Many keen runners will have at least
seen Hoka One One trail running shoes, with their big chubby soles
they are hard to miss. While the rest of the running shoe industry
seemed to be going for minimalist, ultra-light shoes with very little
cushioning, Hoka went the other way – what is sometimes called
‘maximalist’ cushioning. The Hoka One One Tor Ultra Hi WPs (yes,
silly name, I will just call them the Tors from now on) have applied
that maximalist cushioning to walking boots. Alternatively you could
perhaps think of them as supportive, protective trail shoes with an
ankle added.
I have to admit
the slightly bizarre aesthetics of the Tors is what first led me to
ask if I could review a pair, but after six months of use I can now
say they are despite looking odd they are fantastically comfortable
and capable hiking boots. Compared to more traditional leather three
season walking boots they are light (Hoka says 970 grams for a pair
of UK 7s). They certainly feel light when you wear them, more like
approach shoes than boots. I’ve even clipped them on to the back of
my harness and carried them up rock routes – they are a bit bulky
to be perfect for this but they aren’t too heavy. They are also
just ridiculously comfortable compared to more “classic” walking
boots. The biggest proof of this for me is that after a day of
wearing them in the mountains I’m quite happy to just get in the
car and drive home with them still on. Normally after a day in hiking
boots or winter climbing boots there is that lovely feeling of
pulling them off and putting your trainers on before getting in the
car, but not with the Hoka One One Tors. Hoka say the boots have
“late stage meta-rocker geometry, active foot frame stability”
and “full length EVA top midsole for cushioning” – I’m sure
this is all true although I don’t know exactly what it means. But,
basically, whether walking for miles on flat hard surfaces like the
flagstone sections of the Pennine Way over Kinder or hoping between
rocks on bare, rock-strewn mountain tops like Tryfan, I found the
Tors wonderfully comfortable. In many ways they feel like a comfy
padded running shoe, but with more protection around your foot when
bashing through scree and more support around your ankle when walking
over rough terrain.
The boots are waterproofed by using an
eVent liner and so far this has worked perfectly even for walking for
long periods in very wet and muddy conditions. I’ve always been a
bit suspicious of how long liners can last in boots, but I had a pair
of Merrells with a Goretex liner that stayed waterproof for years
despite loads of use, so hopefully these will last as well. The
eVent also seems to breath well enough to keep my feet from getting
to hot when the weather isn’t so lousy. I wouldn’t recommend
these boots for summer hiking in hot weather, but for the UK except
for high summer they seem well rather suited.
The Tors have a “Vibram® MegaGrip
Hi-Traction Outsole with 5mm Lugs”. The grip offered by these soles
has also turned out to be superb – the lugs grip well in mud and
wet grass but the boots also work surprisingly well where friction is
central – be that on lichen-covered grit boulders or slimey
limestone slabs, and even more surprisingly on polished slabby holds
on classic mountain scrambles. The last thing I expected from these
boots is for them to work for scrambling, but having worn them up
Tryfan’s North Ridge and Bristly Ridge they were great. They of
course didn’t edge well on small positive holds like an alpine boot
will due to the softness of the midsole, but on bigger holds and
slabby moves they were just fine.
I’ve found just one problem with the
Hokas, the stitching around the top of the ankle cuff (in cheery
contrasting yellow thread) has snapped and is starting to unravel a
bit. The swift application of lighter to the nylon thread will stop
it unraveling any further, but this seems to be a problem with this
sort of stitching on exposed sections of footwear, particularly where
the thread is in a stretchy material like the neoprene cuff here.
Another ‘issue’ which may or may not be seen as a problem is that
the flat profile of the sole means that there is no groove for the
underfoot strap of a gaiter. If you have gaiters with wire straps
under-foot this might work although I picked up some shorty gaiters
with a very narrow neoprene strap from Decathlon thinking they might
works with the Tors, but they still don’t. As said before, the Tors
seems very waterproof when walking through typical hill bogs but of
course any boot will leak if water comes over the top, and I still
think that gaiters have their place for hiking in Britain.
But, besides the gaiter issue, I think
the Hoka One One Tor Ultra Hi WP are great boots for three season
hiking in the UK, be that multiday backpacking on rolling (and often
muddy) moorland or the more abrupt up and downs of the mountains. If
you like the soft comfort and lack of weight of hiking in running
shoes but want the protection, waterproofing, and traction of
‘proper’ hiking boots, then the Tors are well worth considering.
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