Discontinued · road · Race day · $230
Earlier generation of the Hoka Rocket X Trail line, kept for replacement lookups.
Built for race day, at a target pace of 5:00–7:15 /mi on road.
This model is no longer in production. The closest shoe you can buy today is Hoka Rocket X 2.
Hoka tuned this midsole soft (4/5 on our cushioning scale). Energy return is above average: the midsole rebounds well without feeling unstable. 37 mm of heel stack is the modern daily-trainer sweet spot — enough foam for long miles without losing contact with the road. Combined, the ride reads as explosive at 5/5 responsiveness.
A full-length carbon plate stiffens the forefoot and works with the foam as a lever: it smooths the transition off the toes and cuts the effort of holding fast paces. It also asks for speed — at easy paces a carbon plate feels stiff and does little for you, and it is the main reason super-shoes wear out sooner than trainers.
A low 5 mm drop encourages a midfoot landing and keeps the ankle working through a fuller range. The rocker is aggressive: the sole is curved and stiff enough to tip you into the next stride on its own, which saves the calf on long runs but feels strange when you slow right down. The forefoot is stiff, so it rolls rather than bends — a lever, not a slipper. It is a neutral platform with no built-in correction.
The toe-box is standard width — comfortable for most feet without swimming. It fits true to size. Expect roughly 220 miles from the outsole, about $1.05 per mile at $230.
For the foams and plates Hoka uses across its line, read the Hoka brand guide.
Measured against the 542 currently-available shoes in the catalog. The bar shows where this shoe sits in that range.
Weight
227 g / 8.0 oz
48 g lighter than the catalog median of 275 g
Heel stack
37 mm
1 mm taller than the catalog median of 36 mm
Drop
5 mm
1 mm lower than the catalog median of 6 mm
Price
$230
70 pricier than the catalog median of 160
Responsiveness
5 / 5
Catalog median 3 / 5
Cushioning
4 / 5
Catalog median 4 / 5
Energy return
4 / 5
Catalog median 3 / 5
Durability
~220 mi
Catalog median ~400 mi
Within the Hoka line it is lighter than the brand's median (275 g / 9.7 oz) and sits lower than its median stack (38 mm).
Current shoes with the nearest combination of weight, stack, drop, foam feel and plate.
Topo Athletic Specter Elite(2025)
235 g / 8.3 oz · 38 mm · 5 mm drop · Carbon · $225
Topo's carbon racer: wide toe-box speed for wider feet.
Salomon S/Lab Spectur
232 g / 8.2 oz · 38 mm · 8 mm drop · Carbon · $220
Stability-minded carbon super shoe aimed at 3:30-and-up marathoners.
Skechers Aero Tempo
241 g / 8.5 oz · 37 mm · 4 mm drop · Carbon · $165
Hyper Burst racer with a full-length carbon winglet plate.
Hoka Rocket X 2(2023)
224 g / 7.9 oz · 36 mm · 5 mm drop · Carbon · $250
Hoka's carbon racer — stiff, rockered and quick through the transition.