Hoka Mafate Speed 5 Review

by Andrew Drummond

The Mafate 5 has landed. The revision comes three years after the release of the Mafate Speed 4, which has been a favorite of trail runners across the globe. Our biggest fear was that Hoka would ruin a good thing, like they did the with Speedgoat 6. I'm happy to say they made a great shoe, that is somewhat of a neutral upgrade from the MS4. 

What's New

The Mafate 5 boasts several new features but here's what I found new and different. 

• Fit: The overall fit is true to size, no change there. The first thing you notice is the squishy super critical heel foam. It feels great but we'll see what happens throughout the life of the shoe. The upper looks and feels more rugged. There's plenty of space in the toe box.
• Tongue: unfortunately they went to a flat tongue. It's not as short as the Speedgoat 6 tongue but you do get a little lace bite when lace locking. The bottom of the tongue is neoprene like the Evo series had which is an improvement that allows toe splay and general comfort when descending. 
• Midsole: biggest change in the shoe is the foam. The super critical foam and heel sole cutout allow the shoe to compress significantly. This was noticeable on the descents while braking. 
• Heel - Toe Drop: The 8mm drop didn't feel dramatic. I imagine as the foam packs out this drop will be less significant. I'm in the camp of more heel drop for mountain shoes, almost like a heel riser for backcountry bindings.
• Heel Collar: No more heel wing. The heel collar remains comfortable.
• Dexterity: The Mafate Speed 4 was no race horse to begin with but I think it feels more nimble than the Speed 5. I wouldn't say the Mafate 5 is clunky but I'd be hard pressed to find a chunkier trail shoe than this to take into the mountains.

Comparison with Mafate Speed 4

What did we like about the Mafate Speed 4? It offered excellent protection for long days in the mountains, traction was good, and ground feel remained good given the stack height. The 4's seem to have better arch support, a softer tongue, and 6% lighter. The tread seems similar, perhaps slightly improved as it connects continuously around the outsole. The arch support is better in the MS4 while the M5 feels more like the speedgoat.

 

Overall Impression

As of writing this initial first impressions review, I think HOKA made a few great improvements with this version. It's like a hybrid of the Speedgoat 5 and Mafate Speed 4. It's a lateral iteration and I still think the Speed 4 is an excellent shoe but I really enjoyed taking these out in similar terrain with some extra cushion. For reference, I used these up Mount Washington via Huntington Ravine and for a quick lap up Cranmore at Friday Night Vert. The Whites definitely beat up shoes faster than other terrain. Mafates generally last 300 miles in this terrain, we'll see how these hold up. The grip is as good as any other Vibram outsole, still not as good as a VJ.

Buy Men's Mafate 5 | Women's Mafate 5