HOKA Men's Speedgoat 5 All-Terrain Running Shoes in Duffel Bag Thyme review

The HOKA Men's Speedgoat 5 All-Terrain Running Shoes in Duffel Bag Thyme is a super shoe that we believe is great for: 

• marathoners who want to finish the race instead of setting PRs 
• ultra distances in moderate tempo to faster paces
• Hoka Bondi 7 Trainers
• hoka one one s latest trio sets the gold standard

The Carbon X 3 is a pass for runners who want a racer for short distances. It's on the heavier side; that's why.

If you want something fast and light for such a distance, consider the Slides HOKA ONE ONE Ora Recovery Slide 1099673 Ebony Dresden Blue+ (7.3 oz). And if you want the ultimate energy return from Hoka, go for the Rocket x2. 

Stack heights gone wrong! Officially, the Carbon X 3 has a heel stack height of 32 mm. However, we got a different result in our lab - 35 mm.

On one hand, that means even more cushioning (yay!), but the higher heel also affects the shoe's drop... More on that below.

The forefoot stack height actually turned out to be lower than stated: 24 mm over the official 27 mm.

The measurements mentioned above give us a heel-to-toe drop that is completely different from what the brand says. It's not 5 mm, but actually 11 mm.

To understand why it's important to know the drop, consider that different drops affect muscles, tendons, and joints in different ways. Higher drops (8-14 mm) load more hips and knees, whereas low drops (0-5 mm) make calves and Achilles tendons work more.

zapatillas de running HOKA mujer trail distancias cortas!

The shoe's plate is not very stiff and the midsole is a touch more forgiving than the Carbon X 2.

It's true that the foam used in the midsole is soft. Actually, with a durometer reading of 19.0 HA, it is 26% softer than average. Yet, due to the presence of the plate, it is not an extremely soft shoe, it is balanced.

We put the shoe in the freezer to simulate cold weather conditions and found out that the midsole didn't change much. After 20 minutes, it became only 23.7% firmer, less than the average of 26.9%.

With a durometer measurement of 23.5 HA, it is 30% softer than the other "frozen" foams we've tested!

This Hoka has a thin insole. Our calliper showed 2.3 mm, while the average for running shoes is around 4.5 mm. 

Seamless would be the best word to describe the HOKA Men's Speedgoat 5 All-Terrain Running Shoes in Duffel Bag Thyme's ride. Because of its meta-rocker, rolling forward felt effortless to us.

Thanks to the HOKA Men's Speedgoat 5 All-Terrain Running Shoes in Duffel Bag Thyme's carbon plate, we felt supported from the first mile down to the last. Our feet and legs never felt strained while running in this Hoka shoe. This is also one of the reasons why we approve of it as a long-distance racer. 

Based on our measurements, the shoe's toebox is notably narrower than average. At the widest part of the forefoot, our calliper shows only 92.6 mm.

However, this measurement aligns with a competition shoe, especially from Hoka—a brand widely renowned for its snug-fitting running shoes.

The shoe's toebox also narrows down at the big toe. Measuring the width here returned only 72.3 mm which won't please those with wide feet.

In our experience, the toebox height of the Carbon X 3 is more generous than anticipated. Measuring 30.7 mm, it provides a surprisingly spacious feel, offering ample vertical room.

Contrary to other tempo shoes like the Nike Next% collection, the third version of the Carbon X felt a bit more stable. 

We believe that the stability is mostly due to this Hoka shoe's torsional rigidity.

As our manual test shows, the carbon plate makes it very difficult to twist the Carbon X 3 sideways. On a 1-5 scale, where 5 is the stiffest, we gave this shoe a maximum score of 5.

The shoe's heel counter, on the other hand, has much more give to it.

We gave its stiffness a low score of 2 out of 5, indicating that it's quite bendy and doesn't hold the ankle so rigidly.

The platform of the HOKA Men's Speedgoat 5 All-Terrain Running Shoes in Duffel Bag Thyme is neither wide nor narrow. It sits right at the average of road running shoes.

Measuring the widest part of its sole in the forefoot, we got 111.2 mm. That's even 2 mm narrower than average.

Hoka logo on side heel.

The HOKA Carbon X 3 is one of the best carbon-plated shoes for runners who don’t want extreme stiffness, as it scored just slightly above average in our 30-degree bend test.  

Of course, that comes with trade-offs. The main one for us is the absence of the ultra-snappy ride found in most modern supershoes.

We weighed the shoe on our scale, and it returned 8.4 oz (239g). That's a whole ounce wide than average!

But, of course, if we compare it to tempo training shoes only (8.5 oz/237g), the HOKA Men's Speedgoat 5 All-Terrain Running Shoes in Duffel Bag Thyme is right Sbis average. 

We found the knit upper's ventilation to be quite good. Our feet remained cool and dry even under warm weather. However, it is not the most breathable trainer on the market, receiving only 3 out of 5 in our smoke-machine test. Expect decent airflow but not on a hot summer day.

HOKA Men's Speedgoat 5 All-Terrain Running Shoes in Duffel Bag Thyme (left): it's breathable; Adidas Runfalcon (right): very little smoke is coming out, and only from the tongue area, so this shoe is not breathable. To make this test, we use a smoke-pumping machine and cover up the shoe mouth entirely so that the smoke can only escape through the upper.

The second test we carried out confirmed the previous results: we put the upper against light, and it clearly showed that is well-perforated, and therefore airy.

Just like the Hoka Mach 5, the Carbon X 3 makes use of a firm rubberized EVA form at the bottom of its platform. While it helps to save the shoe's weight tremendously, it has consequences for its long-term durability.

hoka ora recovery slide grosse 36 1126850 dotn

Using a durometer to check the firmness of this layer, we got 64.5 HA. That's 25% softer than the road shoe rubbers on average! As soft as it feels upon landing, this compound is doomed to wear out much faster compared to a typical outsole rubber.

Because there is no rubber outsole per se, we kept the outsole thickness at 0.0 mm. But if you're wondering how thick the rubberized foam layer is, our calliper showed 7 mm. 

Tackle the terrain with confidence in the multi-purpose HOKA Challenger ATR 7.

It makes a statement. With its huge stack, two-tone colors, and detailed knit pattern, it's hard not to notice the HOKA Men's Speedgoat 5 All-Terrain Running Shoes in Duffel Bag Thyme. 

It makes a statement. With its huge stack, two-tone colours, and detailed knit pattern, it's hard not to notice the HOKA Men's Speedgoat 5 All-Terrain Running Shoes in Duffel Bag Thyme. 

These are the most notable changes introduced in the HOKA Men's Speedgoat 5 All-Terrain Running Shoes in Duffel Bag Thyme:

• The new Profly X midsole offers a softer feel for a more responsive ride. 
• For a more flexible wrap, a new knit upper is introduced.
• The HOKA Men's Speedgoat 5 All-Terrain Running Shoes in Duffel Bag Thyme also loses 0.2oz (5g), from 8.7oz (247g) to 8.5oz (242g), while maintaining the same rubberized outsole and stack height.