What do runners do on the first day of the year? Run of course. Better yet, run on the start of a new year with a new pair of running shoes.
Thus, in the morning hour of Jan 1, 2021, 7am to be exact, the Bicolano Penguin (BP) was lacing on a pair of HOKA Rincon 2 for a 5km run in the village. Had a nice jaunt. My soles happy to be feeling that pillowy cushioning that HOKAs are famously known for. On that brief run, I experienced, yet again, the brand promise of HOKA: the feeling of flying and running easy, effortless.
True indeed and through the years, the BP has had the blissful journey with HOKA running shoes like the Stinson , Mafate and Bondi. These are all well-cushioned behemoths that have the twice amount of cushioning as standard running shoes - and were designed with ultrarunners who run races of 50+ kms in mind. Ultrarunners felt, and I share this sentiment, extra cushioning helped protect their legs from the shock of running long races. But these super cushioned HOKAs comes with a heavy price: they are heavy. The Bondi is 9.9 oz while the Stinson is at 10.4 oz and the Mafate comes at a staggering 14.7 oz.
In recent years, HOKA has been introducing lighter models while at the same time trying to remain true to its brand DNA of super cushioning. The Clifton series, now on its 7th edition, is a success story and is tagged by Hoka itself as "the shoe that changed runners' perception of what HOKA could be." The verdict is still out with the Fly Collection of HOKA with the Elevon, Mach and Cavu not yet gaining a cult following among the HOKA faithfuls.
And now comes the HOKA Rincon and it looks like there is a wave of support building up for it. First introduced in mid-2019, the Rincon has garnered some impressive reviews on its debut. Most impressive is it being named as Runner's World Editor's Choice in the Fall of 2019. By July-Aug 2020, the Rincon 2 was released and the reviewers in Runner's World continue to rave about it. YouTube's running legend James Seth DeMoor has compared Rincon 2 favorably over the Clifton 7.
Curious with what the hype is all about, the BP purchased a pair of the Rincon 2 late December 2020. The plan was to have a new pair for running on the 1st day of the New Year., for good running karma so to speak.
Opening the box, what greeted me was a cool sight of the Hoka Rincon 2 in the Vintage Indigo/Tofu colorway. Cool and comely. My vision sense was happy. Never underestimate the power of 1st impressions. Soon the promising 1st impression is to be be boosted by the key features of the Hoka Rincon 2.
Bouncy Soft
Putting on the Rincon 2 for the first time, the pillowy soft feel, that HOKA, is known for is unmistakable. This pair is definitely a HOKA. The maximalist midsole is a signature staple of HOKA running shoes and the Rincon 2 keeps up with tradition.
Like all HOKAs, the material for the Rincon 2's midsole is EVA which stands for ethyl vinyl acetate, a man-made material which is considered foam. This is co-polymer of ethylene (C2H4) and vinyl acetate (CH3CO2CHCH2). What makes EVA a good choice for shoes (running or walking) is the "low-temperature" toughness, stress-crack resistance, waterproof properties, and resistance to UV-radiation.
In the Rincom 2 (like in the Rincon 1), the HOKA designers gave a full stack of its lightweight EVA foam to make the shoe soft and bouncy without being heavy. Speaking of stack, the stacked height of Rincon 2 is comparable to other HOKAs I have like the Bondi, the Mafate Speed and the Carbon.
Surprisingly Light
The stacked height are same at 29mm but the Rincon 2 (7.7 oz) is lighter by 1 oz than the Clifton 7 (8.7 oz). How was the weight reduction achieved?
Three things were done in the Rincon to keep the weight down. First is a light upper: a single-layer mesh for Rincon 1 and a refined engineered mesh for Rincon 2. Second is a thin tongue that reduces additional weight. Third is strategic zones of outsole rubber. Unlike the Clifton 7 with rubber all over the outsole, the Rincon 2 has plenty of exposed foam. It is a tradeoff for minimal weight and maximum speed.
Affordability
At US$ 115, the price point of the HOKA Rincon is at a sweet spot when compared to other HOKA models and with other lightweight road running shoes from other running brands.
Locally, the HOKA running shoes are available with RUNNR. This 2020 Christmas Holiday Season, the local running store had the #GiftOfRunning promo where the running shoes were offered at half the price. Thus, I was blessed to procure the Rincon 2 at Php 3,200 (half that of the original selling price of Php 6,400). Great deal indeed.
In conclusion, the HOKA Rincon is an excellent shoes for running, and even walking. It feels speedy without skimping on cushioning.
It is yet another successful offering from HOKA which is dubbed by Forbes magazine as the running "Sports Fastest Growing (Crisis-Proof) Sneaker Star." While the US Industry showed a 65% decline in athletic footwear sales, HOKA had a 58% rise on its 2019 sales figures. Granted, it is still small compared to established giants (HOKA's annual revenue is US$ 353 M vs. Nike's US$ 24 B), but HOKA is making some significant noise in the running world. In 2019, it made Footwear News Top 10 best-selling running brands globally. In the same Forbes magazine article, the success of the running brand HOKA can be ascribed to "an ethos of inclusivity that includes marrying elite athleticism with back-of-the-pack effort and ultra-human narratives."
I like the sound of it. Come to think of it, many of the die-hard fans of HOKA are more likely to be back-of-the-pack weekend running warriors like you and me. The 5-hour and above marathoners among us probably outnumber the sub 4 marathoners by at least a margin of 20 is to 1. Makes sense then for aspiring and growing running brand like HOKA to listen to the pain points and needs of back-of-the-pack "athletes."
In the Rincon 2, HOKA has responded to these needs in coming up with a soft, light and speedy running shoes at best in class affordability.
Time to fly again.
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