Since my Hoka Tor Ultra Hi vs Inov-8 RocFly G 390 GTX gear review post is quite popular, I thought I would do another one for the Hoka Trail Code GTX. Sadly, my Inov-8 RocFly G 390 GTX died in May after about 6 months of weekly walks, so I bought the RocFly G 390s as they were half price. However, they only lasted about 3-4 walks before the sole peeled apart. I sent them back and got a no-hassle refund, and I wasn’t too sad as they weren’t that comfortable anyway. I needed a new pair pretty much immediately, so I went to the Hoka store in Covent Garden with the intention of buying another pair of Tor Ultra Hi. Alas, they didn’t have any, so my second option was the Kaha 2s. Yeah, no. They felt like orthopaedic shoes: massive, heavy, clunky, and not at all agile. I can
As a mad-for-walking person with mash-up feet, I thought I would write a gear review comparing two pairs of hiking boots: the Hoka Tor Ultra Hi and the Inov-8 RocFly G 390 GTX. As a reminder, I have Morton’s neuroma, osteoarthritis in the ball of my right big toe with a small bunion, and historical achilles issues. Whilst the latter has mostly cleared up since starting a ketogenic diet, I have discovered that I can still get a little stiffness after a long hike. Or at least I do with one of these pairs of boots… Right off the bat, I should say that I love Hoka shoes. I switched to them on the advice of my physiotherapist and podiatrist after wrecking my achilles wearing Vivobarefoot shoes. I have not looked back. I have Challengers for the gym and every day, and Cliftons for road running. I unreservedly recommend them. As
I’ve got osteoarthritis in my right big toe at the ball of the foot due to an old kickboxing injury. I’m kind of slowly growing a bunion due to it. It got to the point where the toe would go rigid after a run and was excruciatingly painful. It also was getting difficult to do some yoga poses like Hero pose / Virasana as my foot would cramp up. A little under 3 years ago now, a massage therapist recommended that I try Vivo Barefoot shoes as they allow your feet to spread out and encourage a greater foot mobility. They also make the muscles in your feet stronger as they move more as your foot has less support from the shoe. Given that I know that movement of the joint and strengthening of the muscles around it is good for arthritis, I decided to try them, and it worked! The