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Hoka Bondi 9 Review: OG Max Cushion Back on Top? Lighter, More Cushioned, Supercritical Foam!
Dec 24, 2024
In the video, we review the Hoka Bondi, the OG Max Cushion road trainer. A shockingly great update here putting the Bondi in the front pack of max cushion trainers: 00:00 Intro and Details, 06:20 Fit, 8:08 Ride with many Comparisons along the way 12:45 Conclusions
Releases Jan. 2025. $170
Samples were provided at no charge for testing purposes with no additional compensation. The opinions herein are entirely the author's
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Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
in the video I test and review the Hoka
0:02
Bondi $170 releasing January 2025 do not
0:07
tune out this is a giant update to the
0:10
venerable Bondi as we lose a lot of
0:12
weight to come in a very very
0:14
respectable 10.2 o 286 G we gained 2
0:19
millim more stack heite to a big 4338
0:23
stack heite and we get a full super
0:26
critical foamed EVA foam this is one
0:29
heck of a ride
0:30
and it now sits as a a very highly
0:33
cushioned daily trainer that's actually
0:35
lighter than many of its competitors
0:37
stay
0:38
tuned hello everybody let's talk about
0:41
this Bondi 9 it is definitely one of the
0:44
biggest surprises of 2024 this January
0:47
releasing Bondi 9 and the surprise is
0:50
the Bondi used to be kind of a plotter
0:53
it is definitely the OG Max cushion chew
0:56
but over the years with its compression
0:58
molded Eva uh so weight and kind of
1:02
lumbering ride it's one I kind of
1:04
dreaded trying but it's a popular shoe
1:07
so I said okay Hoka they sent me a
1:09
sample and I am shocked because what we
1:12
have here is one of the biggest
1:13
surprises of the year we get a full
1:16
super critical Eva uh midsole we get 2
1:21
mm more stack height than before we drop
1:24
in weight uh we used to be about 11 oz
1:27
in a us9 uh now we're going to come down
1:30
to about uh 10.2 o in my us 8.5 samples
1:36
that's 286 gam and uh while we're at it
1:40
that is going to be lighter and it's two
1:43
uh direct competitors here the glycerin
1:45
Max and the Nimbus 27 we're going to be
1:48
reviewing the Nimbus 27 real soon
1:51
because our um our Bondi 9 is not only
1:55
lighter but it has a I think a better uh
1:59
for me and anyway geometry in the sense
2:02
that it is a flex based shoe the others
2:04
are either rigid rocker or kind of
2:08
somewhere in between you can see after
2:09
two runs about 8 n miles look at that
2:12
Flex whereas but whereas in our uh
2:15
glycerin Max here and I'll try to do
2:17
this without tipping we got no flex
2:20
whatsoever it's a rigid rocker even
2:23
though it only has a mere uh let's see
2:28
here um millimeter and a half more stack
2:31
height so um the overall
2:34
geometry uh and you can see these Flex
2:36
grooves here over on our our Bondi here
2:40
we're relying on this very pronounced
2:42
rocker now it works really well this was
2:44
a really popular shoe for all our
2:46
contributors in our 20 204 survey um but
2:52
it is more rigid it requires a bit more
2:54
speed to kind of turn over um the same
2:57
sort of applies to the nimbus 27 here
3:00
we're reviewing it is more it is heavier
3:03
couple tents of an ounce it's also a
3:05
rigid shoe you can see doesn't have much
3:09
of a rocker um it's a fine shoe but uh
3:13
I'm kind of leaning to think that this
3:15
old warhorse here the Bondi is back and
3:20
back big time um so I mentioned it's a
3:23
supercritical Eva uh foam midsole I'll
3:26
give you the squeeze test here and show
3:28
you uh on the about the same with our um
3:32
glycerin Max but we have a dual density
3:34
we have a central core um with um a
3:38
smaller bubbles if you will I think the
3:40
central core is maybe a bit more
3:42
reactive um they're both highly highly
3:45
cushioned whereas over here in our
3:47
Nimbus uh 27 we have tried and true
3:51
flight foam blast plus Eco it's not not
3:54
that we know a super critical foam it's
3:55
a little firmer and it is definitely
3:57
duller than the bondy
4:00
I mentioned the platform is flexible and
4:03
I showed you you can see these Flex
4:05
grooves that go across the shoe that
4:08
gives us our Flex whereas in our um
4:12
glycerin max they're more longitudinal
4:14
for kind of a rolling effect and then
4:17
over here in our Nimbus also
4:20
longitudinal more for Rolling effect I
4:23
personally prefer some Flex in a shoe
4:26
that kind of bridges between daily
4:28
training Max cushion daily training and
4:30
kind of recovery slower runs or long
4:33
runs and this one really surprises me
4:36
the upper it is a engineered knit uh not
4:41
it's not a super stretchy knit it fits
4:43
super well I'll give you the commentary
4:45
uh from the from the run on the fit but
4:48
it's really good it's it's decently
4:51
plushly uh padded the heel hold is
4:54
really really good here it doesn't it's
4:56
it's total but it doesn't kind of
4:58
overgrip or feel overrided even though
5:00
we do have quite you know a sturdy heel
5:03
counter toe box plenty of room plenty
5:06
plenty for my medium to narrower feet
5:09
plenty of height they're also going to
5:11
be available of course in wide and extra
5:14
wide but with this little bit of stretch
5:17
here in the
5:18
knit uh you know if you're on the border
5:20
of wide you might try the regular um the
5:23
regular fit here uh this year so I've
5:26
taken them out twice on the run here on
5:28
the SE Co I'm going to give you my
5:29
impression is a fit ride and a bunch of
5:32
comparisons as I run along uh it is a
5:36
shocker the Bondi is back it sits right
5:40
in the top of the uh Max cushion daily
5:44
trainer category now uh kind of
5:47
returning or coming back from what it
5:49
was before a uh a sort of easy easy run
5:54
uh walking kind of shoe so it's fully
5:57
back to being a running a full-on
5:59
excellent running shoe and of course
6:01
those of you who want it for its stable
6:05
nice uh platform and ride for the slower
6:09
stuff or for walking you will not be
6:11
disappointed either I think okay stay
6:13
tuned thank
6:15
you okay let's talk about fit of our
6:18
Bondi
6:19
9 okay a really really fine fit here uh
6:25
this is an engineered knit you can see
6:28
but it's not one of those super stretchy
6:31
over stretchy knits uh it fits it feels
6:35
a bit more like a engineered mesh the
6:38
toe box is plenty of room for my narrow
6:43
to medium feet but very well held
6:45
they're also available in wide and extra
6:47
wide this is the big shoe um but I'm not
6:50
uh swimming around at all midfoot hold
6:53
is excellent going to keep an eye on the
6:55
tongue because we have no gusset and I
6:57
really really like the heel hold here
7:02
it's super solid but it's not overly
7:05
grippy and rigid which is kind of neat
7:08
um you can see there's quite a good size
7:10
kind of Elf there laces are easy maybe a
7:14
bit on the stretchy side I like laces
7:16
with a bit more gription but this is a
7:18
superb upper and a very substantial
7:21
plush one yet we only come in at you
7:25
know 10.2 Oz here and at 8.5 for that 4
7:29
43 38 stacky so very I think commendably
7:34
light for kind of the a plush giant shoe
7:37
and much lighter than the previous
7:39
version which which came in at a big
7:41
10.72 O 303 G in my us8.5 along with
7:46
this really fine super critical EVA foam
7:50
that just has a lot of rebound reminds a
7:53
bit of the Puma
7:55
Nitro um but I think a little maybe
7:57
touch softer here I'm going to keep keep
7:59
going a lot of deliveries it's getting
8:01
towards the holidays so what's the ride
8:04
feel like bouncy this isn't the dull
8:08
kind of thick ugly foam that was in
8:12
Prior Bondi this is a shoe that's fully
8:15
a Max cushion daily trainer for any
8:18
Runner of course it's maybe not your
8:21
speed trainer but it sits really well up
8:26
against the Nimbus 2627 going to talk
8:30
about those a bit later the glycerin
8:34
Max uh and it fits in nicely as a more
8:39
flexible unplated option to the more
8:42
expensive Skyward x with its carbon
8:45
plate I already kind of like the skyber
8:48
deex more more but it's you know it's
8:51
livelier it's quicker feeling it is
8:53
heavier and higher stack but it's this
8:58
is 30
9:01
$55 less money and what I really like
9:05
here is even though we have that
9:08
4338 stack heite the 38 mm 4ot has some
9:14
Flex because I'll show you the underside
9:18
but you can see these Flex grooves on
9:22
either side and that gives the shoe some
9:25
flex and the head Flex right out of the
9:27
box going to keep going well they took
9:29
out the house a beautiful old house
9:32
they're going to build something new but
9:33
another shoe comes to mind ghost Max two
9:38
not number two not number one from
9:40
Brooks little bit lower stack height DNA
9:44
laof E3 foam which is a super critical
9:48
not quite as energetic as this but also
9:50
I noticed even though we got 5 mm drop
9:54
here and that one has a I think a six um
9:59
the heel felt a little flatter on that
10:01
one this one I'm getting a better
10:04
rebound off the front but speaking a
10:07
rebound and kind of good geometry with
10:09
the flex here this shoe is much quieter
10:13
than the Nimbus 27 that one doesn't have
10:16
a
10:18
plate quite rigid and quite Slappy on
10:22
the road here and here we're smooth and
10:26
easy the household just SL now really
10:30
nicely this is a huge change for the
10:34
Bondi which the OG OG of Max Christian
10:40
Road trainers way back and then it
10:43
really just turned
10:45
into shoe I guess no sense for super
10:49
heavy Runners
10:51
maybe and a very good kind of walking
10:54
shoe I think I barely could catch the bo
10:59
here I'm really having fun so it's
11:02
definitely a shoe to consider for all of
11:06
us same folks that like the eight
11:12
before want a little more life their
11:15
step same idea same stability and faster
11:20
Runners who want a heavy duty trainer
11:25
recovery
11:26
shoe live got and head to the Harper
11:30
here little bit different direction than
11:34
usual hey there's one big Max that I
11:36
haven't run in is the Puma magmax with
11:39
Nitro foam nitrogen
11:42
infused which is I believe what's going
11:46
on here although they just stay super
11:48
critically foamed does feel a bit
11:51
different this is a bit springier yet
11:55
even a bit more lively than Puma's foam
11:58
in there trainers maybe a touch
12:01
softer really nice here big big big
12:07
surprise okay others that play in this
12:10
category the both of the adoras the
12:15
nucleo little bit more inherent
12:17
stability and the
12:19
cellula I get some real similar feels
12:23
from the foam here there that foam is
12:26
also similarly kind of well p P together
12:29
and energetic here we're a little little
12:33
bounce here a little more exciting but
12:35
still very solid very
12:38
stable okay we're getting a bit later in
12:40
the day not too many boats in the harbor
12:44
let me give you some conclusions here
12:47
this is my second run I ran a race
12:50
yesterday Four Mile pretty hard and this
12:53
is a great shoe to get over the race
12:56
from not that I'm too too sore
13:00
got that rebound you got the
13:04
stability you got enough softness but
13:06
not too
13:07
much we got a some out west they were
13:12
asking me about surf spots you got an
13:15
outsole that plays Super
13:17
well that provides some response but not
13:20
a lot of slapping you've got
13:23
Flex with with 4 38 up front is really
13:27
not easy to pull off so you can kind of
13:30
Move Along Lively and easier at slower
13:33
Paces um really a shocking
13:38
shocking update here the venerable Bondi
13:41
the OG of all Max cushions which was
13:45
just kind of sing under its own weight
13:47
for runners but was popular as a shoot
13:51
for walking and very moderate
13:55
running but now everybody or just about
13:58
every everybody can be happy you know
14:02
you want to go lighter by about an ounce
14:05
you go in the sky flow from H I didn't
14:07
find that one great it was pretty rigid
14:10
foam doesn't didn't feel the same firmer
14:14
still super critical foam but
14:17
firmer um but this is a really good shoe
14:21
in the middle that sort
14:23
of drops the Bondi from slow running
14:28
shoe straight into daily training
14:31
category from the more max variety
14:35
lighter than Skyward X Glen Max and
14:41
Nimbus 27 by a bit is at least equal
14:45
close to the same stat tights so really
14:50
competitive thank you very much for
14:53
watching have a great
14:55
run we're also going to have a full
14:58
multi tester written review on road
15:01
trail run real soon so stay tuned for
15:04
that
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