Hoka Mach 6
Purchase the Mach 6 here and get 10% OFF at checkout!
The Warmup
Men: 8.2 oz
Women: 6.6 oz
Drop: 5mm
Mileage at Time of Review: 30
MSRP: $140
One of my favorite shoes of all time is the Hoka Mach 4. I got a pair when I had built up a lot of fitness during the Covid shutdown so some of that nostalgia may be from having the fitness to have a lot of fun at races like the Escape from Alcatraz and Ironman Texas. When it was time to retire that pair of shoes, it was like saying goodbye to an old friend. The Mach 5 was a solid shoe, but it didn’t seem to have the magic that the Mach 4 had for me. The Mach 6 brings back that feeling of a truly special shoe even though it’s a very different shoe than that original Mach 4 I fell in love with.
The Breakdown
The Outsole
It’s so exciting to see Hoka finally putting rubber on the outsole. It still isn’t the grippiest rubber that is available, but it is a huge step forward and adds to the durability of the shoe in a major way. One of the biggest detractors for Hoka in the past decade has been that the outsole wears out and gets incredibly slippery way faster than other brands, and it is exciting to see them rectifying this as they have released new shoes.
The Midsole
The midsole of the Mach 6 features a huge update. We move from a traditional EVA midsole to a supercrital eva. This provides a more responsive midsole that feels more cushioned as well. This combined with the new rubber makes this the most resilient version of the Hoka Mach to date.
The Upper
The creel jacquard upper provides a really nice locked down feel when running. Relative to previous versions of the shoe this upper does have a shallower fit which to my foot translates to narrower after being used to previous versions of the shoe. Despite feeling narrower, I still think that this shoe has more room in the upper than other shoes in the same category, but if you’ve previously sized down because of the depth, I would buy true to size on this version.
Running and Walking
The Mach 4, as I said in my introduction, is one of my favorite shoes of all time, and I think the Mach 6 has the potential to be right up there. It is a solid utility shoe that can do a bit of everything. It feels fantastic at any speed and secure underfoot on the road, crushed gravel and dirt. The updated midsole feels much more responsive than the previous versions when pushing the tempo as well as a bit more plush on the easy runs thanks to the transition of the supercritical foam. Whether you are a run/walker or using this shoe on speed days and walking your recovery intervals, the shoe feels incredibly stable under foot whether your pushing the pace or taking a recovery interval.
The addition of a true rubber outsole and a supercritial midsole will make this a much more durable mach we’ve seen in the past. My greatest sadness in the Mach 4 was that it had to be retired earlier than I wanted to. Previous versions also became very slippery in minimally wet conditions due to the lack of a true rubber outsole. While this isn’t the world’s grippiest rubber, it does provide plenty of grip in normally wet conditions to keep you on your feet and keep your feet from sliding out beneath you.
A lot of emphasis is placed on plates in racing shoes, whether they are carbon or not. Plated shoes are a lot of fun, but if you’re looking for a racing shoe without a plate, I think this is an excellent shoe to consider. It has a lot of pop and excellent turnover. It was my racing shoe of choice before the plated shoes became so prevalent and I would still gladly take this one off the shelf to race in, especially if I’m using a race more for training than for PR goals. My marathon PR even with the advent of plated shoes is still currently from a race I did in the Mach 4.
The Gym
I think this makes a good choice for the average gym goer as well. The shoe has a nice sleek profile and whether you run for your cardio, or use other machines, you won’t have an issue with the shoe fitting into a pedal or foot strap. While it is plush, it isn’t over stacked and has enough stability that I feel perfectly comfortable running on the treadmill with it, as well as doing my full lifting routine. If you’re more into the orange theory or bootcamp crowd, I think this still offers plenty of versatility for you so you can move from station to station and get your cardio and plyometrics in nicely.
Work and Daily Life
While this line is made to be a bit more athletic than say the Clifton or Bondi, it functions nicely as a daily shoe as well. The color palette for the Mach line tends to be a bit more lively and have fewer black, navy and grey options, but from a functional point of view, it is incredibly comfortable for everything from a day in the office to a full shift on your feet in the medical industry. If you work in the service industry, there is no slip resistant version of this shoe, so bear that in mind. Hoka offers one shoe with a slip resistant outsole and that is the Bondi SR.