Customer Reviews Hoka Challenger 7 GORE-TEX®

I have been mountain trail running for 40 years, and Hoka is always my go to- definitely my favorite running shoe. I credit Hoka for allowing me to run all these years with no issues other than the GTX soaking through. I live in the Idaho mountains and run all year round. I've tried Challenger GTX and Speed Goat GTX for running in snow and they both soak through. Just got back from a run in snow, only 4" or so on the ground and they soaked all the way through to my socks. I always wear tall gaiters, so the snow is not getting inside my shoes from the top. I was only out there for 90 minutes and my feet were wet within 30 minutes. They are now drying in front of the fireplace .

I use these shoes to walk my dog each day, for hiking and I used them on a trip to Costa Rica. Waterproofing- pretty good. Feel and fit - good. What I am disappointed in is the fact that the bottoms of the shoes started coming off in pieces - flapping around after about 7 months. To be fair- I wear them every day for at least 20 minutes a day, but I still was hoping they'd make it a year before starting to fall apart. I will try another type of hiking/walking waterproof shoe from HOKA and see if they last longer.

After a 3 mile rainy trail run my shoes and socks were fully SOAKED... so the gortex... didn't hold up. In muddy conditions the shoes were dangerously slippy. Lost my footing in dicy terrain multiple times. I love these for uphill/downhill dry conditions. But despite being waterproof... they just didn't hold up to the wet.

My first hoka was Bondi. They were very comfortable. I ordered this pair, same size. They are light but felt cheap and the toe box was too narrow. I don't think this comes in wide sized so I have to find a different waterproof all black shoe.

I had the Challenger previously and loved them. Unfortunately the Challenger ATR 7 GTX is way too much shoe. There fore i am in the process of returning them. Also I ordered an 8 W and they seem a bit too large. You might like this show but for me as someone who is 5'3" and weighs 102 small bones, too much shoe.

I REALLY wanted to love these shoes, and I did at first, everything from the fit, the low profile and comfort was spot on. However, when I tried to wear them out after it had rained the night before, I was slipping all over the place! I was really bummed since these shoes checked all of the boxes for me, the fact that they are Gore-Tex was also a hopeful sign for me(I work in law enforcement so anything that keeps my feet clean and dry is a plus). I think these would be an excellent shoe for someone who does a lot of walking but not if you are looking for a slip resistant shoe.

These shoes were cushiony but when I went to stand up there was a weird bulge in the shoe platform under the outside of my arches and I didn't like that. Felt like that should have been under my arches instead. Immediately decided they had to go back.

The shoe is to wide for a narrow foot, it's to bulky. I'm tripping over my own feet in these shoes. While the comfort/cushion wasn't bad my back has been better after wearing your competitors shoes. I'm not done with Hoku, I'm just getting started. This shoe is not for me.

Great looking shoe but a little narrow and stiff. My fault for not reading up more on this style. I prefer more plus and lightweight, however, a wide width and a good hike would have made these better for me. Going to give the Bondi 8 a try for my needs.

I love the color of these and they are comfortable. I ordered a half size up and am glad I did. These are cushiony but no arch support. I'll probably buy some inserts to put in them.

Challenger 7 got me through the Camino and are my miracle shoe. So I was excited to find the same model with gore Tex. However, after purchasing , and walking long distance, they didn't have the same comfort feeling as the regular ones. The fit was stiffer and it seemed that I could feel the top edge of the shoe rubbing my ankle bone. I kept trying to break them in by wearing often to soften the feel, but unfortunately they don't seem to be getting any better but too late to return. So probably attribute it to the gore Tex which I've read can make a shoe stiffer and less breathable. Also, didn't seem to be as much cushion, but hard to know why they aren't as comfortable. The regular ones were amazing right out of the box, no breaking in. My only wish is that they would make more colors, like white ones. I'm really getting tired of the bright colors and would prefer more muted.

I've had somewhere between 8-12 pairs of Hokas over the years (including trail runners, water shoes, and hikers) and this pair definitely has the worst fit of all of them. On me, the shoe runs small. My toes hit the end and don't do that in any of my others. I have the GTX version, so I wonder if that is a result of the waterproofing? The arch also seems a bit low or off in a way I can't put my finger on. That being said, I bought these shoes with GTX mostly to walk our property with my dog and not worry about my shoe soaking through from wet grass. These hold up great for that! I have decided to not use them for any other outdoorsy purpose because of the fit. I'm still giving them 3 stars because the GTX is great and the shoe is durable. I'd try them again maybe a half size bigger to see if that helps.

This is my 7th pair of HOKAs. And my least favorite. They are ill fitting. Historically I've always purchased a size 8 and have never had an issue. This style runs large and is not comfortable. The tongue is weird and I just don't like the look of them. I love all my other pairs but these fell short. The main reason for purchasing this style is because they are the only red pair I could find. This disappointment will not influence my love for this brand in fact I plan to get another pair this weekend.

Got narrow foot. Runs too wide