Customer Reviews Hoka Challenger 7 GORE-TEX®

My younger son runs cross country and I've been following his events through all these storms lately. Lotsa rain equals lotsa mud and so far the challengers have held up great. My feet are dry and trudging through the mud has been a breeze. Plus you get just enough balance of squish and support from these Hokas. Will buy from now on when I need an outdoor shoe.

I run on streets and trails interchangeably, sometimes on the same run. The cushioning is as good as I have come to expect from a Hoka, and this is a big deal as I am a large and older runner. The traction is what really won me over! Sole is aggressive, and it appears to be holding up better than other runners I have owned. Will surely buy again!

These are the best shoes because they are springy yet super plush. They do not feel like they have a high center of gravity while some of the other Hokas I've owned were hard to balance in or led me to rolled ankles. These are my new go to shoe! Recommend for any use but I love them for hiking and just all day standing / walking use. 10/10

My feet were giving me issues, so I bought these shoes after hearing how comfy they were. They did seem to help with my foot pain, but I went to the podiatrist anyway. Come to find out my foot was fractured in two spots. The podiatrist saw the shoes I wore in (my hokas) and told me they were the best possible shoe I could be wearing. That's good enough for me! Have since purchased a second pair.

Ordered a few pair I needed to return. Hoka works very well for my left arthritic foot and the supination my foot has when walking. The wide base rubber platform at the ball of the foot helps give my lateral side of my left foot a lot of support. The olthet shoes or style of Hoka was sent back. The Breeze had wrinkles in the nylon that wasn't pretty. The transport was too narrow. I can't remember the other one but it didn't fit right at all. These Challenger 7s are as great as my Clifton 8 are but it will do. I'm heading to Egypt and wanted to break them in. I since put in a foot support to help my high arch. I think I'm good to go . I leave tomorrow . I'll know more as this is the ONLY shoe except plantar fasciitis sandals. The Hoka recovery slip on that I have are too large to pack in a carry on.

My daily walking shoe here in the PNW. Have had two paid of the challenger 7s now, and while they are extremely water proof, their grip in wet conditions is extremely poor. In fact on a wet morning hike in Maui this past February I had limited grip in rock and silty conditions cause me to lose my balance and land on my butt multiple times. Would not recommend this shoe for wet terrain but ironically enough has preformed stellar in dry, tough terrain. That being said, I would get them again as I prefer to not have wet socks.

To start, I've converted from another major brand and now my go to are a pair of Clifton's. Then I use the Challenger 7 for trail, which feel just like the Clifton but perfectly designed for the trail. Looking ahead at the wet forecast for a race I immediately decided to invest in a pair of Challenger 7 GTX. I especially was drawn to the awesome new color and got a ton of compliments on the race. Ok here it goes. I soon learned the GoreTex was good at keeping the splash of water out of the shoe but as rain ran down my legs the water was trapped inside my shoes. That wasn't the worst part, as I would have endured the same wet feet in my other pair of Challenger 7's. So after about 8 miles into a 31 mile race I realized these were not the same Challenger 7 with GTX added. I had lower back pain for the duration of the race, as I later realized the GTX version are much more "plush." These would be great for a short/light recovery run/hike on the trail, but not good for a distance race. Haste makes waste and that's why you don't use anything new on race day!

I purchased the Challenger 7 GTX mostly for hiking on gravel and grass. Traction of these shows is gook. While they were initially fairly comfortable, that didn't last long. The first thing I noticed was that I could feel every rock on a gravel path, through the sole of the shoe. Then, after about a week, the sole started to bend at the toes, causing the top material pressed into my foot, and not comfortable to walk in. I've been wearng Hokas for 15 years, and these are the not the quality of my previous 12 pairs.

The shoes are comfortable, but the top part of the threading is coming loose, which seems to be a manufacturing issue, or the material used isn't too good.

Bought these from the HOKA website so I couldn't try them on first. I used the shoe finder tool and the "which size fits me" tool and it came up with the Challenger ATR 7 GoreTex shoe in size 12, based on the fact that I wear a 12 in Adidas shoes. I like just about everything about the shoe except I'm surprised by how tight the toe box is. I don't have wide feet and I haven't experienced this type of tight fit in any athletic shoe before. And the right shoe is the tighter of the two my left foot is slightly bigger so I would have expected that shoe to be the tighter fitting shoe. The shoes do seem to be loosening up a bit, or conforming to my feet. I think they may ultimately be okay, but I'm disappointed to have to break in a shoe like this. If I had it to do over again I'd probably buy a half size larger b

I have numerous pairs of HOKA's I rotate through. I wear these on my riding mower and walking in the wet grass. Three months in the right shoe developed a squeak. I tried all the recommended fixes from drying to powder to lightly sanding and more. Nothing worked. Returned at the 4.5 month mark with Clifton 9 GTX that the lugs on the sole separated and I only use those for walking that were only months old. The last year of purchasing HOKAs have had quality issues over the years I have been purchasing them. I have so far only had issues with the ones ordered directly from HOKA. The returned note said not covered under warranty as they are over one year and normal wear and tear. A $168.80 shoe should not be worn out in 4 months of wearing them in rotation. I have 3-year-old HOKAs I still wear that are torn and they don't squeak excessively. The letter also said it wasn't one of their brands. I bought them right through the freaking HOKA website and my purchase history has them right there: 4/4/2025. HOKA you may have lost me after years and recommending them to everyone that asks about them.

Sneekers squeek especially when walking on hard surfaces. Very disappointed. How can this be fixed because I don't want to wear them?

Very hard, not comfortable.

25 miles on brand new shoes and the tread lugs at the toe box have already peeled off.

I use these shoes everyday, after about a month of wearing they finaly got worn in they started to tear on the gortex lining. It rains often where im from, I bought these shoes thinking I'd be safe, for the first month I was but since they are now tearing this feature is useless. For the amount of money and the poor quality I'm not sure what the hype is about.

I've purchased these shoes twice and had to send them back for the same reason. Within a couple weeks the rubber sole (traction) comes apart. I've bought HOKAs for years. Normally choose the bondis. Well the bondi 7s were amazing. Best shoe ever. The reimagined the bondi and made the 8s extremely narrow. If you buy wide to compensate then they are way too big. HOKA needs to stop fixing what's not broken. Stop selling a show for a year and re working it especially after it was very successful. Ive preached to all of my friends and co workers about how great HOKA is. Well that's about to change. Guess on- cloud here I come. Smh.

Fabric is splitting on sides of shoe & soles wore out in a few months of purchase

I found these under a Google search for breathable shoes, and when they arrived they appeared to have a mesh top, but it was not really mesh.. You cannot blow or pull air through the top of the shoe at all, they may even be waterproof. The sole was also just glued to the upper, not sewn like I expect in a quality shoe.

Very very very poor. The heel broke after two weeks. I will return them soon

ATR 7 GTX Size 13 alot wider than my ATR 6 and rolls my feet inward too much fit nothing like my ATR6 that I loved

This shoe does not have the arch support needed for my foot. The cushioning is extremely firm for a "plush" stlye cushion. I have the bondi 8 and those shoes are like walking on a cloud. These shoes actually hurt the bottom of my feet witihin a couple of hours.

I tried to break these shoes in at work at the clinic. The lugs/grips came loose because of poor glue. I boxed them up and returned them. I will wait to see if I got a bad pair of good shoes or if these are just bad shoes

First time trying Hoka and great quality. Should have gotten a wider option for myself