The HOKA Speedgoat has long been a benchmark for cushioned trail running shoes, offering forgiving comfort alongside heavy-duty off-road capability.

Now in its seventh iteration (duh!), the Speedgoat 7 introduces a series of refinements, including a lighter foam midsole and a redesigned woven upper intended to keep it ahead of an increasingly competitive field.

At £145, it enters a fiercely contested price bracket. We’ve been putting a pair through their paces across Canada’s gnarliest singletracks, gravel paths and technical ascents to see if HOKA’s signature trail shoe still delivers.

For	Against
Feel very well made	Shoes run small – you need to buy half a size bigger
Redesigned sole offers excellent grip	Black and white colourway gets dirty very easily
Cushioning but controlled on technical trails	Slim midfoot fit won’t suit every foot shape

Specification	Details
Price	£145
Colourways	Black/White, Fountain/Iceberg, Dark Cerulean, Goblin Blue
Upper	Woven RPET textile
Outsole	Vibram® Megagrip with 5mm Traction Lugs
Weight	278g per pair (Men’s UK 8.5)

What does the new HOKA Speedgoat 7 have to offer?

The Speedgoat 7 may retain the familiar silhouette of its predecessors, but there is plenty going on under the laces to keep rival trail shoes on their toes. 

For starters, there’s a revised woven recycled polyester upper that replaces the engineered mesh of previous generations, offering structural integrity and abrasion resistance but keeping overall weight down.

The big news, though, is its updated supercritical EVA midsole foam. It’s designed to provide HOKA’s trademark high-stack cushioning without feeling like you’re bouncing around on a marshmallow – the last thing you need on ever-changing trails.

The foam sits above a revised Vibram® Megagrip outsole featuring new 5mm Traction Lugs, specifically arranged to improve bite on loose or slippery ground.

HOKA has also introduced a Meta-Rocker geometry working alongside an integrated Active Foot Frame to keep your foot cradled safely inside the shoe rather than sitting on top of it. 

Inside, a dual-gusseted tongue helps keep trail debris out, while a lay-flat padded construction minimises pressure across the top of your foot.

Wearing – what is the HOKA Speedgoat 7 like?

Pull these latest Speedgoats out of their box and immediately you can tell they’re a high-quality pair of shoes. They feel very well made throughout, from the seamless overlays around the toe cap to the weave of the upper fabric and the rugged rubber lugs underneath. The overall finish feels sturdy and premium.

Our pair sported the black and white colourway, and they look particularly good. However, it’s worth noting that (naturally) the white sections get dirty very easily out on the trails. After just one outing on wet soil and dusty paths, the bright white midsole and upper accents on ours picked up a decent layer of trail grime that couldn’t be shifted. 

But even before that, slipping them on revealed the sizing needs careful consideration. As with previous iterations, the shoes size up small – you need to buy half a size bigger to ensure your toes have enough room, particularly on steep, technical descents where your feet naturally push forward.

However, once you’ve nailed the sizing, the Speedgoat 7s feel like a real go-to for off-road outings – on the move, the ride is downright impressive. 

Where high-stack shoes can sometimes feel squishy or unstable, here the cushioning isn’t too spongy; it has good control and a predictable firmness that absorbs harsh trail impacts while maintaining a strong energy return.

And despite the relatively tall stack height, the platform feels remarkably stable. Thanks to the wide base and cradled footbed, the shoes are extremely planted when negotiating tree roots, uneven rocks, and sharp camber changes.

Backing this up is excellent grip. The new Vibram® Megagrip rubber and aggressive 5mm lugs bite effortlessly into wet grass, sludgy mud, and slick rocks, giving you real confidence when descending at speed in wet or dry weather alike. 

And It’s well worth mentioning the redesigned tongue, which splays across the foot, keeping things comfortable and trail debris on the outside. We also didn’t have any issues with the laces coming undone mid-run or any pressure points across the top of the foot. 

To finish

HOKA has refined a shoe that has set the standard for cushioned trail running for some time. 

The Speedgoat 7 maintains the long-distance comfort and protection of its predecessors while introducing a cleaner, more responsive underfoot feel.

They do size up small, and you’ll want to be mindful of colour selection if you regularly tackle thick mud. But for a pair of trail shoes that feel very well made, offer excellent grip, and stay extremely planted across technical terrain, it’s hard not to be impressed by what HOKA has achieved with this latest generation shoe. 

Rory White