When I first bought this shoe I was amazed how comfortable these shoes were. After just 2 months I noticed that the bottom of the sole was coming apart and the shoes were developing holes on the fabric. Also the seem of the shoes was also coming apart.I spent 180.00 dollars on the shoes. My nikes held up better then the hokas. I had the nikes for 2 years. I returned the hokas hoping to replace the shoes for a new pair. Now I need to wait two weeks to find out if I get a new pair.
Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>
The Excellent Unique shoe that delivers on the promise of quicker recoveries. I find myself naturally grabbing it for runs of all sorts, short, trail, and definitely long runs.
The OKThe upper could be improved. I'm wearing some holes where the shoe bends. Nothing that is stopping me from running in them, but they have about 250 miles on them. These have been billed by others to last forever. I can see getting 500 miles without loss of cushioning. The upper may be pretty ripped up though.
I love the ride. I just don't feel my fastest in these. I prefer a more responsive shoe for races, fast runs. In all, an excellent shoe to have in the arsenal if you like variety.
Best Deals on Mens Hoka One One Bondi 2
In short, buy these shoes if you have lower leg problems after running. These shoes allow you to strike the ground with your foot flat and it supports your foot better than any shoe I've ever tried, and angles your foot forward (4mm drop) to assist in proper forward lean. They really shine for me in downslopes, but are also important in minimizing calf efforts on upslopes as well.
Now, I want to provide some background so you can evaluate my use of the shoes. I have chronic, but mild arthritis (so far, my family has a history with arthritis), and have always had weak calf/soleus muscles. I am not an avid runner. I am a sprint distance triathlete who views running as a necessary evil. I regularly experience knee & calf pain after running long distances (for me this is 4-6 mile range). I have tried other expensive shoes--asics, nike, saucony. I have tried compression socks/sleeves. I have tried running 5 days per week. I've tried running 2 days per week. Regardless, I have experienced aches and pains with annoying regularity.
Enter the Hoka Bondi 2 shoes. Recommended to me by an ultra-marathoner, I tried them and the Hoka trail shoes (which are stiffer in the sole, but felt about the same as the Bondis in the support & fit department). I decided to go with the Bondis as they were slightly easier to get on in a hurry (think triathlon transition times).
Now for the good stuff; I've run about 30 miles in these shoes, and set a personal best pace in the longest
distance I've run in them (5 miles). I plan on sticking to my 3x per week schedule and only using the Hokas for my race days and long Sunday training runs (which I'm now upping by 1 mile each week until I feel a resumption of untenable aches) because of complaints on the internet on outsole wear. I estimate they cut down, but don't completely eliminate, about 80-90% of my discomfort. Instead of starting to feel calf aches in mile 1, it is now mile 3-4 before I feel any discomfort, and the ramp up in pain is very slow. I ran my 5 miles yesterday, and I have zero pain today. That is new for me; I typically feel pain after a 4 mile run for a couple of days.
UPDATE: After wearing the Bondi's in my first sprint triathlon, I'm even more impressed. These shoes allow you to run on autopilot, which is key when you are pressing your pace and starved for oxygen. I was able to plant my feet firmly on the ground and let the shoe absorb the impact, saving my legs and knees. Also, by landing my whole foot flat, instead of on the balls of my feet, while climbing or dropping down hills, I was able to keep them cooler and have less slip/friction, which meant no blisters for me! End result: New personal record, and my legs feel better than they ever have at the end of a triathlon.
I have also trained some longer distances in these shoes and ran a 10k at a PR pace. Again, I can strike with my foot flat instead of worrying about varying my landing angles based upon terrain. Makes it easier to run, and has dramatically reduced my wear & tear which for me, is priceless.
To those who complain about durability...you are using a soft shoe that absorbs impact, which has to reduce the shoe's durability. I'm not an ultra runner, so for me, these shoes represent tremendous value in improving my race/training performance.
Honest reviews on Mens Hoka One One Bondi 2
I am a relatively large runner (6'2", 195 lbs., 20 miles per week) and historically have intermittent knee pain. The Hoka One One Bondi's were recommended to me to try as they are generally very well received by heavier runners with knee and ankle pain.
My initial impressions were very favorable: they are extremely comfortable and walking on them is almost like walking on pillows. They are very isolating from the surface, so much so that it took me a while to get comfortable with a normal walking gait (they felt positively clumsy on stairs.) I did run on them on a treadmill and that took far more adjustment than expected and I didn't feel particularly secure in them because they are so isolating. I generally wear a size 12, and these felt overall reasonably true to size, though my subjective experience is that the toe box is wider than I'm used to (I generally run in ASICS, normally Noosas.) During the days I wore them I became more and more aware of a defect that I am sure is unique to my individual pair: the left shoe is very comfortable with no hot spots, but in the right shoe on the outboard side of the area where the tongue attaches to the structure of the toe box there is a large ridge of fabric that feels very prominent within the shoe, rubbing the top of my foot and irritating it greatly. It was this defect combined with the isolation from the surface being walked or run on that made me finally elect to return these shoes as unsuitable for me.
While I am sure that these are great shoes for very heavy people or people who value a very plush footwear experience and are willing to trade off much of the sensation of the surface they are running on, I have no regrets about returning mine. The apparent defect in the right shoe was the only blemish on what looked like otherwise beautifully constructed shoes, and I can't comment on durability as I had them for a relatively short time and never raced in them (I ran substantially slower in them on my treadmill as I didn't feel very secure in them; I feel confident my speed would have returned to some degree after getting more used to them.) I have returned to other shoes and am glad I tried the Hoka's and certainly wish they had worked for me as minimizing knee trauma is something I need to be constantly aware of and it's one area the Hoka's reportedly excel in. Unfortunately the negatives outweighed the benefits these shoes could have held for my joints.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Mens Hoka One One Bondi 2
I bought one locally, and I was sold on cushion and "stability."
Pros: the most comfortable shoe I have worn.
Cons: the most dangerous shoe I have worn!
I hiked around Yellowstone the day after I got, 'me and my feet felt pretty darn good. But I noticed as I used them they were settling a bit. I started to get some ankle pain, and then the disaster...I stepped on the edge of a pothole, and the very odd altitude--this is essentially a very elevated sneaker--pitched me forward flat on my face! I ended up with a bruised right knee (understandable from a fall) and the odd part, a left MIDFOOT sprain, with injury to some of the lateral MIDFOOT tendons! My only explanation, was that when I was going down, my anchored but tilted left foot was desperately trying for something SOLID to grip. But there was nothing, nothing but creamy fluffy softness!
So, if you run on smooth surfaces without turning, say a treadmill, or other safe, smooth places, these may work out. But IMHO, as a physician, I would not recommend these to any but people who have super healthy legs and ankles, because you are going to need them when this shoe fails you in challenging geometries!
The funny thing is, I told the dealer that I have iffy knees, and my ankles have been sprained many times. He said this was ideal, but I am here to tell you that if you need any kind of lateral or pronation support these will likely be way too soft for you. BTW, I did take them back, for as much refund as I could get.
Anyway, that is my experience.
