Max
My first introduction to the HOKA Speedgoat came with the Speedgoat 3. I was just getting into trail running at the time when a friend asked if I wanted to tag along for a trail running trip to the Great Smoky Mountains. I obliged and, despite working with the Fleet Feet Chicago team at the time, I didn’t own a single pair of trail shoes. I know they say “nothing new on race day,” but I stopped into the Fleet Feet Old Town store a day before I was scheduled to leave and walked out with the HOKA Speedgoat 3. They’ve been well-loved ever since, and I’ve completely worn the treads off.
Fast forward five years later when I laced up the Speedgoat 6 for a trail run in Labagh Woods, right within Chicago’s city limits. It’s probably the most technical trail I can get to within a 30-minute drive and I really wanted to put these to the test. Lacing them up, I noticed a few things about the upper and the fit of the shoe. For one, the shoe fits snugger than I remember, to the point I would say they do indeed fit “small.” I heard many trail runners had issues with the Speedgoat 5’s upper stretching last year, causing lockdown issues in the midfoot, so I have a feeling that issue has been resolved in this update.