my runs to and from work each day (2.2 miles each way). So, for example, my main run this morning was 5 miles with a little bit of pace but mostly easy so I used my Bondi's. When I headed to work I grabbed the Challengers. Tomorrow is a group run with lots of high tempo so I'll be using the Cliftons and again the Challengers for the commute.

The other pair of Challengers I use mostly on trails as on trails though there's no better shoe in my opinion.

The Vietnam ones are about a half size short.

Asics had the same issue with the 2170 way back when...it's not unheard of.

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Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter

I noticed the Tread on the Bondi 5 I have been running in Bondis from the beginning, I do want to give a shout out to the new Arahi these are great shoes and they seem faster than the Hoka Clifton 3 they were my go to Race shoe.

just looked and my new Clifton 3s were made in Vietnam. The Clifton 3 (size 12) made in Vietnam feels the same size (to me) as my Clifton 2s (size 12) which were made in China.

I didn't notice a difference but that's just me.

Checked my Clifton and my 2's were made in China and the 3's in Vietnam. They feel the same. Size 10.

I recently purchased a Hoka Bondi 4 at closeout pricing. This pair was manufactured in China. There was a seam inside the shoe that irritated my foot, and having heard that Hoka shoes can vary from sample to sample, I ordered another pair of Bondi 4s. The second pair I received were manufactured in Vietnam. Both pairs are the Dir blue/True blue color. The Chinese Bondi 4 came in a blue box with two insoles (the 'main' insole and a 'flat' insole that just takes up volume), the Vietnamese pair came in a black box with 1 set of insoles. The Vietnamese Bondi 4's insole is thicker and softer than the main insole in the Chinese Bondi 4. I've found that the Vietnamese Bondi 4 is softer in the heel than the Chinese pair (I used one set of insoles for both pair to eliminate the insole as a factor in the feeling of the heel). The 'cush' factor isn't really close between these 2 samples. My Vietnamese Bondi 4s heel cushioning is almost Gel Nimbus 17 soft (which is pretty extreme in the cushion department). The midfoot and forefoot cushioning is about the same (as I experience it) between these 2 pair of shoes. It's been my previous experience (based on the Clifton 3s) that the Chinese made Clifton 3s were softer than the Vietnamese versions, but this hasn't been the case with my 2 pair of Bondi 4s. I measured the width of each pair of shoes across the ball of the foot and found no discrepancy - they both feel about the same in the forefoot to me. I'm not sure which pair I'll keep. I do wish that Hoka would do a better job of standardizing the product between two manufacturing plants if they are determined to continue manufacturing in two different countries. Once I have determined which countries version of a particular Hoka shoe I prefer, I have tried to specify which country of manufacture I would like for my shoe, but neither Hoka or online retailers would offer to pick a sample from my preferred country. Given the significant (to me at least) differences between two pairs of shoes of the same model from different manufacturing plants, I find this unacceptable.

x2. I had this same experience with size 12 Clifton 3s. Both are the same color, but I can't wear the Vietnamese pair because they were trashing my toes.

It isn't where they are made, but the lasts they use. So it may be that the new facility has new lasts or it may be that Hoka has changed it's lasts to accommodate a change in market. New Balance is very bad these days at changes to lasts for its popular shoes, though its flats seem to stay the same. Asics was always the most predictable shoe until a year or so ago when they changed their lasts. It certainly makes buying shoes online more difficult.

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Ian