Hoka

Arahi 7

Men's

Snug width, but okay. Tried for walking on streets, not enough support overall. Felt like middle of the bottom of shoe gives in and feels like your walking on a hard surface. Not enough support, felt very flimsy. Liked the color (Dark Blue and white) wish Bondi came in that color.

The Arahi 7 in wides are more narrow than previous versions of the Arahi lineup. I wish they brought back the responsive instead of the balanced they have now. The Gaviota 5 are excellent for wide feet but the plush design is way to soft. I've had 3 pairs of the Arahi 5, 1 pair of thr Arahi 6, 1 pair of the Gaviota 5 and now one pair of the disappointing Arahi 7. The perfect fit would be the Gaviota 5 in wide with a responsive cushioning. So far the Arahi 5 have been the best for the Arahi line up. If Arahi made an extra wide it may be better. We shall see but the Arahi 7 is a disappointment, to me anyway.

The usual Hoka quality. However, I had to return the shoes, not for quality problems but because I have a very high arch, which prevented me to even fit into the shoe.

I've been running in Arahi 6's since they initially came out, running three marathons in them and other races in them, so I was extremely disappointed with the new version. Because I couldn't tolerate the 7's on my foot, I had to race with my old 6's instead of the new ones I bought for my upcoming race. I don't know exactly what changed, but the toe box feels more narrow, toe bruises and blood blisters started to form on some light break in runs I had planned before the race. The ankles also rub something fierce compared to the 6's which caused issues on race day with my old shoes. I still finished the race, but my performance suffered due to the pain I had on my feet going in. It's a shame because after a spinal fusion surgery these were the best shoes I could find for distance/endurance running for me without a tremendous amount of back pain. That went out the window with the 7's, even a few mile shake out run caused pain. I'll have to go to the drawing board and find a new brand or try out the Graviota's (which I don't have a lot of faith in now).