Hoka One One question

Triathlon Forum
1

What is the difference between the late stage meta-rocker and the early stage?

I have both the Bondi 3 and the Stinson ATR and don’t really understand the difference of these two features

2

a late stage meta rocker places the fulcrum of the shoe more toward the toe. if you search “fulcrum” on the main site you’ll see i write about this a little.

hoka’s shoe designers and i have a bit of a gentleman’s disagreement on this. i think there’s just a spot where the fulcum of the shoe needs to be and i think that spot ought to be pretty early. i have not found any justification for different placements of the fulcrum. i think any argument breaks down when you hard dissect the issue of fulcrums. simply put, when is it advantageous to have the foot sit on the ground just a little longer? maybe there’s a good answer for that, but i’m still awaiting it.

3

Thanks Dan. That makes sense to me as the Stinson “feels” as if it propels me forward a little quicker than the Bondi.

4

i wouldn’t worry about it. just lace em up and go. one of these shoes is going to feel better to you than the other. it might take some trial and error. i just live with the knowledge that i’m occasionally going to buy shoes that i end up hating, because i’m committed to the process of making sure i am in the absolutely correct running shoes. i pay pretty much zero attention to the registered trade bullshit. the grid pro rocker, elastoblast shoelace redirector. fuck all that. just run in them and see if they work.

5

i wouldn’t worry about it. just lace em up and go. one of these shoes is going to feel better to you than the other. it might take some trial and error. i just live with the knowledge that i’m occasionally going to buy shoes that i end up hating, because i’m committed to the process of making sure i am in the absolutely correct running shoes. i pay pretty much zero attention to the registered trade bullshit. the grid pro rocker, elastoblast shoelace redirector. fuck all that. just run in them and see if they work.

I absolutely understand your logic… but could you give a more eloquent definition on how you decide to try a specific type of shoe? I get that most Hoka shoes are similar and just “try them all and use what you like” but what about companies like Saucony? Just try them all and run in what you like? I would choose the new Kinvara but found I’m overpronating more than previous years and need to be in something more stable.

6

“could you give a more eloquent definition on how you decide to try a specific type of shoe?”

here’s what i want:

  1. cushion
  2. low drop, as in, 3mm to 8mm
  3. a non-carved-out mid- and outsole, so that the shoe will uphold and withstand my orthotic
  4. a midsole that supports the upper, holding up my pronating arch and ankle
  5. it has to fit me well, which in my case means fitting like a papoose
  6. the upper can’t be too flimsy or stretchy or the support features above won’t matter

now, by “cushion” i don’t simply mean so many mm of shoe height. the conquest has as much as the bondi, but the conquest won’t work for me, because i run almost exclusively trails, and the ability of the shoe to deform and conform to the terrain is key to a stable offroad shoe. so it’s not just mms of height, but mms of deflection upon footstrike.

those are my imperatives. yours may well vary from mine and probably will.

7

papoose

What?
.

8

If I may interject, I am wearing the Stinson Tarmacs for my easier runs and the Kailua Tarmacs for my quicker stuff.

It was totally trial and error. When I go to the running store I try every model on to see how they feel. I didn’t even have the Kailuas on my radar until I stumbled upon them because I went to buy other supplies. I try to tell people you really have to try these shoes on first before you buy them both for the sizing and for the way they roll.

Also, I wear a low profile arch support in all my shoes and they work beautifully in the Hokas.

Patti