Customer Reviews Hoka Challenger 7

I am 64, walk about 5 miles a week, the tread started delaminating after about 2 months and was about 1/2 gone at 8 mo. I submitted a warranty claim as they have a one year warranty, it was denied. I have not had this problem before with other brands, tried Hoka, but not again.

I have never had a bad experience with Hoka until recently. I had bought a pair of the Challenger 7s back in November of 2024 and was using them for Trail Running as recommended by Hoka. After a month the tread of the shoes started peeling off and ripping off the shoe. Like all Hoka shoes they have a manufacturer warranty of 1 year. I returned the shoes through the warranty program and with no issue they provided me another pair. I continued to use then for trail running and the same thing happened again after about a month and a half of use. I submitted a warranty claim I early February for the same reason and was denied. They are now refusing to replace the shoes and I am out the $145 + Tax. I WILL NOT BUY ANYMORE SHOES FROM HOKA AFTER THIS EXPERIENCE AND THEM NOT STAYING TRUE TO THEIR WARRANTY.

I wore these shoes to run 6miles the first time, just to get them broken in. I likes the fit and they were responsive and soft at the same time. i run on steep hills, it is a combination of mud stones rocks sticks etc. i am very disappointed in the shoes as after only 6 miles the tread on the toes had already started to tear off the sole of the shoe. there was significant wear on the rest of the treads. If that is the case, the shoes would be completely worn out by 50 miles. I returned them after only running 6 miles due to excessive wear.

I wrote a review a few months back about how quickly these shoes fell apart after very limited and casual use. Despite my warranty return being well within a year of my purchase and despite hoka customer service responding to my first review with a suggested warranty return, my shoes were returned back to me without a refund for being "out of warranty". So now I am out the money for these shoes and shipping. I assume this falling apart shoe is somehow justified as normal and expected wear. I won't be replacing my barely functional challenger 7s with another pair of hokas. I am super disappointed since these shoes were so comfortable but I guess I learned a tough lesson. READ ONLINE REVIEWS.

This is not my first pair oh Hoka's.. I have 4 others(Bondi and Transport among others). These, however, have a horrible issue with sweat and stench. They smell horrible after a day of use, they are very nice looking, but when you take them off, OMG. I took them for their maiden ride on a trip. Since it is a work trip I have been using more formal shoes and on the off days the Hoka Challengers. When I were the other shoes, even though I am quite active there is NO smell, but if I wear the challengers for day wear(not even running or working out), the stench after a few hours is like a cheese I woudl have saved in my closet in 1986 and recently discovered... how do I get rid of them???

I've had 8 to 10 pairs of different models of Hokas over the past 5 or so years. This is the second pair that didn't hold up and fell apart very quickly. The sole, outside material, and inside material by the heal broke down in 20 uses trail running and light hiking. I saw other reviews explaining the same issues with no honored warranty by Hoka. I am a very disappointed consumer. I don't belive I'd purchase another pair

Bought a pair of Challenger ATRs GTX and the sole is coming apart about a year after first use. The treads off my sole are coming off and Hoka Customer Service (Elliot) could only suggest using shoe glue. Customer service is a joke. You pay $100-200 for a pair of shoes and they come apart after a year? As the other reviewer said, these shoes are way overpriced for the quality.

This shoe was advertised to be the trail counterpart to the Clifton 9 running shoe, which I love. I wear a wide width, and the Clifton 9 and Bondi 8 are great. However, the Challenger 7 is much too narrow in the toe box area and the shoe is very stiff and not flexible. Having achilles tendonitis, I generally love Hoka shoes, but these changed my mind. Stay away from the Challenger 7 shoe unless you have very narrow feet.

I would like a return. I have texted customer service but no one ever text back I would like to get my money back

I currently own five pairs of Hokas - Bondis, Speed Goats, and these Challengers. Most are comfortable and have lasted well. This model though is prone to tread separation. My current pair have five areas where the nubby tread is separating from the sole after less than 20 wearings. Sections of the soles have 1 inch areas where the tread is flapping from the bottom of the shoe. Upon contacting customer service and sending multiple pictures of defects, they completely denied any replacement and claimed this is normal wear and tear. I feel this is outrageous, especially for shoes costing over $150. Even though I am reasonably happy with the other pairs, their poor customer service motivates me to check out the competition going forward.

I purchased the shoes in September for trail running and hiking. The soles began separating in November so I contacted Hoka about a warranty. They had me send in the shoes for inspection, which took 2 weeks. I never received any correspondence from hoka and they shipped my old shoes back to the wrong address and claimed they were outside the warranty window. I would never recommend this brand to anyone. Poor quality and poor warranty.

Poor quality, useless warranty service, one shoe upper ripped, the other fine. Only used for walking ! Received return authorization before one year. Hoka took 3 weeks to review and said "Out of Warranty" NEVER had a running shoe fail from walking !

I literally can't remember the last time I bought shoes other than Hoka. However, this is second time I've had the hard sole separate from the soft sole. If I'm paying for quality, I expect quality. I'd love to include a picture, but imagine a 1/8" gap right below the pinkie toe, with the tread separated from the foam sole. Sorry, Hoka, one mess-up too many.

These shoes are better suited for a track. I used these on a few hikes over the course of two months and the treads have completely disintegrated. I needed to trim hanging portions of the treads off to prevent further damage of the shoe. I could not imagine people actually running with this shoe as I only hike with these. Look for a more durable shoe with perhaps a vibram rubber sole.

I bought poker Challenger ATR 7 shoe which the heel wore out prematurely and started coming apart. I sent back to Hoka for replacement for credit and they did not honor their warranty. I have purchased about 10 pairs of hookers but no more Focus for me. I would definitely recommend trying ocean clouds which in my opinion are superior to Hokas as I've learned since the soles don't last very long at all. Bye-bye Hoka for me

The shoes are simply uncomfortable. So painful that I have not even been able to wear them outside of the house. I will return them.

This is my 5th pair of Hokas. Almost immediately the fabric at the inside heals started to fray... in only a week or so. I've had not such issues with prior Hoka shoes. The fit is correct and there is no heal slip; and I don't force my feet into tied shoes. The fabric degradation got worse and worse until I reached out to Hoka with hopes for warranty reconciliation. My only recourse is to send the shoes back at my expense, where I fear they will tell me it is "normal wear and tear" rendering me out even more $ than I've already spent on a defective product. I'm not willing to take that risk. I've had a few warranty issues over the years where companies were absolutely hassle free and ready to help on photos / videos alone to either send a refund/replacement/or shipping label for a repair. No such luck with Hoka. Absolutely disappointed in their policy which "must" be followed (as if it's a law vs their own artificially created barrier).

My second pair of Challenger 7 and they just don't last.. they say they are for trail.. I wear them 2 times a week for a few miles and then some on the weekend.. After 4 months - I have a whole at the top toe area(because they got rid of the protector fabric from prior versions), have a whole on the side(which might just be my foot), and the fabric on the inside at the heel area is all wore out.. 4 months! Maybe a few 100 miles worth of wearing... but the soles I love and will probably keep buying in hopes the next version they fix the issues!