Hoka Anacapa 2 Low GTX

Lack of durability in the toe box, outer fabric starting to tear after just a couple of months of use. Waterproofing was poor. Shoes quickly wetted through and on dry days feet sweated due to the heat.

After years of having great success with Hoka Speedgoats I purchased not one, but two pairs of Hoka Anacapa 2 Low GTX for hiking. I have different sized feet: I need a 9.5 on my left and a 10 on my right. So I purchased two pairs of Anacapa, a pair of 9.5's and a pair of 10's. The plan was to use the properly fitting set for backpacking and the other set for walking the dog.

I am a big fan of Hoka shoes after having used them for over a decade for running. I have bad knees requiring repeated surgeries plus arthritis in the knuckles of my big toes. The cushioning and rocker on the Hokas work great to allow me to continuing running and I was hoping for the same success with Hoka hiking shoes.

I wore the shoes all spring to break them in and get my feet prepared for summer backpacking. Where the crease forms in the toe box, both hiking shoes started to tear before I ever got to backpacking season. I had to take the shoes to a shoe repair store to prevent the rips from making the shoes unusable.

I did not have the time to send the shoes back to Hoka as a warranty claim as I had a number of hiking trips coming up quickly and I did not want to have to break in another pair of shoes. So I had a local shoe repair store put some patches over the tears.

When looking at the shoes there was still lots of wear left in the tread. The shoes were really just past their break-in period. I found this lack of durability unacceptable.

My other complaint with the shoes is that I also found the waterproofing to be very poor. Walking across a wet field would render my feet wet. If I have the choice I would have preferred a non-waterproof hiking shoes. My feet run hot on good days. Waterproofing just ensures that my feet will be wet from sweat. I was willing to suffer through some sweating for the benefits of Hoka cushioning and rocker. Unfortunately the material durability was not up to expectations.

On the plus side the shoes are incredibly comfortable. They do have great traction on the trail and the tread appears to be very durable.

I do not see myself purchasing another pair of hiking shoes from Hoka without seeing some major revisions in the shoe.

Background

Hiking and backpacking for over 10 years.