Hoka Rincon 3 Review

Hoka Rincon 3

 

Overall Rating:  87/100

 

Ratings (out of 10)

 

Comfort:                        8.0             

Fit:                                 7.5             

Responsiveness:           9.5     

Speed:                           9.5                    

Ride Quality:                  9.0                         

 

OVERALL IMPRESSION

 

The words written on the inside of the shoe, “SOFT & LIGHT MEETS FAST”, describe this shoe well. The overall impression I get with the Rincon 3 is that Hoka created a shoe that was lightweight and would be good for shorter, faster paced runs. They saved weight by making the engineered mesh upper and tongue very thin, eliminating the “elf” heel and replacing it with a lace heel pull and putting minimal foam underfoot. These design characteristics have made the shoe very lightweight for a daily trainer. I think you could even use these for faster paced workouts or even a race.

 

They would be ideal for short to medium runs. You could do a tempo session on these shoes, since they are so lightweight.

 

I love the colour scheme (blazing orange/fiesta).

 

FULL REVIEW

 

Comfort

 

The string pull tab on the heel is a different yet still effective. It is large enough to fit two or three fingers in, which assists with sliding the shoe on your foot.

 

Both the upper and the tongue are super thin.

 

The outsole has both longitudinal and lateral grooves, which help your foot flex.

 

The midsole foam feels soft and squishy like a marshmallow.

 

The upper has excellent breathability.

 

Fit

 

The Rincon 3 fits true to size but is very roomy all around. There is a lot of room in the toe box for your toes to move around.

 

They seem to get really thin underfoot near the ends of your toes as you are toeing off.

 

Under the foot, they are very comfortable. The foam is soft and plush.

Over the foot (specifically the tongue area), they are quite uncomfortable. If I didn’t tie the laces tight enough, then my heel would move around. If I tied the laces tighter, my heel would not move but then I felt the laces digging into the top of my foot (thin tongue). For long runs, the laces digging into my foot was uncomfortable. The “v” cut-out in the upper end of the tongue helps make it a little more comfortable but I still think it would be better if Hoka sacrificed a bit of weight and made a bit thicker tongue. The tongue in the Rincon 3 (thin) vs the tongue is the Clifton 8 (thick and plush) are complete opposites.

 

The upper is very breathable.

 

The lockdown over the midfoot could be better. I felt like my foot could be secured in these shoes a little better.

 

Responsiveness

 

The outsole feels springy and the rubber outsole outer pads (around the outside edge of the forefoot) are connected, which acts like an elastic band; when they are stretched, they spring back. These shoes are very responsive.

 

Speed

 

The Rincon 3 is super lightweight and minimal. They do not feel nearly as bulky as other Hokas I have worn. It is easy to run fast in these shoes.

 

Ride Quality

 

The midsole foam was very bouncy and squishy. It feels like these is less foam underfoot in these shoes.

 

A small peculiarity with this shoe is in regards to how the rubber and foam of the outsole is shaped directly under the heel. Because of its concave shape, it sometimes had the effect of suction cupping to the road while running (think toilet plunger). This was a minor thing and only seemed to happen in the rain.

 

The durability of the outsole on the Rincon 3 seems to have improved over previous models as there are now more rubber under the forefoot (vs eva foam).

 

These shoes have a very nice heel to toe transition.

 

Miscellaneous

 

I like that Hoka has printed the shoe model name on the tongue.