 And the snow to give you my first impressions of the Hoka Arahi for there it is as well behind me on the shelf my first stability shoe of 2020 you know that I am more of a neutral running shoe kind of guy but I will dabble every now and then for a shout out to all the stability runners out there that need some of that stability through their running shoes okay quick side story before we dive into my first impressions by the way this is not my full review that'll happen after 50 miles I had surgery in college on my right foot to release my fashion tendon I had plantar fasciitis for years in college it was really bad and it just would not go away so I had surgery and which is why in my my opinion my thesis as to why my right foot overpronates a little bit more than my left foot if you watch the full reviews on this channel you've seen my right foot overpronate just a little bit more so anyway every now and then I do like to test out stability shoes because of that reason okay today's run 13 miles all right there it is on your screen in kilometers 745 a mile what I like to call my steezy pace it was perfect pounding ground out there and the soft fluffy snow it was amazing I bet I think I saw one other person out there for 13 miles so I love those kind of runs and also the last it's crazy but the last stability shoe that I tested it was about crazy enough it was about a year ago it was the Brooks Ravenna 9 what I I actually ended up returning it because it was a little overstabilized meaning it was not it was not loose actually here we go the twist test it was not loosey goosey enough through that twist test for me I like a little bit of mobility through that midsole even if it is a stability running shoe okay let's dive into it we're looking at a drop of 5 millimeters okay 32 millimeter stack height in the heel 27 in the forefoot for that 5 millimeter drop for that weight we're looking at 9.6 ounces in men's size 9 or 8 ounces in women's size 8 so pretty lightweight for a stability shoe usually stability shoes are a little heavier because they have to have added guidance through that midsole what a lot of running shoe companies called guide rails you've probably heard you maybe have heard that term before it's basically well it's a lot of it's a it's a piece of plastic that can run along the side of the midsole right through this area on both sides just to add that stability or what are what's also called a roll bars so that you're not over pronating or supinating too much through your gate cycle for the upper on the Rahi for its leaner than the three last year's iteration and in my opinion it's a classic hoka upper it feels like a hoka upper it looks like a hoka upper it's an engineered mesh pretty breathable I must say on today's run it felt breathable especially through the tow box I felt the air coming in my toes they didn't get too cold out there but it definitely was very breathable through the engineered mesh the tongue is not gusseted just so you know it's not gusseted to the outer wall of the upper and the heel counter nothing nothing to write home about again pretty lean through that heel counter what was I gonna say it yeah oh yeah not plush that's a good way to put it the upper is not plush at all so if you like a little more extra cushion through your upper this might not be the shoe for you okay moving on to the midsole and the outsole of the Rahi for pretty cool stuff going on here I'm gonna I'm gonna combine them together because they're working as one so do you see the J shape out here on the outsole so this orange EVA foam is firmer than the white foam okay and that firmer foam creates the stability for this shoe alright so notice notice that they on the medial side so the inside of the shoe the EV the firmer orange foam wraps around wraps around the heel but then it stops on the lateral about half way down the lateral side of this midsole and that is what creates it that is what prevents you from over pronating through your foot strike I think it's kind of neat I haven't seen so it's different than a lot of other stability shoes that have guide rails or roll bars through their midsole's Hoka has this what they call their J frame stability so I think it's I think it's interesting and I must say the first two miles of today's run I definitely noticed the stability it felt like I felt it a lot in the heel right here on the inside the medial side of my heel but then after about two miles of running today it went away I forgot about it and I was like okay it's opening up a little bit I didn't feel like it was overstabilized if that makes sense that's one of the reasons that I don't really enjoy stability shoes is because I feel like the stability is it's telling my foot where to strike rather than me telling my foot where to strike and I like to be a little more in control of my foot strike if that makes sense so anyway that's the J frame stability that runs through the midsole and the outsole here I think it's a I don't know so far so good I like I like what Hoka is doing with that J frame technology one last note on the outsole so there is exposed EVA foam but it's hard to tell because it's all white but there is also zonal okay zonal rubber right where my finger is at right now there's pods of rubber to help protect and basically increase the durability of the outsole of the Arahi 4 for fit I went true to size no issues there no slipping through the heel if you need a little wider toe box you might not you might want to look at a different lineup of stability shoes like a Brooks lineup I you know Hoka is known to be a little more narrow especially through that toe box I didn't notice it for me but just keep that in mind if you need a wider toe box on the comfort scale for the Arahi 4 we're gonna go medium all right medium it's not plush through the upper and with the stability built into into the midsole it's definitely a little more of a firm landing okay just keep that in mind my positive for the Arahi 4 it's got to be that J frame it does not feel overstabilized for a drawback I don't really have one at this point so that's a good sign we shall see after 50 miles now when I talk about durability in my full reviews and my first impressions it's always a prediction or a thesis because I can never take the shoes all the way to 400 miles 500 miles because there's too many shoes to test out there but my prediction for this shoe is that 400 to 500 mile range okay that's my prediction based off of my first run we shall see after 50 miles how the upper how the outsole and how the midsole is holding up and how will I use this shoe moving forward crazy enough I think it's gonna fall into more of the middle distance to long run category meaning 15 to 22 miles I it's it's it's got potential to be like a tempo shoe but I think the midsole is just a little too much for me to be a to be a tempo shoe so I think it's gonna fall again into that long run category now is it worth the $130 price tag I think they nailed it all right maybe man if it was 120 they definitely would have nailed it but 130 is not bad for a stability shoe considering I think again that midsole I think you're gonna get about that 400 to 500 mile range out of the Rahi for and on to that question of the day you better believe it it is time for the stability runners out there to shine down in the comments here we go what is your go-to stability shoe right now and why this is gonna be a great education for me as well because I'm just it's like stability shoes are just a little foreign to me I just don't get it I don't get a chance to run in them as much as neutral shoes so I can't wait to read your comments let us know what you're running in right now and why and there you have it first impressions of the Iraqi for I'll get you that full review after 50 miles I think there's a good chance we're gonna get to 50 miles in this shoe how long it takes I don't know but as my volume as you know I'm marathon training right now and so my volume is climbing pretty good you know next week I'll be in that 80 to 90 mile range so I have a good feeling we'll get to 50 miles in the shoe sooner rather than later all right that is the vlog for today I know it's a little shorter but we're gonna keep we're gonna cut it there and onward and upward all right all right everyone we're gonna toss it back to my full review on the right of the Hoka Carbon X that'll be on the right and then on the left I'll find another Hoka shoe you know what we'll toss it back to the Hoka Carbon Rocket full review that'll be on the left all right everyone thanks for being there thanks for watching as always see beauty work hard and love each other see you tomorrow