Hoka Challenger 8 Review | Road Comfort with Trail-Ready Improvements

Our review of the updated Hoka Challenger 8 as an ideal road to trail option.During our 3 week running trip to New Zealand I limited myself to 2 pairs of shoes, one of those was indeed the Hoka Challenger. It’s a shoe that I have found comfortable for a variety of miles and that can transition for different needs.

Which is to say I was probably a little biased towards liking the shoe prior to ever trying it on…which as we know can be a big let down. But it wasn’t! Let’s talk through what’s changed and who’s going to enjoy this shoe.

While I would never call this the best trail shoe because it’s simply not designed to be that, it’s absolutely a top road to trail running shoe that can handle more trail than many other options.

Hoka Challenger 8 Overview

One of the biggest changes to the Challenger 8 is moving from a well known feature of Hoka the 5mm heel to toe drop to an 8mm. I admit this doesn’t make me super happy, but also the extra cushion is really lovely.

So it’s a trade off that I consider a win. Especially when we look at some of the other changes that took what was already a good shoe and upgraded it without losing the purpose.

The Challenger is more than a gravel shoe like the Salomon Aero Glide Gravel and less than a hard core trail shoe like the Saucony Xodus. We’ll talk comparison to the Speedgoat later. You can absolutely use this shoe just to handle local travels of crushed gravel, but you should feel confident taking them out on more. The 4mm outsole lugs are going provide more traction on those intermediate trails with some bigger rocks, loose dirt, etc. But without the Vibram grip they won’t be a sticky for wet or truly technical Colorado offroading.

What’s key here is that usually I would NOT wear my trail shoes on the road because of wear on the lugs. But that’s what these are designed for and the softer rubber means it’s comfortable on roads, though true a lot of road and very little trail will wear them down.

Additionally, you’ll notice the midfoot (right around the arch) is exposed rubber on the outsole, which is going to help with it feeling good on the roads. It will allow you to feel that cushion and leave the traction for those uphill/downhill needs.

The cushion in this shoe is one of the reasons that I turn to it again and again. They’ve added 10mm more cushion to this version and it makes me mildly nervous because we don’t need everything to be max cushion, but it down differentiates it more from the Speedgoat.

You’ll find this is a soft cushion. The additional amount does lessen some ground contact feel, which isn’t a huge deal when not on technical trails and can make them more comfortable for long days for running or hiking.Despite the soft cushion and big stack, this shoe feels really stable.

The outsole has been redesigned and part of that created a bit wider base for the extra cushion. That means you can roll through the trail comfortably and quite exciting you’ll see the new toe bumper.  In upgrading this shoe for the trails, they took in to account that so many of us tend to kick things and we appreciate that.

The Challenger is an ideal comfort shoe for road to moderate trail running days. You’re feet will feel comfortable, while you feel secure stepping out on the dirt.

Hoka Challenger 8 Fit

This feels like a really normal Hoka shoe fit for me. If you’re new to Hoka, I wear a size 11 in them and in pretty much all other running shoes.

They are not a narrow fit shoe, rather fairly average. I found the volume through the mid-foot to be accommodating to more foot shapes, but still very easy to lock down with lacing. The toebox may have improved some in size, but don’t expect a wide toe box.Honestly, I thought so very little about the fit of this shoe while wearing it that I’m having to really look it over to give you details. That for me is the sign of a very good fit.

The heel is padded, as are the tongue and collar. All fit well with no rubbing or excessive movement. While the tongue is not gusseted, the lacing seemed to keep it in place happily.

I DID need heel lock lacing to get a secure fit. At first I wasn’t sure this would be possible, but once I tightened up the midfoot I had enough lacing. It just felt like too much space around the heel until I did that.

The upper is their standard breathable mesh, I don’t feel like I have a whole lot to say here. It’s pretty standard, it’s really comfortable and hey I like the look of it as well.

Hoka Speedgoat vs Challenger

As many of us are trying to figure out which shoe is right for us and then a brand has some that often look similar, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. I happen to love both the Speedgoat 6 and the Challenger…but they have very different uses.

If I am going for a true trail day, 100% I’m grabbing the Speedgoat.

• Speedgoat has a firmer feeling underfoot
• Speedgoat has that Vibram outsole for better traction
• Speedgoat feels like a slimmer shoe with ability to pick up the pace
• Challenger now has the 8mm drop to the Speedgoat 5mm
• Challenger is a higher stack, heavier shoe
• Speedgoat is your faster, more technical shoe
• Challenger is your comfort option, less ideal for slick situtations

What to read next?

• Checkout all of our trail running shoe reviews
• Training for Downhill Races
• Trail Running With Your Dog Do’s and Don’ts