HOKA Speedgoat 6 Review
By David Salas
Hoka Speedgoat 6Price: $154.95 at Running Warehouse
Weight: 10.0 oz, 283g (men's size 9), 8.6 oz, 244g (women's size 8)
Stack Height: 37mm heel // 32mm forefoot
Drop: 5mm
Shoe Purpose: Trail Running, Workhorse, Ultra Running
Pros: Great cushioning underfoot, Good traction for technical terrain, Good upper security
Cons: May be behind with newer midsole materials compared to other trail running shoes
RUNNING SHOE SUMMARY
The HOKA Speedgoat 6 is a trail running shoe that can take a beating. The Speedgoat 6 is a maximum cushioned trail running shoe that is designed to tackle technical terrain and long distances. For many this will be a daily training trail running shoe that may dabble into some ultra distance trail racing as well. The midsole is CMEVA and saw some small tweaks. There is also an internal chassis to help with additional foot security added.
SIMILAR SHOES: Topo Ultraventure 3
PAST MODEL: HOKA Speedgoat 5
FIT
(To learn how a shoe should fit, check out our full podcast on fit by Matt Klein.)
David: The HOKA Speedgoat 6 fits true to size in my men's 9.5. The length is dialed in well and I had no issues with heel slippage. The width in the shoe is normal through the heel and midfoot with a slightly wide forefoot. The volume is a little bit lower than past Speedgoats and does give a snug feel to the shoe. The volume is still forgiving enough for long distance runs and swelling accommodation, but I do feel the change is noticeable. For me. the foot feels connected to the platform much better than previous Speedgoats.
One thing I noticed immediately was the sense of security on the foot. The slightly lower volume combines with some other components to give you that feel. The shoe also has an internal chassis, similar to other HOKA's, with both internal and external reinforcement for the heel. There is a stiff heel counter with some padding as well as some sidewalls that wrap around the side of the heel for the classic bucket feel from HOKA. There is also some external reinforcement in the same region. This makes for a very stiff material to medial and lateral forces, without it being irritating on the heel itself. The upper material itself is comfortable enough for daily mileage. The upper does feel like it is very trail ready and has a lot of gentle reinforcement to it. The material has some slight stretch and breaks in well, but does not feel floppy in any way. The tongue has some gentle padding, with more padding closer up to the top of the lacing system. The tongue rides a little shallow and I did have to work on finding a sweet spot for myself when lacing the shoe down. I think the tongue could use a little reworking to help with comfort, but otherwise this is one of my favorite trail uppers. It has decent comfort and great security.
David's Typical Size: Men's US Size 9.5
Shoes that have fit David well: Nike Vomero 17, Saucony Ride 16, Puma Velocity Nitro 3
Shoes that have fit snug: HOKA Arahi 7
Shoes that have fit large: Salomon Aero Glide
Doctors of Running Checklist
Is This a Good Shoe for Walking: Yes
Is This a Good Shoe for Standing: Yes
Is the Forefoot Flexible: No
How Flexible is the Shoe: Mild
Is This a Good Heel Bevel: Yes
Recommended for Haglunds: No
Recommended for Sockless: No
Durability Expectation: Average - Above Average
PERFORMANCE
David: One thing that I think a lot of people value on the Speedgoat series is that you know what you are buying. The HOKA Speedgoat has some characteristics that have maintained true throughout its history. The Speedgoat is a high stack rockered trail shoe for technical terrain. It has been a bread and butter model for the company for some years now. I feel the current model continues this lineage well, and perhaps is my favorite Speedgoat to date.
The Speedgoat 6 continues upon its traditional elements with some small tweaks. In the past, one thing I have found was that I wanted more security from the upper and improved connectivity of the foot on the platform. That was taken care of in this 6th model. It made me feel much more connected to the ground than before and ready to tackle big trail efforts. The rocker geometry is done well and makes for a smooth and rhythmic ride on foot. The heel bevel and toe spring are moderate on the Speedgoat and does give you a chance to have a relatively natural feeling at toe off. The rolling nature of the shoe is present, but not overly dramatic.
The Vibram Megagrip outsole is very noticeable and does give good traction underfoot in a good variety of situations. The 10.0 oz weight feels accurate. The shoe has a lot going on for the relative lightweight package. There is no plate in the Speedgoat 6, but the shoe does maintain a high amount of stiffness due to the amount of foam and firmer nature of the midsole. The Speedgoat excelled in nearly all of my situations on testing. I did have some steep descents with varying footing and the shoe performed very well. The security of the shoe made for much more confident steps. The climbing felt consistent and not overly stiff in the forefoot to dig into the ground. The midsole does feel like it has firmed up a tad, but with a little more bounce out of it compared to previous models. I would not say this is the most responsive trail shoe on the market, but it provides a really nice and consistent feel to it. This would be a "firm cushioning". There is no question it is a maximum cushioned shoe, though it is not overly compliant and soft either. The shoe held its form well in really runnable conditions as well including some fire road type footing and road running as well. This could easily serve as a road to trail option as well.
The security of the shoe really came through in technical situations and performed really well. I do know a lot of people use this for ultra running, so one thing I would like to see down the line would be a level of integration of some newer midsoles to make for a more responsive experience, but otherwise they knocked this model out of the park.
STABILITY
(Learn more about stability in our full guide)
David: The HOKA Speedgoat 6 is surprisingly stable for the category. Anytime you have a maximum cushioned shoe stability can be difficult to obtain. Some things that the Speedgoat 6 does well is that it starts off with a really secure upper. The upper has multiple layers to it that give you that secure experience, but it really shines through. The Speedgoat 6 also plays a lot with the foam and midsole geometry. The shoe has well integrated sidewalls medially and laterally through the heel into the midfoot as well as good sole flaring in the heel and forefoot. The shoe has a pretty wide platform underfoot as well and provides good cross sectional area to land on. The outsole traction is also really good. Though this is not a stability model, I feel they did great in this category as well.
Thoughts as a DPT: Upper Security in Trail Shoes
By David Salas
I'll be the first to admit that though I run some trails, I do not consider myself a trail runner. Some of the skills with descents and technical terrain are better suited for others. With that said, I do find myself in situations where I am running in some of these trail specific situations and think about a couple of things in particular. Because I am not as skillful, upper security and outsole traction are very important. I am not of the skill level where I can send it down a massive grades in any shoe on the market. When the security of things feels off, I am definitely dancing around certain obstacles in different ways.
Though I have been a fan of the Speedgoat series over the years I have always wanted better foot security. They have always crushed it with traction and the platform itself, but I have have always wanted less movement of my foot. That was fixed in the Speedgoat 6. I was on a descent the other day and was having that thought. I had confidence sticking my foot into a section where I normally would be more skittish. I don't think upper security is talked about enough when it comes to stability needs in trail running. When you feel dialed into the shoe you feel more dialed into the trail, and that feeling is invaluable. The security extends into confidence and ultimately more enjoyment.
Upper security can be broken down into several ways. For me, the first is volume, or the amount of space underneath material and the sock liner. This is more of a vertical amount of space, though can have some relevance to width as well. The next is the material itself. If the material cannot hold itself against load, then it will stretch in whatever direction it is getting pushed into. In trail running there are a lot of variable forces and a lot of random demands from the upper. HOKA did a great job of having both internal and external reinforcement on the shoe in various parts to resist some of these random moments. Though things have not changed much on the Speedgoat over the years, the small changes overtime in the upper and reinforcement has made this a shoe very much on my radar to be talked about a the end of the year.
RECOMMENDATIONS, WHO IS THIS SHOE FOR?
David: The HOKA Speedgoat 6 is a trail running shoe for someone that wants a
rockered experience on the trails with great security and a lot of
cushion. The Speedgoat 6 is designed for technical terrain but still
feels comfortable on a large variety of footing and surfaces. This shoe
is meant to be workhorse training shoe for the trails, but many also opt
to have this for ultra marathon racing as well.
I really enjoyed my time in the HOKA Speedgoat 6. This was one of the best trail models on my feet this year. The two recommendations I would leave are a bit different. I did find the I had to play with the tongue some to get it to rest the way I wanted it to more times than I feel I should have. I think making the tongue a tad longer and a little easier to work with would be a small but beneficial change. The other thing I would like to see HOKA do with the Speedgoat is to start playing with some other materials and perhaps having a dual density or two type midsole offering to give the shoe a little more responsiveness. This is mainly because I know so many people that do opt for the Speedgoat with trail racing at moderate to ultra distances.
GRADES
David
Fit: A- (Great lockdown throughout with good reinforcement and decent comfort. The tongue could use some adjusting to make for a smoother lacing experience.)
Performance: A- (Great performance at easy paces and long efforts regardless of terrain. I do think adjusting the midsole to have a little more responsiveness could make this even better.)
Stability: A (For being a neutral shoe its hard to beat this at the stack height. Good upper lockdown, traction, sole flaring, security from internal and external counters)
Value: A (At $155 this will definitely meet its value.)
Personal: A (A solid trail shoe for any mountainous outing for me.)
Overall Design: A-
SHOP | SUPPORT DORHoka Speedgoat 6Price: $154.95 at Running Warehouse
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