Hoka One One is best known for bringing maximum cushioning to running shoes. Now the California-based brand is hoping to do the same for hiking, with the launch of three new shoes鈥攖he Sky Kaha, Sky Toa, and Sky Arkali.
Since Hoka entered the market in 2010, it has catered to athletes鈥especially ultrarunners鈥攚ho want to feel like they鈥檙e floating, not pounding, the dirt or pavement as they log training miles. Other than a foray into track spikes, the company hasn鈥檛 gone out of its way to target anyone other than distance runners.
The launch of the Sky series seems like a聽big new frontier for Hoka, but upon closer inspection, it鈥檚 really a聽natural evolution for a brand that鈥檚 always built shoes for people聽who want to spend long hours on their feet and be comfortable doing it. Now it鈥檚 just targeting those who travel slower than ultrarunners聽and might need more support.聽
At a media event in Boulder, Colorado, where I聽tested聽the Sky collection, Hoka鈥檚聽product-line manager, Jared Smith, described the three models as 鈥渞unnable鈥 versions of typical hiking or approach shoes. Indeed, all three have the signature comfort and relatively high stack that you鈥檇 expect from Hoka.

The Kaha is a fairly burly, traditional-looking waterproof hiking boot with a leather upper, 31 millimeters of midsole foam in the heel, and five-millimeter聽lugs. The Toa is an exceptionally lightweight speed-hiking boot鈥攖he women鈥檚 version weighs in at 13.26 ounces, only slightly heavier than the most cushioned running shoes. It鈥檚聽also waterproof and has聽a breathable聽synthetic upper. The Arkali is a hybrid climbing-hiking-running shoe designed for scrambling over vertical terrain, with heel and ankle straps to聽lock聽in the foot and laces that extend all the way down to the toe, like approach shoes, for precise fit on technical rock. Of all three models, the Arkali is my favorite.
My initial impression of聽the Arkali聽was that it looked too niche聽and might be useless for the majority of us who run and hike on well-worn trails. Then I wore a pair for a winter hike up Boulder鈥檚 Mount聽Sanitas. The route鈥檚 nontechnical singletrack聽is similar to what you鈥檇 find all over the country, but on this day, snow and mud added an extra challenge. The Arkali鈥檚 five-millimeter multidirectional聽Vibram lugs provided better grip than any hiking shoe I鈥檝e ever worn, but my feet felt substantially lighter, so much so that it was easy to break into a run on the way down the mountain.
The Arkali is more versatile than it聽looks. And with more people than ever trying to travel fast and light in the mountains, a sleek shoe that鈥檚 capable on technical terrain seems timely. While it looks hardcore, it could actually be what a lot of hikers鈥攅ven casual ones鈥攁re missing.聽