Hoka Clifton 8 Review

The Hoka Clifton 8 has maintained a lot of what has made this shoe such a successful staple in the cushioned road running realm. I haven’t seen a ton of upgrades or notable changes to the shoe over the past couple of iterations. In some ways, that’s great. It is reliable and you get it. At the same time, a lot of other shoes are putting out their version of the “Clifton” and in some ways that is bad news for Hoka. 

It fits true to size, is lightweight, and has tons of cushioning for those longer, easier miles. With the amount of cushioning, though, this shoe is undoubtedly going to be able to put on a lot of miles. It's super reliable and the feel stays that way. Plenty of cushioning will help with your recovery time, too!

The shoe was ready to run in once I took it out of the box. I thought the initial feel inside the shoe was comfortable. One of the things I noticed immediately was the plush tongue of the shoe. There is a little more cushioning in the tongue of the shoe which adds to the midfoot lockdown. The upper is really breathable with the mesh they used. I thought this was a definite upgrade from the Clifton 7.

The ride was really smooth which has been a consistent staple of the shoe. The rocker of the shoe helps propel you forward. I would say the shoe is pretty much only usable for longer runs and easier miles. That is totally fine, but you will need a second option for some of those faster tempo runs.