HOKA Mach 7 Review

The HOKA Mach 7 is for you if...

You're a runner looking for a faster, more responsive daily trainer.

You want something energetic without the stiffness of a plate.

You like a do-it-all shoe that can seamlessly transition from easy runs to tempo workouts.

What is the HOKA Mach 7 made for?

The Mach is a lightweight daily trainer from HOKA that is known to be a fast, versatile, and overall fun do-it-all shoe for a variety of paces. It offers comfort for easy paces and long miles, but is light and lively enough to give you confidence to push the pace on some more uptempo days. We got excited when the previous model, the Mach 6, brought us a full bed of supercritical EVA, and we enjoyed its bouncy, long-lasting comfort and energetic toe-offs for our faster runs.

The Mach 7 has made some slight changes from version 6—a resculpting of its midsole, some minor tweaks in the placement of the outsole rubber, and a refined tongue are among our main observations with this update. We have the same stack height, the same foam compound, and the same jacquard mesh upper as we saw with the previous generation. While it's still supercritical EVA, this latest foam feels like it could be just slightly softer and bouncier than before. Overall, the shoe performs well—just as well as its predecessor, but not any better. There’s nothing too radical about this update, but it’s reliable and gets the job done. 

Comfort

The Mach 7 has a great step-in feel and comfort underfoot. The foam is a little on the firm side, so it doesn’t feel overly soft or bulky, and our feet felt supported and comfortable even on longer runs. The level of cushioning kept us comfortable and protected during a variety of distances, and we didn't experience any hotspots or pain. There’s also some nice padding around the heel collar for added comfort.

Overall, the Mach 7 has a comfortable and streamlined fit, a high-quality upper, and a nicely cushioned heel collar. However, the tongue is a little thin and lacks padding, which added some unwanted pressure on the tops of our feet, especially when looking for a secure lockdown on faster days. This could potentially be a pain point for runners with a sensitive, higher-volume foot.

Performance

Overall, the shoe felt lively, energetic, and great for a fun run. The foam responds well at faster paces but keeps you comfortable enough when you’re slowing things down. It felt light, springy, and nimble throughout a mix of runs, and made us feel confident in our faster efforts.

The outsole provided adequate grip, but nothing spectacular, across the roads and pavement that we ran on. The wet traction wasn’t the best, but didn’t feel hazardous. There are lighter shoes out there, but especially for newer runners, this is a really solid shoe for a bit of everything.

Our main gripe is that there’s no real performance upgrade over the last model. The Mach is still a good shoe, but there’s a lot of magic in this category from other brands, and the Mach is falling behind in that regard. It feels like the Mach 6, which is good if you like consistency from one update to the next, but disappointing if you’re craving innovation.

Fit

While the Mach 7 was true to size for us, this shoe does fit fairly snug on the foot, much like the Mach 6. In some cases, this created a slight break-in period for us. This snug fit will work for some, especially for faster runs, but it might not be roomy enough for people with high-volume or slightly wider feet. With that said, HOKA does offer this shoe in a wide width for those who need the extra room.

The lockdown and laces are solid and gave no concerns for uptempo workouts. The tongue didn’t obstruct the fit, but because of its thin material, it wasn’t the most comfortable. Most of us didn’t notice hotspots or rubbing while running, with the exception of one tester who commonly experiences slight rubbing on the Achilles from many shoes—in this case, the Mach 7 was not an exception.