With a massive heel stack height of 46 millimeters for women and 48 for men, the Skyward X could easily feel clunky and cumbersome. But the combination of technologies used work together to create a smooth, easy ride.

There are three layers to the Skyward X’s midsole. First, a PEBA foam sits right underfoot, providing a bit of pep and bounce. Underneath that is a convex-shaped carbon-fiber plate that compresses as you land and springs back as you take off. Lastly, an EVA foam at the bottom works in conjunction with HOKA’s signature rocker shape to make heel-to-toe transitions as smooth and efficient as possible.

“Each time I ran in the Skyward X, the word that kept coming to mind was smooth,” says Mandy, who’s starting to train for the Pilot Mountain to Hanging Rock Ultra. “I felt as if I was rolling through my runs and could run forever. This included both weekend long runs and shorter after-work runs. I liked running hillier sections in these shoes more than flatter sections because the combination of the carbon plate, cushioning and rocker shape allowed me to really let ‘er rip when going downhill.”

I also noticed that, because the cushioning isn’t overly soft, my feet weren’t sinking into the enormous stack of cushioning. Moreover, my feet were actually sitting inside the cushioning rather than on top of it (HOKA calls this their Active Foot Frame), adding some inherent stability.

While the Skyward X offers a smooth ride, we all agreed that it wouldn’t be our first choice for speedwork due to its weight.

“Between the rocker shape, the midsole foam, and the carbon plate, the ride of the Skyward X feels pretty smooth,” says Travis, an elite marathoner who typically prefers lightweight shoes. “However, I would not say that this shoe is particularly fast or snappy. It feels pretty heavy overall. For just cruising and getting time on my feet, the Skyward X is fantastic to absorb the impact of all the miles. However, once I tried to pick up the pace in this, it felt like too much shoe overall.”

Even though I’m nowhere near as fast as Travis, I have to agree. I wore the Skyward X on an easy-paced recovery run and a moderate-paced long run and, while they felt great at those paces, I could tell I wouldn’t want to wear them for anything faster. I’m going to add these to my rotation once marathon training starts and I’m logging plenty of long runs on tired legs.

The HOKA Skyward X is topped off with a flat-knit upper offering zones of perforated material to increase breathability. The knit material is pretty thick, and I had my reservations about how breathable the shoe would be—but after a 12-mile run in extremely humid weather, my doubts were quelled.

With plush padding on the tongue and heel collar, it feels like everything you’d expect from a luxury trainer. A tapered heel collar reduces chafing and irritation on your achilles, and extra eyelets allow you to tie the marathon loop to lock down the fit.

“The Skyward X feels incredibly secure on my feet,” says Heather, an ultra runner and mother of two kids. “I have a slightly wider forefoot and appreciated the space up front–there was no rubbing along the problem spots on my feet at all. I also have a high instep and felt great about the depth of the shoe. The materials look good and give enough of a premium feel that, in my opinion, justify the price point.”

While we all enjoyed the materials, some of us had issues with the fit. I noticed that, during my first test run, the left shoe felt like it was squeezing my pinky toe. My left foot is slightly wider than my right, and once I switched to a thinner pair of socks the issue went away…but Ashley wasn’t so lucky.

“While I’m normally a huge HOKA fan, the fit of the Skyward X just felt off to me,” she says, as she plans to wear HOKAs for her upcoming 100K race. “The midfoot fit feels too loose unless I really cinch them down. And the toebox feels too narrow if the midfoot is cinched the way I want them.”

If you have slightly wider feet (I measure a C in my left foot according to my fit id® scan, which is in between medium and wide for women), I recommend trying these shoes on at your local Fleet Feet. Fleet Feet outfitters use 3D fit id® foot scanning technology to gather information about your feet and the support they need by taking precise measurements of your foot length, width and arch height.

The HOKA Skyward X is a completely new model from HOKA, but I couldn’t help but be reminded of the HOKA Bondi X, which released in 2021. Both shoes paired ultra-high stack heights with carbon-fiber plates, and I spent the majority of my long training runs for the Flying Pig Marathon in the Bondi X.

For runners who fell in love with the Bondi X, only to be disappointed when it never updated, the Skyward X should more than make up for it. The Skyward X offers more cushioning and more innovative technology than the Bondi X.

Rather than a full compression-molded EVA midsole like what’s used in the Bondi X, the Skyward X ups the ante with a dual layer midsole composed of both PEBA foam and supercritical EVA foam. Supercritical foams are made up of multiple tiny cells and they offer more responsiveness at a lighter weight than traditional midsole compounds.

While the Skyward X is 10 dollars more than the Bondi X, the price difference makes sense for two reasons–the Bondi X came out three years ago and the price of shoes has unfortunately gone up since then, and, most importantly, I believe it’s a better shoe.

“Compared to the Bondi X, the Skyward X feels softer and more runnable thanks to the PEBA and EVA blended foam,” Travis agrees.

Some of our Instagram followers have asked us about how the Skyward X compares to the Mach X. The shoes serve two different purposes. The Mach X is over an ounce lighter than the Skyward X, and it serves as a firmer, faster shoe for speedwork and even race day.