HOKA Mach X2 Review: Speed-Packing Mach Now Has the X Factor

Stack Height, Drop, Weight and Price

HOKA has added more foam to the HOKA Mach X2 and the stack height now comes in at 38mm / 33mm in the women’s and 44mm / 39mm in the men’s. Both carrying a 5mm drop. 

The HOKA Mach X2 tips the scales at 8.7oz in my US 9 test size. That’s a shade lighter than the original Mach X (9.1oz) – and light for a daily trainer – but interestingly still heavier than the Mach 6 (8.1oz).

Price-wise it lands at $190. That’s a ten buck hike over the original Mach X and it’s now one of the priciest ‘super trainers’ going. It’s $20 more expensive than a Saucony Endorphin Speed 4, for example.

Design

The HOKA Mach X2 has been overhauled. New uppers, more punchy PEBA, altered midsole shaping and a new winged plate.

The three-part, dual-foam midsole now packs a bigger stack overall. There’s a thicker layer of PEBA foam sitting on top of a new winged plate with a layer of supercritical EVA underneath that. Cutouts in the midsole/outsole unit help to offset the weight of that extra stack. While the more aggressive early stage rocker aims for snappier toe offs. If you like the racier HOKA Cielo X, you’ll notice the shaping bears more than a passing resemblance to that shoe.

Up top, HOKA has swapped the creel jacquard for woven uppers and a sleeker, more minimal heel collar with a couple of small pads inside the heel. The gusseted tongues are also minimal but there’s some structure that helps the wrap well and stay put.

Flip the Mach X2 over and you’ve got strategic rubber sections to reinforce the durability and provide the grip.

Fit

In testing I ran in my regular HOKA size – a US 9 – and to be honest I felt like I wanted more room. The new woven uppers are light and airy enough and there’s a fast, racy, pacy fit here. But I craved a shade more width at the back of the toe box, across the toe knuckles.

At times my wider, higher feet felt cramped and occasionally numbed. However, if you look for that snug, hugging fast-shoe fit for your uptempo footwear, you’ll get that here and I’d happily race a 90-minute half marathon in them true to size.

Performance

In testing, I’ve done around 25 miles in the HOKA Mach X2. I’ve done some progression runs moving from easy up to half marathon pace, some shorter runs with intervals at 5k pace and the odd slower run, too. All of that on the road.

I really liked the Mach X and though some people felt it failed to add much punch over the regular Mach 5, it was very much my kind of shoe. Nimble, agile, snappy and responsive. Not too bouncy and nicely controlled. It wasn’t a boingy, springy ride but it gave back a bit when you pushed and put some work in at faster paces.

The HOKA Mach X 2 has some big changes but I think it picks up that baton and moves faster with it. The combination of the three-layer midsole, plate and rocker really works.

The landings are cushioned but retain some ground feel. The response is immediate with good firmness or stiffness from the PEBAX platen and a springier, more propulsive edge thanks to that increased PEBA stack.

You can feel the aggressive rocker and stiff plate rolling you into a snappy toe off. This is a shoe that urges you to go faster, to push harder and run in your most efficient form. And when you do it responds.

But what I like most is that it doesn’t try to control you. You run the shoe, not the other way around. If you generally like that kind of ride, you’ll enjoy these.

When I’m landing mid-forefoot with locked in form, I find there’s relatively reliable stability here, too. You can trust the platform on landing and it moves you quickly and smoothly through transition without too much lateral wobble.

I’m not 100% in love with the overall feel on the foot. It’s not the most instantly comfortable. I find it somewhat tight and too snug, to the point I get some numbness in my feet from everything being a bit too cramped.

It’s not enough to make me dislike the shoe but I am aware of it more than some others. It certainly makes me less likely to want to spend long hours in this shoe and I’d probably stick to up to 90 minutes which is a half marathon for me.

I’m much more likely to pick this up for speed and interval sessions where I’m moving for an hour max. It’s the kind of shoe I’d track for track reps and road intervals with mile reps. Though I might even be tempted to push a 10k or half marathon race in it.

There are better shoes for racing both of those distances (the ASICS Metaspeed Sky Paris would be my first choice) but I think the HOKA Mach X2 would be a good option for a lot of runners over that distance, particularly if you want a trainer than can also double as your racer.

While the HOKA Mach X2 excels at fast and that fit it doesn’t deliver long haul comfort, it wasn’t too shabby moving low and slow as well.

I can personally run slow and easy in this kind of shoe. But I don’t tend to choose big pillowy, spongy shoes even for my slower miles. I did one 45 minute 7km and aside from the snug fit, I found the cushion accommodating and protective enough to get me round in relative comfort.

My Verdict

The HOKA Mach X2 is a gear change from the Mach X. The midsole changes add up to an improved energy and ride versus that first-gen shoe. The higher stack and tweaked plate have breathed a little fire into the midsole ride and there’s now clear daylight between the energy of the HOKA Mach 6 and this speedy daily trainer.

You could say there’s much more super in this super trainer and I’d happily pick it to attack faster training efforts and even races up to a half. I’m not convinced there’s the upper comfort and room for anything longer (unless you go half a size up) and I’m not 100% in love with the fit and the heel collar package. But that doesn’t undermine the performance of what is a brilliant shoe for those shorter, faster runs.

Overall, this is a fun and energetic, speed-focused daily trainer that might be one of my favourite shoes of the year. It’s definitely an upgrade from the Mach X. My initial thoughts are it’s peppier and punchier than the Saucony Endorphin Speed 4 (one of my favourite all time shoes) but much more racy and not quite as versatile.

Another cracking update from HOKA who continue to put out some really excellent running shoes.