The RW Takeaway: The Rincon is the Hoka we’ve been waiting for since the release of the original Clifton—it’s light, soft, and fast.
- A lightweight EVA midsole delivers plenty of cushioning without feeling mushy.
- Health - Injuries.
- Arch: Medium | Gait: Neutral | Footstrike: Heel.
Price: $115
Weight: 7.7 oz (M), 6.3 oz (W)
Type: Road
The Rincon is the best Hoka you can buy right now. Sure, there are other purpose-built and buzz-worthy shoes in the company’s stable, like the Carbon X, but this shoe does everything you could ask of it—and is insanely affordable. It’s like the popular Clifton, but lighter and better suited for speed days. In fact, that’s exactly why Hoka built this version—as the Clifton gained weight with each version and became a daily trainer, the company needed an option to fill the lightweight hole in the line. It has the same stack heights as the Clifton—29mm in the heel, 24mm in the forefoot, according to Hoka—and should fit like that everyday trainer. To help the shoe check in at 7.7 ounces (men’s size 9), it uses a lightweight reinforced mesh that locks your foot in place.
Pros
- Extremely lightweight
- Highly cushioned
- Handles a variety of speeds and terrain
Cons
- RW+ Membership Benefits
- Tongue is too short
In testing, I’ve worn the shoe for everything from sub-7-minute miles in New York’s Central Park and a 31-mile jog around Manhattan to a long trail run in the Adirondack Mountains over muddy and technical singletrack. It’s protected me during those longer, slower efforts, but still has the pep I want when it’s time to step on the gas.
Soft, Not Squishy
With the emphasis for this shoe being lightweight and soft, Hoka used its tried-and-true EVA compound. That means you get a surprisingly thick slab of foam underfoot, but won’t pay the weight penalty typical of cushy, soft shoes. Surprisingly, the sole is exceptionally wide, especially through the midfoot, so you get a confidence-inspiring ride that works for a lot of runners on a variety of terrain. As I mentioned above, I’ve taken this shoe off-road on challenging, steep trails and never felt unstable or wobbly.
When on the road, you transition from heel strike to toe off quickly thanks to a tweaked “Meta Rocker”—the sole is rounded just behind the ball of your foot. In our testing, we found that the rocker felt less obvious than in other Hoka shoes, making the Rincon work well for heel strikers and forefoot runners alike.
The only gripe from testers is about the exposed foam on the sole: It tends to show some wear prematurely. Of course, you never want to see your new shoes literally breaking down. But, in this case, it’s fine. The sole is comprised of a bunch of protruding pods, and the wear we’re seeing happens first to the bottom-most layer of that foam. There’s still a lot of midsole between your foot and the road. Plus, there’s rubber where you need it most in the heel and forefoot, so you’ll get your $115 worth of mileage from this shoe.
A Spartan Upper
“Simple” is the best way to describe the Rincon’s upper. It has a single layer of mesh (not engineered) that’s free of any overlays. The fit is snug and, because of the mesh construction, the shoe doesn’t stretch, which led some testers to feel the shoe was a little tight. Even so, we found it to remain comfortable even on long runs, without causing any hotspots.
There were a couple quirks: The tongue is a bit short and the laces come right to the top of it. We didn’t have any irritation or troubles, but it’s worth noting in case you’re the type to use the very top eyelet. We also found the pull tab on the heel exceptionally large and floppy—one of our editors just cut it off because it’s unnecessary.
What One Tester Said
Running Shoes & Gear
Arch: Medium | Gait: Neutral | Footstrike: Heel
“I would bring other shoes for the lunch run—reliable shoes I liked: Saucony Kinvara 10, Nike Pegasus 35 and 36, Brooks Ghost 11. I’d intend to run in them because it was an easy day. I’d intend to run in them because it was a harder day. These ‘old reliables’ would just sit in my locker. I couldn’t quit the Rincon. It’s as close to a perfect shoe as I’ve tested in a number of years—lightweight, Goldilocks cushioning, and able to handle any speed you throw its way.”
A lightweight EVA midsole delivers plenty of cushioning without feeling mushy Runner’s World and the director of product testing. He has tested and reviewed running shoes, GPS watches, headphones, apparel, and more for nearly two decades. He regularly tests more than 100 pairs of shoes each year, and once had a 257-day streak running in different models. Jeff can usually be found on the roads, racing anything from the mile to a marathon, but he also enjoys racing up mountains and on snowshoes. When he’s not running, you’ll probably find him hanging from a ladder making repairs and renovations to his house (he’s also director of product testing for Popular Mechanics).
