Hoka Speedgoat 4 Review – 375KM update

I’ve run a good 375km of trails in my Speedgoat 4’s now and they’ve served me well. After testing them out over this amount of distance I think I’m in a good place to complete my initial thoughts post with this Hoka Speedgoat 4 review.

Hoka Speedgoat 4 Review Update

I’ll be going over three things that I find important in a running shoe with this review update. The overall shoe comfort, the shoe drop, or offset, and how they’ve handled various terrain and conditions.

First though, let’s take a look at the tread.

I’ve worn these while running 95% off-road trails. Small portions of my runs are on asphalt (my route to my local trails).

There is some noticeable wear on the tread. More so than my Saucony Peregrine 10 STs at this distance, but nothing too major for 375km in my opinion. The tread should last a fair bit longer at this rate. I’m not too concerned with this.

On the subject of tread, there was one instance of a sharp corner on a layer of clay where the tread saved me from going sideways. I lost traction with sideways momentum and barely managed to recover. It was definitely the lugs that made the difference between staying on my feet and experiencing a nasty fall.

Comfort

These are certainly the most comfortable trail running shoes I’ve had to date. I immediately noticed the soft cushioning when I first put them on. They’ve continued to provide a really comfortable running experience.

Initially I was worried that they might be absorbing too much energy with all that cushioning, but to be honest I have noticed that affecting any of my runs. If its happening, I don’t see it in my run times or fatigue.

These shoes were so comfortable at first that I didn’t have any trouble with the initial “wearing in” phase.

Drop

The shoe ‘drop’ (also known as offset) is 4mm on these. It’s the same with my previous Saucony Peregrine 10 ST shoes and I’ve found this to be a good amount for me.

They perform well on steep inclines for me. In fact I set my personal record and current best time for a really steep (albeit short) hill climb segment with very loose, chunky rocks wearing these, brand new.

Trail Conditions Performance

I had the chance to do a lot of wet, muddy running in these. We got a lot of rain over the last couple of months and the ground has been very waterlogged in many of my trail running locations.

We also got a decent amount of snow so I even had the chance to try these out in snow and icy conditions.

On the dry gravel and rocky trails they perform well as expected. The soft cushioning especially helps here. It almost feels like you’re running on a layer of marshmellows. Well that was my initial thought before I got used to the feeling!

Being a little higher up (from the extra cushioning), I actually found that I got less wet when hitting puddles of water and deeper mud. That little bit of extra height seems to be enough elevation to prevent some water seepage.

Final Thoughts on the Hoka Speedgoat 4

These are good trail running shoes. They’re a little pricier than what I am used to paying for trail running shoes (I paid £125.00 for mine).

For the price I do think that they’re worth it though (just). If you can get them cheaper then they’re an even better purchase.

Just be sure you’re OK with extra soft cushioning and a slightly higher than normal feeling when you’re wearing them.