Customer Reviews Hoka Gaviota 5

I love my Hoka Bondi 8 shoes, but of course, they have been discontinued. The Gaviota 5 was recommended as a good replacement. Unfortunately, that was not the case for me. The shoe is lacking cushioning and does not come close to the Bondi 8. I felt as if I was wearing shoe boxes with no arch support or padding.

I have three pair of Gaviota. They were my favorite running shoes! When I went to replace them, they were way too wide. My foot did not feel stable or supported. I tried the regular width and cannot imagine how wide the wide width shoes would be! Please consider making these shoes in narrow (true regular) width.

Gaviota 3 was my first HOKA purchase, and they were the BEST SHOES I had worn in years!! As an overpronator, I found the level of stability to be perfect. The arch support felt amazing; in fact, I could look down from eye level and see the insides of my feet being lifted! Eventually they wore out, so of course I purchased the Gaviota 5. Fresh out of the box, the 5's felt different...SIGNIFICANTLY FLATTER. I experienced discomfort on first use, and then second... Nonetheless, I kept them and *hoped* that I would "break them in" (a myth). Sadly, I missed the return window. Even my worn out Gaviota 3's STILL feel BETTER than these. *****If you are an overpronator with flat feet, you may be disappointed!*****. PLEASE BRING BACK THE OLDER STABILITY CONSTRUCTION!!!

I have been a fan of Gavitotas since the beginning. I don't know what you guys did! They used to be the most comfortable cushion any supportive shoe that I've owned and they helped me when I had plantar fasciitis. I have been wearing 3s the last couple years and had to purchase a pair of 5s this year. I wish I would've stocked up more with the 3s while I could. I bought these earlier this year and have not worn them until my last pair of 3s needed changing out. THESE ARE HORRIBLE! Where is the cushion!? WHERE IS THE ARCH? Please return to the good old days of the 2-3s. I put a store bought arch in these and they got 1% better. Disappointed.

Front is so large they make my feet look HUGE, buying shoes online is very hard. Wish I went to a store and tried them on

I had a pair of Bondis that I wore for YEARS and adored. I raved about Hoka so much that 2 of my coworkers bought pairs for themselves! I got a pair of these Cliftons in early May and they didn't last 3 months. Pieces of the soles were falling off and I was actively supergluing them back on as new, different pieces were falling off. My coworkers experienced similar problems with their Cliftons, in similar amounts of time. Most recently, approx. 6in of the end of my shoelace broke off while I was tying them. For absolutely no reason! Don't get me wrong they're comfy, hence why I repurchased from Hoka, but for literally only using them to WALK around on smooth, clean wooden docks a few days a week, they're not worth the money. I'm disappointed. Mind you, these are my only pair of "work shoes" and/or sneakers, so I have continued to wear them, but amidst supergluing different parts of the soles at least once a week. Would definitely recommend looking into a different model of Hoka. Like I said, my Bondis were amazing.

I purchased these shoes for my husband in November of 2024. He wore them approx. 5 months while recovering from surgery for his daily walks in the park. He loved these shoes! However, after about 5 months we noticed that the bottom of the shoes were disintegrating! Also, when he came in from a walk, there were little spots on the floor on the rug at the front door and it turned out that the bottoms of these shoes were MELTING. No worries right? Just send them in under warranty because obviously this is a manufacturer defect. WRONG - after spending almost $25 to return under warranty, they were returned and I'm being told this is "normal wear and tear" and warranty exchange is denied. For a shoe this expensive, this is ridiculous. I've never had even CHEAP shoes disintegrate and melt. What the heck Hoka???

Purchased in Dec 2024 and fell apart in July. I probably only put 6 miles a week on these, mostly to walk and the soles started falling off. Really shocked since I also own the Arahi and those were purchased in summer 2023 and they're still in good condition

shoe is poor quality and feels cheap

fell apart after 5 months

Bought the shoes for vacation. They where very comfortable. Went to pjt them on next day and saw they where tears around the eylets on the shoe from the shoe lace.

Not worth the price. I'll admitthey're very comfortable, with great cushioning and support for long walks or runs. But the quality is disappointing for the cost. I bought mine in October, and by February, they were already worn out. The upper fabric tore, and overall they look far older than they should after just a few months of moderate use. For such an expensive shoe, I expected far better durability. I won't be buying them again and wouldn't recommend them if you're looking for something that lasts.

softer less support no arch in sneaker

I returned them. At first I thought I accidentally bought mens instead of womens. They were so bulky and the toe box was so huge I could fit all 10 toes in it. Very disappointed. .

The problem with this shoe and many Hoka shoes is the tongue; its anchored with an elastic strap on the inside (medial) side, and with every step, the insole pulls on that strap and makes the tongue slide over to the inside making the tongue crooked and the lateral side of my instep is then exposed to the laces rubbing on the top of my foot. Anchor the tongue on both sides or don't anchor it at all!!

These are so wide they look ridiculous on my feet. They do not fir well, really loose on the toe bed so the material moved when I walked. I live love love the Arahi 8....perfect for me.

I was looking for a comfortable shoe for walking and being on my feet 8 hours a day. Gaviota 5 was my choice. Right out of the box, they slipped on my heels. I noticed the padded heel had slid down to the insole on both shoes. After repositioning them they continued to slide down to the insole when walking causing my heels to continue slipping. I have use shoe horns, various types of socks and always laced up correctly. Nothing helped. Now the heel pad and padding have torn and the shoes can no longer be worn. Very poor design!

I don't know why my little toes hurt anytime I put on the shoes. It makes it uncomfortable. I even got a size bigger than my actual size and it uncomfortable for me. I'm sorry.

I went from Bondi to Gaviota a couple of years ago. A more stable shoe that doesn't rub the top of my foot like the Bondi did. The Gaviotas have been great. I work long shifts and walk everywhere and buy a new pair every 4-6 months. I'm okay with that. Better than foot surgery! But this last pair has been awful! I got them, in May (from Fleet Feet because I can't seem to be able to buy a pair of shoes from Hoka for the last 2 years no idea why and customer service is NO help.) All this time, I thought the back, leg, and foot pain was from working out in my yard. Nope. I had 2 minutes when I wasn't crazy busy at work the other night (and in severe pain, btw) when I realized that my right foot was pronated. It took me trying to fix my walk to realize it was the shoe! Took the shoes off and put my old (and worn out) Gaviotas on and magically my gait was better and after time, the pain was receding. I've tried to return/exchange but I keep getting logged out whenever that happens. I work nights. So actually talking to customer service is a PIA.

After foot surgery I got a pair of Gaviota 4 that were very supportive and helped with my issues. I wore them out and bought a pair of Gaviota 5. They have little support in the toe box and are nothing like the 4s. I'm very disappointed.