HOKA Clifton 11 Review

• Shorter heel tab for reduced Achilles contact
• Updated upper for improved comfort and lockdown

The Clifton 11 performs as advertised: we love it as a walking shoe, and it does the job as a running shoe for those weekly maintenance runs. During testing, we preferred these for easy-paced daily training, recovery runs, and nice walks on road surfaces.

As a max cushion shoe, the midsole cushioning on the Clifton 11 feels protective and shields our joints nicely from day-to-day road impact. They're as comfortable as we would expect a Clifton to be, with about a medium firmness (more on this in the Comfort section). However, the foam does not feel especially lively, which ruled out speed workouts during our training. For this reason, we would say the Clifton lacks all-around versatility for instances where you might want to pick up the pace.

The shoe features HOKA's well-known meta rocker geometry, which made our heel-to-toe motion feel nice and easy. Rick particularly felt that his heelstrike was more evenly distributed across his heel, rather than on the outside of the heel. We didn't have any issues with the outsole; its durable rubber held up well in dry conditions on pavement and even gravel.

The Clifton 11 stays true to the max-cushion, all-around comfort focus that it has upheld through the last few versions. We found the shoe to be comfortable right out of the box, and it maintained that comfort on the road without any hotspots, rubbing, or other surprises. Safe to say, it’s an “ol’ faithful” kind of shoe.

The upper feels soft and breathable. The tongue and heel collar have a good amount of cushioning, and Ava found that that cushioning helped to offset some stiffness that she felt in the heel.

While the underfoot cushioning isn’t groundbreakingly plush, the midsole provides a level of light yet protective comfort that users have come to know and trust. There is a lot of cushion underfoot, which we would describe as slightly more on the medium-to-firm side.

The fit is true to size with a nice, roomy fit like the Clifton is known for. The mesh material on the upper has the same softness and breathability as before. That said, the upper is where we see some of the more noticeable updates for the Clifton 11.

The top eyelets have been reformatted to get a better lockdown on the tongue, and although we generally didn’t have any issues with the fit of v10, the lockdown on v11 feels really good. We think the Clifton will continue to work well for a variety of foot types, including those with higher volume feet.

Ava noted that the ankle collar felt pretty rigid for her. Although it was harder for her to slip in and out of the shoes without retying them, ultimately it led to her getting a good lockdown that held her feet well in place. She was also aware of the sock liner under the medial arch of her foot, though this might have just been the particular pair that she got, as the sock liners were super easy for her to pull out.

"As a slower runner, the Guide 19 is one of my favorite max cushion daily trainers/recovery shoes because the foam feels so nice. I think the Guide wins that category for me—the foam feels softer and more responsive than the Clifton. However, if you want something lighter weight, the Clifton 11 is about an ounce lighter." -Ava