Customer Reviews Hoka Sky Arkali

I love hoka shoes. Not only for the looks but for the support and comfort they provide. I have purchased them for many years and have gone through well over a dozen pairs. This last pair however was not as supportive as I would have expected The insole was very thin and flimsy. I went out and bought an insole support and that helped immensely. But at that price I wouldn't expect I would have that additional cost.

The top rubs the back of my leg

The Arkalis have a firm sole, generous toe box, and I found the velcro ankle enclosure to be.... interesting? I think they're more for a high volume foot. That was the deal killer for me ( I have low volume feet), and I returned them. The sole is not like other hokas (I have several speedgoat 4s), but they are supposed to be boots more than running shoes. I think those looking for a breathable, adjustable (velcro), semi firm soled boot will like them (with at least average volume feet).

I have only been able to wear these boots a couple of times so far but so far they have not been comfortable a mile or more around my house. As with other Hokas I have bought, I am hoping they become more comfortable as they become broken in.

Fit and finish nice. Great sole going with Vibram and overall comfortable and light. Late Summer/Fall hiking and archery use - seemed extremely warm and feet did not breath well. Guessing culprit might be the wetsuit type material - nylon double faced sponge-like wrap around the foot and tongue. If gore Tex or something similar used, I would have rated them an easy 5 stars. Awesome shoe on every way except lack of breathability and too warm for me. Snug fit; able to tighten plenty around ankle and toe box with the semi lace-to-toe. Purchased black.

Hiking rock scrambling. Wear them in Mojave Desert and they are too warm in 70 degree weather. If they were more breathable and a subdued brown color, park rangers would buy them by the score.

Use for hiking / backpacking. The rocker sole and padding are awesome for my hallux limitus. But the lacing / velcro closure system doesn't work for me - I can't get the shoe tight enough at the ankle so my foot moves around too much.

The Arklai struck me as an attempt to design an all purpose shoe...just like a "spork" it does not work as well as a spoon or a fork.....these are not trail shoes nor are they boots. Hope Hoka can figure out the right amount of shoe and boot to yield a perfect "shoot" I returned them to Hoka. BTW, I'm a fan of Hoka running shoes and have done 15+ Ironman events

This is a beautiful shoe, lighter than it looks. Has a tough toe cap and would be great for rugged hiking and trail runs. However toe box just too small. My little toes just too crammed and uncomfortable (and I bought a half size bigger than I normally do because I count on using aftermarket insoles, which I tried with and without). I would definitely buy this show if they made in wider shoe - just need about 1/4-1/2 inch more room to spread toes comfortably.

I'm havin pressure on my Achilles tendon & can't adjust it away, I'm callin you today to figure out a solution

I thought these were going to be a cross country type tennis shoe. They were a real boot so I returned without a problem. Thanks

The quality seems to be very good, I like the straps to tighten up around my ankle. The negative part is that they are very narrow and I had to return them for this reason. Please make a wide version and I would purchase again.

I really wanted these to work, as they would suit my off-trail technical speed hiking needs perfectly. Great concept, in the new wave of hybrid running shoe/approach shoe/hiking boot class. Unfortunately, it is back to the drawing board for Hoka with this one. After a couple of moderate technical speed hikes (20+ miles, 5000 feet elevation gain), these went back. (BTW, many thanks to Hoka's great customer service and return policy.) I have used Hokas (e.g., Stinson ATR) for trail running for years and love them, but the Arkali was just too tight, and especially just too hard to adjust correctly. The consequence was very painful feet. I was constantly stopping to loosen or tighten both the lacing system (which is reminiscent of an approach shoe) and the velcro straps (somewhat reminiscent of some climbing shoes). While all that ability to tweak the adjustment should be a positive, it failed to help get the fit right for my relatively wide feet. It might be that with substantially more break-in time they could have worked, but the pain I would have had to endure to get there simply wouldn't make sense. Also, I had hoped these would be more breathable than boots with an eVent or Gore liner, but the neoprene-like material was actually hotter and stuffier than other "waterproof" options I have. No question these will be very durable, and great in theory for very technical hiking, approach, and even moderate climbing, if (and that's a big if) they fit your less-than-wide feet. At the same time as trying these, I was field-testing the new Arc'teryx Aerios FL mid boots, also an entry in the hiking/running/approach hybrid boot, and I ultimately kept those: much lighter, more breathable, better fit, much more comfy, and waterproof too.

This statement in the promo of the Arkali is why I purchased these innovative shoes..."A combination of running shoe innovation...climbing shoe technology...hiking boot engineering." My purpose for an innovative shoe like this is for the overland journeys around home here in STL and backcountry adventures in CO. Hoka has made a valiant attempt at the promo statements above. There is a lot to like about this shoe. The sole and grip hits the mark. The toe guard is gnarly and exceeds the expectations. The climbing shoe lacing is new to me and I like it. I even see the Kevlar coming in handy in the backcountry with bullet proof like protection on the upper. Unfortunately the shoe falls short on the upper/bootie. The neoprene is cheap looking, the velcro is cheap and the heel strap is cheap. Those combinations all fail to provide stability when moving laterally or side hilling. Way too much play. The shoe is comfy...toes were a little "raised up", which brought about some fatigue. All in all...please stay with it Hoka. You are close and if you keep at it you will solve the short comings. Also, I bet you right now that you all get a lot of complaints about the "wing tips" peeling away from the shoe...I'll bet ya

Not the quality I would've expected from Hoka. Shoe is not comfortable at all.

I tried the shoes based on my PT advice. They're very expensive, but if they fit well that wouldn't deter me. However, they were super undersized.

The size guide was not accurate, no place for my pinky toe. The colors and materials seemed okay.

I use Gore Tec High Challenger shoes to golf . I was looking for more ankle support to supplement my other shoe. These hurt my feet if I walk too much. May have to try some thing else

As per other reviewers this has bad support. Feels flat. Feet get tired easily. Not what I would expect from a Hoka.

Bought the hoka one one sky ARKALI for a trip to Idaho. The trip was canceled several times due to covid lockdowns. So decided to wear them locally. First hike heavy, feet kept going numb. 2nd hike same, 3rd hike same, etc.. etc.. WOW these are absolutely the worst. Fit is fine for shopping or standing around but for hiking laughable. Steeltoe logging boots are more comfortable for hiking... I wouldn't recommend at any price point especially a premium price point.

Purchased directly from the site. I'm going to try to get in touch with someone when I return from our 10 day trip for a replacement or refund. The back sole lugs are completely worn down in about 25 miles of hiking. Most hiking was up so I don't even understand how that's possible. Did not have them on any pavement whatsoever. I saw a review that had the same problem and then other external site reviews have not had issues. It almost looks like a bad batch problem to me. The mid to front shows no wear consistent with what I would expect. The rest of the boot has been very good. The neoprene makes getting them on and off very easy. This is a high volume boot so getting a size down won't help. That's length not overall volume. They work great with traditional hiking sock. I used cloudline full crew and mid over ankle and both work well. Thin socks won't cut it though. Toe cap is very good. You can get water into them as the neoprene tongue has holes in it. I was worried about it feeling hot but have not had an issue. Took no breaking in whatsoever and were comfortable out of the box. Hoka please investigate the sole issue! If someone used this on a serious hike out of the box they could run into real issues. Also please make the Velcro adjustments so they can be made tighter for both loops. They are ok but I'd like to get them tighter than they are and run out of Velcro space. Lastly if the styling could be a touch more like the speedgoat (fun) in future revisions that would help too. And lastly lastly I think there's a potential for a winter version with higher top and weatherproof as a "non snow boot snow boot" which is what I plan to try out by adding a piece of neoprene over the tongue in the winter.

I've owned 2 pair of trail runners. Both pair have worn out quicker that other brands, that been said they were the most comfortable.