Hoka Bondi 4 Review

Hoka Bondi 4 Review

  
 
 
 

I’ve been a long time Hoka wearer and recently picked up a pair of the new itenneration of the Bondi. For the past few years the Bondi has been my go-to shoe for the majority of my training and the Bondi 2 was (until this model) the best and longest lasting running shoe I’ve worn as well. (over 600 miles) Both the Bondi 2 and 3 suffered from some serious design flaws though, so I was curious to see if they had been corrected.

The Bondi 2 had a bad problem in that the fabric upper began to rip apart from the sole on both shoes within 300 miles, rendering them useless for trail runs since they then had no lateral support. The Bondi 3 corrected this by providing a 2 layer upper that is much more resistant to tearing. The problem encountered was that the two layers together made the shoe extremely poor at draining water. The shoe would stay filled with water if any got inside, rendering it unusable in wet conditions or even during hot humid days during which it would fill with sweat. Another big issue with the Bondi 3 (as well as the Conquest) is that it had a very prominent heel cup which would rub against and erode away the skin on my Achilles. I solved this by cutting off the heel cups of both shoes. The Bondi 3 also had a very flimsy tongue and came with (removable) speed laces, which caused the shoe to fit loose overall, but tight across the top of the foot.

So far the Bondi 4 seems to have solved these problems. They went back to a breathable single layer upper which has firmer attachments in the lateral stress zones of the shoe. The heel cup is also further back and much better padding. They include two different stackable insoles for the shoe, allowing for a comfortable fit regardless of foot size. (my feet are pretty wide and it fits great with the smaller insole) Gone is the flimsy tongue and speed laces and the comfortable tongue and laces of the Bondi 2 are back. I haven’t had the opportunity to really get the shoe extremely wet and see how fast it drains but for the few rainy runs I have been on, it has performed well. They seemed to have made the foam slightly firmer making is handle faster paces a bit easier, but not too firm like Hoka did with the Conquest. I'm looking forward to continued training in these.

Overall I would give the Bondi 4 a 4.5/5 so far. It’s a great training shoe for road and soft trails and if prior experience hold true it should last for 600-800 miles. Still not my go-to shoe for racing, as I prefer the Stinson for running ultras in.

Disclaimer: I am not paid by Hoka or any shoe companies/sales forces. Actually I am not paid for this at all and paid a lot for my shoes, so enjoy an non-sponsored shoe review for once. If you want to share this review please credit me.