Hoka Arahi 7 Review
This week we’ve written up our experiences in one of the latest well-cushioned support road running shoes in our Hoka Arahi 7 review. The Hoka Arahi 7 is designed as an everyday road running shoe for runners that need some anti-pronation support.
Overpronation
When your arch compresses upon touching the ground and doesn’t reshape quick enough, it leads to the runner pushing off from the inside of their foot instead of the end of their big toe, known as overpronation. After this occurs thousands of times a mile, this means that your ankle, knee, and hip can be slightly out of alignment, which stresses a smaller area of the joints or legs. This can lead to injuries. The symptom’s of these can be blisters on the inside of your feet, sore shins, soreness under the knee cap, tightness in the iliotibial band on the outside of your thigh among other things. A shoe with some anti-pronation support is designed to reduce how much the foot roll inwards and guide the foot to push off from the end of the big toe. In many cases this can stop or prevent anti-pronation related injuries.
In all Hoka running shoes the foot sits inside the midsole. This helps stabilise and support the foot as the meta-rocker (curve to the midsole) guides the foot through the gait cycle. In addition to this more natural support, the Hoka Arahi 7 has a J-shaped piece of firmer midsole material that runs down the medial side of the midsole and around the heel. The J-Frame resists the internal roll and reduces how much the arch compresses simply because it doesn’t compress as readily as a softer midsole material. As the meta-rocker keeps the foot moving when it touches the floor, there is no ‘jolt’ when the foot hits the floor, which suddenly throws the foot inwards. Instead, the foot is kept moving from impact to toe-off. This helps maintain a more upright posture, which makes the runner lighter on their feet and increases the cadence, both helping reduce pronation and the chance of getting any issues from over-pronation.
Hoka Arahi 6 vs. Hoka Arahi 7
The main difference between the Hoka Arahi 6 and the Hoka Arahi 7 is the upper. The Arahi 7 has a more supportive, flat knit upper. The knitted construction allows Hoka to make the upper more supportive where needed and thinner and more breathable in areas that aren’t required to hold the foot. As a result the Arahi 7 feels a lot snugger fitting than the previous model and your foot does feel more supported. The padding around the heel cup and on the tongue provides a nice plush feel. The Achilles tab is swallow-tailed which pulls it away from the Achilles. This reduces the chance of discomfort for those that have Achilles issues (that can often be cause by over-pronation) and also helps to pull the heel cup of the shoe in, increasing the snugness of the heel fit and reducing the chance of slippage. The tongue is gusseted at both sides and the laces thread through a tab on top of the tongue to reduce the chance of any movement. There is an additional lace hole so you can pull the heel of the shoe in further or butterfly lace the shoes to give a firmer heel fit.
Outsole & Midsole
The outsole rubber is Hoka’s Durabrasion rubber, designed to give good grip on wet and dry roads whilst remaining durable enough for daily runs. This is the same rubber used on the Arahi 6 and we’ve no reports of excess wear or traction issues since its release. The midsole is the same compressed EVA foam as previously and the same foam as the Hoka Clifton 9. The advantage of compression moulded EVA compared with injection moulded EVA or midsoles that are Nitrogen infused is that the midsole compresses to take the shape of your feet. Although this means that the midsole doesn’t last as long as injection moulded midsoles, a lot of runners find that this type of midsole gives an extra level of comfort and ground feel. There’s less rebound so you can run with complete control, without feeling like you are being forced to run quickly on an easy day when your legs are tired. This makes it an ideal midsole foam choice for an everyday running shoe. Due to the nature of the firmer section of midsole, the J-Frame, the Hoka Arahi 7 will feel a bit firmer than the Clifton 9, as you don’t sink into the cushioning quite so much. It actually makes the ride is smoother, which feels better when you pick up the pace if you fancy doing so!
Width & Fit
The snugger fit to the Hoka Arahi 7 in comparison to the previous model does make it feet a little bit narrower, plus I take half a size up. You can grab the Hoka Arahi 7 in wide fit if you have broader feet. I’d also take a half size up in a brand like New Balance, but not so much in Brooks, Altra and Topo Athletic.
—
Due to the added anti-pronation support in this type of shoe, they’ll naturally come out a little heavier than a neutral equivalent. The Hoka Arahi 7 is still a very light training shoe despite the denser foam in the midsole at approx. 282g and 228g for men and women respectively. The smooth ride that the meta-rocker gives the Arahi makes them feel even lighter once running. The heel to forefoot drop is 5mm to encourage a more midfoot landing. This helps reduce over-striding and gets the foot touching the ground under the runner’s centre of gravity. This helps reduce the breaking force and pronation.
In summary the Hoka Arahi 7 has the same soft foam as a Clifton 9, for a well-cushioned everyday running shoe, combined with that J-Frame that reduces overpronation or inward rolling of the foot. That touch of extra stiffness versus a neutral Clifton actually makes it more fun to move quickly in too. A great everyday shoe for mild to moderate support.
Other Considerations
Topo Athletic Ultrafly 4: A similar 5mm heel to forefoot drop. The toe box is much more rounded and broader enough to allow your feet to spread on impact. This foot function reduces pronation and helps cushion and propel you forward. https://www.northernrunner.com/blog/topo-athletic-ultrafly-4-review/
Altra Paradigm 7: A broad rounded toe box and zero drop encourages a midfoot strike and foot function to help make your feet stronger. The ani-roll bar wrapped around the top of the midsole helps to control pronation. https://www.northernrunner.com/blog/altra-paradigm-7-review/
Brooks Adrenaline GTS 23: 12mm heel to forefoot drop makes this more a heel striking shoe. Available in three width Men’s and two width Women’s helps you get the perfect fit. https://www.northernrunner.com/blog/brooks-adrenaline-gts-23-review/
Brooks Launch GTS 10: The GTS version of the Brooks Launch offers a faster feeling more responsive option to the Brooks Adrenaline GTS. https://www.northernrunner.com/blog/brooks-launch-10-launch-gts-10-review/
Karhu Ikoni 2.0: A straight big toe line promotes a positive push off. The toe box space in some where between the broad rounded toe box of Topo and Altra and the more pointed toe boxes of Brooks and Hoka. The ¾ length Karhu Fulcrum helps control pronation and push the foot through the gait cycle. https://www.northernrunner.com/blog/karhu-ikoni-2-0-review/
Comments are closed here.