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Hoka Mafate 5 Review. Up in Stack Height and Plushness! From Trails with Views of the Mont Blanc
Sep 6, 2025
The Mafate goes up in stack height and plushness!
Multi Tester Written Review:
https://www.roadtrailrun.com/2025/07/hoka-mafate-5-review-deeply-capable-4.html
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
Today we're going to take a look at the
0:01
Hoka Mafatti 5. $185 and out. Now, it is
0:05
a max cushion trail runner. And in fact,
0:08
the original Mafati was the original
0:10
original max cushion shoe. It sits on a
0:13
notably broad soft platform with 5mm
0:16
lugs of mega grip traction lug. You can
0:19
see just how broad the the heel is. It
0:22
has a warp knit upper um that is very
0:25
comfortable with a generous fit. Let's
0:28
get into it. Today, after all kinds of
0:30
runs and even some trekking, I took him
0:31
high above Li Marikott and I had
0:34
spectacular views of the Mlau which I'll
0:37
show you as I do my commentary.
0:39
Hi everybody, Sam from Road Trail Run
0:41
coming to you from the Valet region of
0:44
Switzerland. Then just over the
0:45
mountains there is Shamani where there
0:48
were plenty of our Hoka Maf five on the
0:52
streets and on the trails as Katrina
0:55
Hardmouth of Germany finished third in
0:58
the big race UTMB in a pair. So while
1:02
this giant isn't a carbon plated kind of
1:06
trail runner, it sure can perform. So um
1:09
let me get a sip of local beer here.
1:12
Valzan. And let's get into it. Um, what
1:16
I'm also going to show you is um, uh,
1:19
some beautiful scenery and views of the
1:20
MLAN as I took them up for a hike uh,
1:24
right above us here. And I'll describe
1:27
the ride and the fit in a bit more
1:29
detail on foot up there. So, please stay
1:32
tuned. So, our Hoka Mafade 5 is a giant
1:37
of a shoe with a 45 mm heel, 37 mm
1:42
forefoot. That that's five uh
1:44
millimeters more at the heel than the
1:47
Maf Speed 4 and 2 mm more at the
1:51
forefoot. And what Hoka set out to do,
1:54
at least what I think, is create a soft
1:57
and very leg um leg friendly shoe that
2:01
could handle just about any trail. We'll
2:03
get into the midsole, but let's take a
2:05
look at the 5 mm uh VBR Mega Grip with
2:10
uh traction lugs. So, I've not only run
2:13
them in New Hampshire, uh, on moderate
2:16
trails, rail trails, and so on, but I
2:18
also took them trekking here, um, over,
2:22
uh, just over the mountain. And here's
2:24
what that kind of looked like.
2:27
And, uh, I've taken them today. I also
2:30
took on a pretty rugged hike up above
2:33
here, about 3,000 uh, vertical feet of
2:35
climbing. So, let's talk about the
2:37
midsole a little bit. So what Hoka has
2:40
done here with the midsole is they have
2:42
gone with a super critical EVA. The
2:45
black here you can see it's quite soft.
2:48
Uh the teal colored material is a
2:52
compressed EVA. Not it's a bit denser in
2:56
feel not super firm as well. You can see
2:59
those flexing grooves. Well this is a
3:02
relatively flexible shoe and to keep it
3:05
stable and you can see the shiny there.
3:08
uh Hoka incorporated a uh plastic uh uh
3:13
plate system and that's kind of
3:15
essential given the softness of this
3:17
shoe. You can even see here, you know,
3:20
you can see I'm pressing in. This is one
3:23
soft trail runner. Uh that has its
3:26
advantages and disadvantages. The
3:29
advantage is you've got a lot of comfort
3:32
for long miles. The disadvantage might
3:34
be that instead of kind of a platform
3:37
you land on, you've got kind of a feel
3:39
that adapts to the terrain. Let's talk
3:42
about the warpn knit upper with a
3:45
dynamic vamp up front. Uh it fits me
3:49
true to size, but with my narrower to
3:51
medium feet, but this is definitely a
3:54
roomy upper. There'll be a wide, but I
3:56
think uh a lot of folks who typically
3:58
might go wide in a trail runner trail
4:01
running shoe will end up going regular
4:04
here. So, it's probably a good idea to
4:05
try them on. You'll see um in this
4:09
picture how tightly I have them laced
4:11
up. There's a moderate toe bumper. The
4:16
fit is really comfortable and and really
4:18
plays well with the overall comfort of
4:21
the shoe. Heel hold is excellent. We
4:23
have a real semi kind of pliable heel
4:26
counter with lots of padding. The tongue
4:29
is unpadded. Very comfortable. Lace ups
4:34
nice and easy. Real good quality laces
4:37
in this $185 shoe. So, let now let me
4:41
show let's take them up on the mountain
4:43
and give you some scenery and further
4:45
comments. But uh to kind of uh briefly
4:48
summarize, this is a shoe focused on
4:51
overall kind of mile or kilometer after
4:55
kilometer comfort. Uh not only is it a
4:58
fine u trail runner, but uh for those
5:01
who want to use it as a hiking or
5:03
walking shoe, you probably won't find
5:05
anything quite as ca as capable of as
5:09
this uh giant of a shoe. yet its
5:12
softness is not so soft that they're
5:16
unstable or kind of out of control. So,
5:19
let's get up on the mountain.
5:28
Okay, we're at about 2,000 mters above
5:31
the Mahikut in our Maf 5. They bounce
5:36
you right along. The 5 mm mega grip is
5:38
super super grippy. Um, this is a soft
5:42
shoe. Kind of conforms to the ground
5:44
even with its plate. Uh, the upper is
5:47
very roomy. I think I'm quite well held
5:50
for my narrow medium kind of feet. Uh,
5:54
if you have really narrow feet, I think
5:56
you might struggle a bit here. You can
5:57
see I have the XBionic anatomic socks.
6:02
Fairly heavy. Not a thin sock, but not a
6:04
thick one. Uh, but lace up is really
6:07
good. You can see I got them pretty
6:08
tight. Got a great toe bumper. Lots of
6:11
toe box room here. There's just no no
6:14
issues really, I think, for just about
6:16
anybody. I think they're even available
6:17
in a wide, but I don't think very many
6:20
really will need. There's no question
6:22
it's a really fine hiking and trekking
6:25
shoe and also
6:29
of course a really good trail runner.
6:31
For the speedier runner, I think it's
6:34
more the long shoe, long distance shoe.
6:40
um can be a great everyday trainer
6:44
because it has all the cushion you could
6:45
want. It has lots and lots of traction
6:50
and it's
6:53
uh smooth running for despite that big
6:57
stack height. So here I'm going to
7:00
decide what I'm going to do. Not sure
7:03
I'm headed into the cliffs though.
7:07
Beautiful. So that's the Ron Valley down
7:10
below. La Cruz is where the lift was.
7:16
And one more shot of the Mlau.
7:19
Uh for the walker, the person who just
7:21
wants a comfortable shoe for walking,
7:24
standing around,
7:26
working. Excellent, excellent choice
7:28
here for that. I'm sure there'll be a
7:31
Gortex version soon. So for your winter
7:34
walks, walk the dog, you really won't
7:36
find anything quite as kind of plush and
7:41
versatile as as this shoe. One thing you
7:44
really notice here is how the um it
7:48
conforms to terrain really well without
7:52
getting overly unstable despite the
7:55
softness. It's just a really pleasant
7:57
pleasant feeling as you head downhill or
8:00
uphill for that matter with a a little
8:03
bit of bounce or quite a bit of bounce
8:06
but not out of control bounce and our
8:09
plate is plays a really good role. So
8:13
probably a little bit of rock protection
8:14
but there's so much foam and rubber but
8:17
more kind of to stabilize and provide a
8:20
touch of propulsion.
8:22
But all in all, this big update to the
8:24
Maf with more stack height, the nylon
8:28
plate to stabilize things and give a
8:30
little propulsion, and this really fine
8:34
upper is, I would say, a big big
8:37
success. The Hoka Maf5 is available now,
8:40
$185.
8:42
And I hope you have a great run or a
8:45
hike wherever your trails take you.
8:47
Thank you very much for watching.