Hoka Tecton X 2 Review
This week we’ve brought you the much-anticipated Hoka Tecton X 2 review. The Tecton X 2 is Hoka’s carbon plated trail running shoe. Shoes that have a carbon plate within the midsole and a curved rocker shaped midsole are designed to help you run quicker. On the road carbon plated racing shoes have become the weapon of choice. A bit like the time trial bike in bike racing. They make you faster by not stopping the foot from moving when it hits the floor and by creating more spring, so your stride length gets longer. Essentially you cover a greater distance in the air. This is achieved by loading the carbon plate which compresses like a spring and then recoils pushing you forward. This works well on a firm, smooth, hard surface like a road. The shoes don’t have to deal with any medial or lateral movement. So, the stiffness of the carbon plate isn’t a problem. The hard surface you are landing on means that you can fully load the plate for recoil.
A carbon plated shoe designed to be used off road has to be a bit different. The surface you are running on is uneven. So, you can’t stiffen up the shoe too much otherwise the shoe will throw you all over and you stand a chance of twisting and ankle or knee. For this reason, the Tecton X has two thin carbon plates that run parallel through the midsole. This gives you some propulsion when running on firmer trails but crucially also makes the shoe more torsionally flexible. So, it isn’t too stiff to ride over more broken ground.
The big question is do you need a carbon plated shoe to run quickly on the trails. The answer to this question is that it depends on the trail you are running on. Although the Tecton X/Tecton X 2 are made for harder packed trails and that is where the carbon plates in the midsole will give you the most propulsion, they are versatile enough to be used on more broken ground. A lot of trail routes consist of sections of harder packed ground mixed with more broken single track. As long as the Tecton’s are as quick for you as other shoes on the more technical parts of the route then you will gain some advantage on the smoother harder packed sections.
There are two types of trail shoes. The trail shoe that has a thin midsole, so very little cushioning, and is very flexible. Usually these have long stud as they are better suited to softer more broken ground. They often double as cross-country racing shoes or fell shoes. These types of shoes don’t feel good on tarmac or hard packed trails. The more pointed studs have a low surface area and take away the feel for the floor on hard ground. They can also slide on wet tarmac due to the low surface area in contact with the floor. The other type is the trail shoes with a thicker midsole that is soft enough to absorb some of the lumps and bumps of the trail. A bit like a Mountain Bike Tyre does. These type of trail shoes are better suited to less broken ground. You have less feel for the floor and so you have to trust the shoes rather than nimbly skipping over obstacles. The lugs on the bottom of these shoes are often flatter so there is more surface area in contact with the floor, so they grip better on hard packed surfaces. This type of trail shoe makes the best road to trail or versatile trail shoe capable of being used on a variety of surfaces. The Tecton X 2 is this type of shoe.
As the Hoka Tecton X has become a popular shoe Hoka haven’t changed the outsole, midsole or the make up of the carbon plates. The main changes in the Tecton X 2 are in the upper. The material used for the upper is Matryx. This is a very light abrasive resistant material. Each thread is individually coated before it is woven into the material to prevent water from getting absorbed by the material. The construction of he upper has also been changed to look more similar to the upper on the Speedgoat 5. This locks the foot onto the shoe more effectively than the previous upper. The Tecton X 2 also has a vamp at the base of the tongue. The same as the Speedgoat 5. This is a stretchy piece of material that sits within the laces and just below. This allows the shoe upper to expand a bit is your feet swell on longer runs but, your foot is still held in place so that you don’t move forward in the shoe even when descending for long periods. The toe box feels roomier than on the previous version. This might be due to the laces not extending quite as far into the toe box as on the original Tecton. The tongue is still gusseted to avoid debris from getting in the shoes and stop the tongue from moving around. The heel cup has a similar level of moderate padding to make it comfortable for long runs.
The Tecton X 2 has a softer ride than the Speedgoat and a firmer ride than the Mafate and feel more stable. The big plus that we found was that it was more responsive particularly on the up hills. Softly cushioned shoes like the Speedgoat and Mafate are in our experience hard to run up steep hills in. You feel like you are running on the spot a bit as you have little feel for the ground and the cushioning is so soft. The carbon plates and more responsive midsole foam in the Tecton X 2 make it in our view much nicer to run uphill in.
The toe bumper on the original is a little bit more rigid whereas the Tecton X 2 is a lot thinner but does cover more of the big toe.
The midsole has a nitrogen infused piece at the bottom with a softer EVA on top. The carbon plates are sandwiched between the two. Just having the bouncy nitrogen infused rubber at the base of the shoe means that it doesn’t feel too bouncy and therefore more stable on broken ground. The heel to forefoot drop is 5mm which together with the meta rocker promotes a more efficient mid foot landing. The stack heights are 32mm in the heel and 27 mm in the forefoot for the Men’s shoes and 30/25 in the Women’s shoes. A Men’s UK 8 weighs 252 grams and a Women’s UK 5 211 grams. The effect of the nitrogen infused foam and the carbon plates is that the shoes feel very light on your feet once moving.
The outsole is made up of Vibram Lite Base. This is a sticky rubber designed to grip well on wet surfaces and also be durable enough for use on harder surfaces. The lugs are 4mm in length. Not deep enough for sloppy mud or snow but, a versatile length that will offer good traction on most other surfaces.
On tarmac the Tecton X 2 feels very smooth. As good as any road shoe and better than the majority of trail shoes. Which confirms how nice it is for routes that consist of sections of road and trail.
Summing up, the fit is in-line with other Hoka’s, which is on the small side for me, so I’m grabbing half a size larger, plus the fit is a bit narrower, like the majority of Hoka shoes. Although the toe box of the Tecton X 2 is more roomy than some, I don’t think this would be comfortable on the widest of feet. The Tecton X 2 has a softer ride than the Speedgoat and a firmer ride than the Mafate and feel more stable. The big plus that we found was that it was more responsive particularly on the up hills. Softly cushioned shoes like the Speedgoat and Mafate are in our experience hard to run up steep hills in. You feel like you are running on the spot a bit as you have little feel for the ground and the cushioning is so soft. The carbon plates and more responsive midsole foam in the Tecton X 2 make it in our view much nicer to run uphill in.
Other Considerations
NNormal KJerag: Designed to cover the same distance but a real contrast to the Tecton X 2. More flexibility and a more natural feel (no rocker): https://www.northernrunner.com/blog/nnormal-kjerag-review/
La Sportiva Jackal II Boa: A firmer more responsive ride with more ground feel. The rocker is more subtle. The gaiter around the top of the shoe prevents debri from getting into the shoes and the BOA fastening gives a secure closure that doesn’t come undone in the undergrowth. Here is a link to our review:
https://www.northernrunner.com/blog/la-sportiva-jackal-ii-boa-review/
Brooks Catamount 2: Feels lower to the floor and more nimble. Cushioning is less soft and more responsive. Here is a link to our review: https://www.northernrunner.com/blog/brooks-catamount-2-review/
Scarpa Spin Infinity: Firmer more responsive feel with a noticeable rocker. Here is a link to our review: https://www.northernrunner.com/blog/scarpa-spin-infinity-review/
Inov-8 Trailfly Ultra: A bouncier feeling midsole. Feels like a road shoe with grips for that reason it would also be good for mixed routes with sections of tarmac. Here is a link to our review: https://www.northernrunner.com/blog/inov8-trailfly-ultra-g-280-review/
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