 You know sometimes when you slip a shoe on and it just feels really nice like just going on whereas other times you're like Man, that doesn't this is gonna be a rough first impression around this is sliding on and feeling like a little bit of a glove Feel just a nice. Wow. They're oh my goodness. So that's a good start I must say the upper is feeling nice and comfy so far for the Elevon 2 Just so you know as far as cushion is concerned It is falling into the high cushion category. It's not maximalist. It's it's approaching maximalist But it's not quite there high cushion for that midsole the highest stack height in the pro fly lineup There we go. Hoka Elevon 2 first run first impressions out there on the concrete In the mud in the snow and the ice, but we survived out there in this neutral road running shoe from Hoka So here's the deal 16 miles 730 a mile. There it is on your screen in kilometers and I am Ascending in my volume actually hold on my I'm gonna make a don't worry I'm gonna make a new poster my poster got wet out here in the studio, but my volume continues to climb We're right about hopefully you can see that we're right about here in the ascent to my peak volume Which means I'm starting to go through shoes a little bit quicker Because the long runs are getting longer the middle distance runs are getting longer And I need to continue to watch my legs and protect them through this marathon training block So right now here's I don't know about you how you buy your running shoes, but here is my current Running warehouse shopping cart you see it on your screen So what I do is I do my research and then I put shoes into the shopping cart And then I let it sit for a couple days actually about a week at this point So yes the Vamara 14 they have a new tongue on the Nike Vamara 14. So it's in my cart I'm mulling it over if that is gonna be a shoe that I add back into the rotation for a long run shoe You see actually the ring con this is the old ring con that is beat up and dead So yes, even though it's a lightweight Shoes so many people love the ring con from 2019 from Hoka because it was it could Accomplish a lot of different tasks. So yes, it is in the running in the shopping cart And then lastly. Oh, yeah the asics glide ride ante up again with that But the Hoka Elevon 2 by the end of this first impression video I'll give you my thoughts if this could become a long-run shoe for you. Okay some specs. Let's dive in Five millimeter drop. All right. So 32. Yeah, 32 millimeter stack height in the heel 27 millimeter in the forefoot for that five millimeter slope and it's a it's a high stack height But it's not a maximalist stack height meaning like the Bondi, okay? So it's not quite as tall as the Bondi stack height for that weight We're looking at 10.1 ounces and men size 9 and 286 grams and women size 7 we're looking at 8.5 ounces or 240 grams and let me just throw it on the scale real quick for you I have my scale right here and see what it is in my size So my size about 9.2 ounces or 264 grams so that's it's a little bit on the heavier side for a daily Trainer or a long-run shoe kind of actually kind of like the Vemero 14 The Vemero 14 is also a heavier shoe, which I don't mind for long runs. I I think for me I'm okay with heavier shoes because it gets my legs I believe a little stronger so that when I do put on the lightweight racing shoes It's time to let it rip so it's a mesh upper all right pretty lightweight fairly breathable my toes weren't getting We're not getting cold out there though today in the snow like I actually was shocked My feet didn't even get very wet even though I was going through quite a few puddles out there now What's really throwing me for a loop is the eyelet chain? So it's a little crazy, but they're alternating between the eyelet chain and then this I'm gonna call it a kind of a halfway gusseted tongue where it's alternating as you're going up the eyelet chain And I must say it threw me for a loop as I was lacing up inside. It was So comfortable you actually heard me say it in there like as soon as I put this shoe on I could feel the comfort through the upper and especially through the tongue I was a little surprised and pleasantly surprised because I was frankly a little concerned at the complexity of the eyelet chain as It was coming out of the box. I was like, oh boy. This looks a little too too much for me But sure enough it was so so comfortable also on the upper It's leaning in the minimalist direction meaning I can squeeze right here and it's not to remember in the a6 What was that the evo ride from a couple days ago? You I definitely could not do this in the evo ride meaning just pressing on the heel counter It would not collapse at all so here in the Evalon 2 it definitely is collapsing just you know easily and fine Like it's a very again nimble lightweight upper and the heel tab So the the back of the shoe very comfortable didn't have any issues with rubbing with rubbing on the Achilles tendon For that heel tab and moving on to that midsole of the Evalon 2. Let's pull out the insole first Okay, so that's this guy coming out of the shoe and yes I can tell Hoka you put a little more extra build quality and thoughts behind the insole I like it nice and cushion It just felt a little more robust compared to the ring con insole Which I hope is updated a little bit for the 2020 iteration. It's the pro fly Midsole foam, okay, and I will say a very Stable ride out there. It is a neutral alright We'll do the twist test not much of a twist actually, but it is a neutral road running shoe But it felt very stable. It's the classic a wider landing platform through that outsole now About that pro fly midsole it is the tallest stack height in that pro fly lineup For Hoka and there is not a ton of ground contact feel So if you like a shoe that you know, you feel like you're you're a little more one with the ground This is probably not the shoe for you You feel like you're you're not you're not one with the ground You're above the ground Riding through that rocker feel that Hoka is known for and lastly because I'm looking for a long run shoe I'm looking for a shoe that has a little bit of forgiveness on these long runs as the long runs go to 20 miles 21 22 miles 23 mile long runs in this marathon training block I just I yearn the legs, you know the legs get tired They they get beat up and by the end of the training block or let's say like three-quarters of the way through the training block I personally yearn for a little bit of forgiveness through that midsole and I must say this midsole is not Too firm. I was reading reports from other people out there that they thought the midsole was firm It is but it isn't compared to the mock three It's like not even close to the mock three and I realize these are two different category shoes But I must say the midsole was forgiving and it felt not too forgiving But it just enough where I think it can pull off a long run for 21 22 miles for me and moving on to the outsole the bottom of the shoe So it has this crystal transparent rubber. That's the blue here exposed on the outsole Which is covering the the exposed pro fly midsole foam What's really interesting are these deep grooves? All right, you can see them there on your screen these deep grooves Through the forefoot and I'm still trying to figure them out. It's just my first run By the way, this is not my full review that'll happen after 50 miles So and people were a little concerned that these deep grooves. We're gonna catch a lot of rocks I don't have any rocks so far. So that is good news, but I'm wondering if those grooves are gonna help give you a little more a little more control and Maybe they're going for ground contact feel but a little more control through your toe off So there's a little more flexibility and nimbleness through that toe off through your foot strike. Maybe that's what they're thinking I'm not exactly sure, but I felt fine out there Even with those grooves through that forefoot I didn't even really notice them at all and then lastly you have a a decoupled groove here through the heel Just to give you a little weight reduction and again probably a little bit of Nimbleness through that heel landing for that fit. I went true to size. Oh spot on no issues with the fit And a lot of times hoka shoes can run a little narrow for me through the toe box No issues at all they it was spot on literally spot on so that was good news for comfort I'm going with amazing comfort through the lockdown specifically the tongue of the shoe. I love it I love it for the midsole comfort and the overall ride I'm gonna say like six and a half maybe seven out of ten. It's not plush, but I think it's I think it's gonna work I really do think it's gonna work for that long run category for that positive I'm gonna say a smooth transition Through the foot strike like it was smooth right at the beginning of the run I could tell this is a smooth rider for the drawbacks I don't know at this point. Maybe after 50 miles. I'll have something but no drawbacks after my first run and Also durability predictor. I'm going with 400 miles. That's my gut again I can't really I'm not gonna take the shoe to 400 miles, but just looking at the outsole I'm gonna say that 400 mile range is about the the amount of volume you will get out of the Elevon 2 and yes, how will I use the Elevon 2 moving forward? Absolutely for long runs and middle distance runs, but I'll probably lean in the direction of my long run shoes So 20 plus miles and who is this shoe best for someone that likes a nice stable ride Not looking to go crazy fast on your long runs. Just a nice Steady stable ride shoe for a long run. Now, how about that price point? Oh boy $160 a little hefty a little hefty for me. I'm thinking the more in the 150-145 range who knows maybe the dirt maybe they're thinking the durability will be further than 400 miles I'm not sure. Maybe it's because it is a pretty tall stack height 160 is pushing it for me Yeah, and especially especially because Hoka's uppers are not known for a ton of life expectancy I'll put it that way a lot of time now Maybe there's maybe this upper has been really improved this mesh upper, but whoo that's pushing it that 160 price range And a question of the day hoka fans time to stand up down in the comments Let us know why you love hoka running shoes make your case down in the comments question of the day part 2 Who has never run in a hoka running shoe? Guess what? It's a newer company newer They're well, they're about 10 years old now, but they're still fairly new considering some companies are you know over 50 years old So but who has never tried a hoka running shoe? Let us know and let us know maybe why they haven't made it into your running shoe Rotation thanks for being here. That's my first impressions. I think everyone I think we're gonna get to 50 miles in this Shoe, I really do especially as my volume again continues to climb. I'm pretty excited. I must say I'm pretty excited All right, everyone there you go. Thanks for being here. Thanks for watching another first impression onward and upward Don't you love YouTube we can communicate here on the interwebs. It is a great great thing All right, everyone We're gonna toss it back on the right to my first impression of the hoka mock 3 that'll be on the right-hand side and then we'll toss it back to 2019 full review of the hoka Rincon two shoes I mentioned here in the studio today All right, see beauty work hard and love each other. See you tomorrow