Customer Reviews Hoka Tecton X 2

This is a nice fitting shoefirst, the good stuff. The shoe fits my foot well. I have an average width, but I wear custom footbeds. Everything seems to work well together. I have found some shoes have a shallow heel, and custom footbeds don't quite fit, but that is not the case with the Tectons X2. Also, these shoes lock my foot down, which is super important on steep descents and techy/rocky terrain. The other-all confront is fantastic. I wore these on a 65K race, and my feet felt amazing! Well done. Now, the not-so-good. The price is north of $200. The biggie, I have rolled my ankle more times in these shoes than in any other pair of trail shoes I've worn. At first, I thought it was a one-off, new shoes and all, but it continues to happen. I noticed many other reports of similar ankle issues from shoe reviewers and users. I've put over 300 miles on mine; it continues to happen. On technical trails, I have to be very careful and cautious; however, on gravel paths, they are amazing. I wonder if there is something off with the mid-foot rubber striking rocks and off-camber trails. I don't know, but it's a problem. I will continue wearing them now because the pros (comfort, fit, and lockdown) outweigh the cons. Fortunately, I have not had any serious ankle sprains. Something to think about.

I did a couple of short training runs in these and while I think these are probably a great shoe if they fit, they don't work for me because of the narrow toe box.

This review pertains to the new color Black / Flame. I have the original Tecton X which IMHO is one of the top 3 or 4 shoes HOKA ever made, comfy, light and durable. It was just natural to try the updated X 2. The shoe itself still fits and feels great, perhaps a bit more snug around the toe box, and not in a bad way. I actually like this feel a bit more than the original X. Unfortunately, the only color that piqued my interest was this misfortunate Black / Flame. It looks nice in pictures, but in person it just comes across as a bit odd. The yellowish parts seem to stand out too much from the rest of the shoe and the whole combo just doesn't work for me. To each his own. This really boils down to a matter of taste. Some might love this color combo. I didn't. Either way, you can't go wrong with Tectons. Great shoes.

This is a great shoe overall; I think the Matryx upper will be appreciated by narrow-footed runners, and those who value drainage and longevity of the upper. Midsole, traction, feel, remain unchanged. Still some heel slippage due to the stiffness at first, but comfortable and better than v1. I would love if HOKA would just STOP it with the paper thin tongues that offer no comfort for the top of the foot over long miles, even if v2 tongue is a touch more padded. Put the MafSpeed4 tongue on this, and it would 90% of issues remaining. The upper, towards the toe-box, is a bit more restrictive, and I don't find the dynamic vamp all that "flexy" compared to the other trails models (SG5, MafSP4), so be warned - not as much toe splay space as on the first version. Upside? Not as long in the toe as the first version so hopefully fewer stumbles, stubs, and trips on v2. Details: purchased 4.10.23 from a local independent shoe store.

Aug 13, I returned it through the post office. When I get the reply?

This is an early review. I'm finding myself really wanting to love the Tecton x2 but can't find the reasons. Great design, materials, and assembly. But too limited an application for my purposes running, hiking, scrambling in the Wasatch in the range of 6-12 miles. The front 2/3rd of the upper is so porous that heavy morning dew soaked the shoe and moon dust passes right through, as well. Conversely, it breathes incredibly. I prefer the tighter upper materials in the Mafate and Speedgoat. The mid sole is definitely not plush. Fine by me, because I favor more minimalist trail shoes; I'd rather have feel and precision than cushion. There's lots of dexterity, here, but not much comfort. The megagrip outsole is superb. I can't notice any benefits from the Lite Base, though. Disappointingly, I got substantial foot slippage, despite a snug fit. I'm a lifelong 10.5 size wearer. In these, I couldn't comfortably wear medium thick SmartWool socks. I had to wear ultralight Smartwools. When soaking wet they slid around laterally, despite feeling like there was no room to do so, which undermined my confidence when side-hilling, which happens a lot where I go in the mountains. The Hoka policy permitting/encouraging 30-60 days of use is fantastic. It'll enable me to try the Tectons in varied situations. Presently, it's not the shoe for me. I love the look but not the feel. The Mafate and Speedgoats are far better for my purposes.

I have the first version and really liked them. Fit was perfect at 10.5. Got the X2 and noticed right away a little narrower in the toe box right away. Spent a week trying to break them in for a 2 week trip in Europe and not much success. They stretched out a little but after 2 miles still have some pain in the forefoot area. Had to leave them home and brought a pair of Bondi's for the trip. Definitely a little narrower than the first version.

I did a lot of reading of reviews prior to purchasing the Tecton X2, because they were more expensive than most running shoes I buy, so I wanted to make sure they were worth my money. There were enough comments about rolled ankles on multiple websites, that I kept reading reviews to make sure this would be the right shoe. Overwhelmingly, most sites dismissed the ankle rolling concerns or those negative reviews were very much the minority opinion. I finally felt comfortable that I bought them. I so badly wanted to love this shoe for all the positive aspects described in most reviews, but ironically enough, I rolled my ankle (badly) a month into wearing them. I've been a regular trail runner for the past eight years, and I've never sprained my ankle. I'd like to think it's coincidence or some tragic irony that this happened, but it's my reality. I'm buying another pair of HOKAs (because I love these shoes), it just won't be the Tecton X2 or any future version of it.

Like others have commented, the toe box is a little narrow. Whomever designs shoes with a narrow toe box should not be designing shoes. My Arahi 6 had a great toe box, had to return the 7. Speedgoat 5, good box.. And, that doesn't mean I need or fit into a wide shoe, i do not.

Who writes a review for a show they've never worn? I'm writing because I wanted to continue the conversation and possibly bring to Hoka's attention a significant issue. I bought and wore the original Tecton X. I LOVED the shoe. It was exactly as advertised and lived up to its promises. Then the ankle rolls started These were also my first Hoka's so I had no way of contrasting with their other shoes. It became such a problem that I had to quit using them on trail runs, and relegate them as a road shoe, in which they have performed admirably. The time is getting close for me to purchase a new pair of trail running shoes and I wanted badly to believe the problem had been resolved. But based on what I've seen here in the comment section, that is apparently not the case. No idea what could be causing the issue, but I assure you, if you're considering these shoes, there is one. All I know definitively, is that it's not isolated to this second generation.

The Hoka Tecton X2 started great. Snappy feel and felt great under foot on gravel. The challenge started right after 100 miles. I wore them for a 50k ultra and by the end of my training the heel started to give out on one shoe. I've never experienced that before. My 5th pair of Hokas and absolutely wouldn't buy this shoe again. Not worth that price tag.

I have owned about six pair of Tecton X shoes. I bought Tecton X2s hoping for a similar fit. Unfortunately these shoes are too narrow. They are uncomfortable compared to Tecton X. Too tight in the toe box. I returned them. Hopefully they will either make a wide version of Tecton X3s and beyond or at least make them more like the Tecton X.

Got these to replace my older pair of Speedgoat 5 shoes after around 800 miles (I still use them for walking shoes). I knew as soon as I put these on that they were not going to live up to my hopes. The toe box is far too big, which left my foot feeling unsecured no matter how hard I tried to lace them. I ran a quick 5k on a treadmill just to see if the performance during use would make me forget about the loose toe box. The run was fine, but that's it, nothing special, I didn't feel any magical new found energy from the carbon fiber or the reduced weight of the shoes. At the same exact price I probably would have just lived with them, but for a 70 dollar difference I promptly returned them for another pair of Speedgoat 5. Honestly I am upset that Speedgoat 6 was just too far away for me to wait or I never would have even tried the tecton x2 in the first place. In the end I was very unhappy with the tecton x2, but Hoka was great in getting me a replacement pretty quickly for the return of the tecton x2.

I am a neutral runner, but this shoe lacks medial stability so while it's fine for running on the road (ironically) or a smooth trail, it was a poor choice for technical trails as it facilitated an incredible degree of pronation. The toe box was also too narrow. Traction and cushion are fantastic, but unfortunately the shoe is not functional enough for me to keep.

I purchased a lot of Hokas & this particular model is the only one that has ever hurt my feet.

I have had 4 pairs of cliftons, 1 pair of mach ones, 1 pair of carbon x3's, 1 pair of speed goats and I just got these tectons. My feet don't even fit in em! The toe box is tiny, I've always worn 10's and never had an issue. Defiantly a smaller shoe

Shoes were too big