Are Hoka's frowned upon by the running community?

No. They have some serious shoes. A lot of them are really narrow (although most come in wide sizing too).

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“Are Hoka's frowned upon by the running community?”

Are Hoka’s what frowned upon by the running community?

In all seriousness, wear what you like and not what others think you should like.

They are like stilts but no they are a serious shoe.

Wear what you like. That said, I will never slip on a pair of Hokas or Ons.

May I ask why? That's the problem, I don't see serious runners wearing or promoting them. I want to know why.

They are crap shoes

Isn't it Hoka Hoka?

By serious runners, you mean runners like Grijalva, Tuliamuk, Nordas, Gidey... (all of whom wear Hokas). Runners have run "serious" times in the Rocket and Cielo whether you "vibe" with them or not.

Imagine caring what another adult puts on their feet

Aren't they all sponsored by Hoka? Doesn't seem fair to count folks that are sponsored by them.

The answer you are looking for OP is that Hoka's are not a 'serious' shoe because they are inferior in materials and design. They are mostly a gimmick and are entirely about marketing. The company that owns them is Deckers which is all about just marketing cheap crappy products.

Honestly I thought they sucked too, and I tried several pairs that did indeed suck, but I have tried their newer shoes and they changed my mind. They have definitely improved and on par with all of the best shoes out there now. Im totally fine if I dont pass the LR vibecheck though (which it seems like this thread is more focused on than actual running performance).

I ran for an adidas school in college, followed by a Nike school in grad school. I used to make fun of Hoka all the time when I was younger. I pretty much had an injury free running career and would run in any trainers but thought Hokas looked a bit weird, so I never gave them a chance. Summer 2022 I was dealing with some insertional Achillies tendinitis and ended up looking for shoe with a higher stack height. My old college coach was working for Hoka at the time and sent me a pair of rincons to try out. I was surprised by how much I liked them and how much they were able to allow me to run without pain almost immediately. I haven't looked back since and have been running in the rincons for 2 years now. Moral of the story is I was very wrong about Hoka, they make great shoes.

Hoka's sucked for me. The one's I had didnt support my arch and even with my arch support sole still cause me great discomfort to the point my big toe starts to go numb. Brooks Glycerin have made a world of difference but the Hokas are good shoes for standing a long time.

nope, hoka one one…

If theyre good enough for Naguse, they’re good enough for me.

They get paid to wear them. If they were not paid to wear them, I promise they would not wear Hoka.

That is basically the right answer. If we could stay healthy and never wear them, great! But once you get injured, and you need Hokas, then you will be thankful that they exist. A pair of Hokas (a decade ago) allowed me to train through Plantar Faciitis which otherwise would have completely stopped me from running.

I also loved my Speedgoat 3s (one of the best trail shoes ever) as well as the Rincon (which lasted for like 800 miles). Are they as good at my Vaporfly Next%s? No, of course not. But they are good.

p.s. I did a bunch of back-country 50km-ish runs in these things (with lots of lava rock) and they held up amazingly well and so did I thanks to the cushioning and Vibram outsole (traction).

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