Running your fastest marathon is about making small adjustments to make gains, whether in training, with your gear, or with your race-day shoe. It involves iterations upon iterations of testing, training, and planning to achieve the peak level of optimizations. It’s about finding the variables you can control to gain maximum advantage. The HOKA Rocket X 3 is a key piece of the puzzle designed to get you to the finish line at your fastest.
All photos: HOKA
The best shoes matter more than ever when every second counts. The HOKA Rocket X 3 is a race-day shoe with the technology for those serious about bringing their best to every start line.
The HOKA Rocket X 3 is the newest edition in the franchise, and the iRunFar team has consistently considered the HOKA Rocket X line one of the top super shoes on the market. Improvements made to the HOKA Rocket X 3 push it even further ahead of the field.
The responsive yet stable and comfortable midsole is made with premium dual-layer PEBA foam and a newly designed carbon plate featuring winglets. The sticky rubber outsole grips the road for control and propulsion, and the newly designed upper is light and thin. Nathan Allen, former collegiate runner and current Managing Editor at iRunFar, has a long history with the HOKA Rocket X line and sums up the new shoe: “It’s hard not to run fast in them!”
Weighing 8.0 ounces for a U.S. men’s size 10 and women’s size 11, this all-gender shoe is lighter than its predecessor, which came in at 8.3 ounces.
After putting over 40 miles in the HOKA Rocket X 3, Allen notes the shoe retains the well-loved bouncy feeling of the HOKA Rocket X 2 but says of the new iteration, “They feel smoothest at a faster pace and with a more aggressive stride.”
When you want to give yourself every possible advantage, the HOKA Rocket X 3 will get you there — ahead of your time.
HOKA Rocket X 3 Basic Specifications
- All-Gender Shoe
- Advertised Weight (U.S. men’s size 10 and women’s 11): 8.0 ounces
- Stack Height (U.S. men’s size 8.5 and women’s 9.5): 38 millimeters/31 millimeters (heel/toe)
- Drop: 7 millimeters
- Upper Material: Single-layer warp knit
- Tongue: Regular, non-gusseted
- Midsole: Dual-layer PEBA foam sandwiching a carbon fiber plate with winglets
- Outsole: Sticky rubber
- Geometry: MetaRocker
- Price: $250
Unique Features of the HOKA Rocket X 3
Redesigned Upper
The new HOKA Rocket X 3 upper takes a page out of the HOKA Mach 6 and HOKA Clifton 9 playbooks for its updated heel design and appearance. The thin, curved ankle collar of the HOKA Rocket X 2 is replaced with more padding and a flared heel tab that is commonly seen in other HOKA shoes. More padding and structure around the entire ankle collar provide improved comfort and stability, which is valuable over the marathon distance.
Made of a thin single-layer warp knit material, the upper feels more breathable than the previous version and helps keep feet cool. Heat and moisture can lead to friction and blisters, and can cause potential distractions on race day. A stitch-free design minimizes the chances of “hot spots.”
Additionally, HOKA has returned to a regular, lightly padded tongue, instead of the gusseted version on the HOKA Rocket X 2.
We consider all these welcome adjustments for a shoe designed to feel good for 26.2 miles.
Premium Foam Midsole and Updated Carbon Fiber Plate
The underfoot feel for this super shoe comes from its unique combination of foams and the shape, size, and springiness of its carbon plate. The HOKA Rocket X 3 has two layers of premium PEBA foam that sandwich its carbon plate, a design that strikes a balance between weight, responsiveness, and cushion. According to Allen, the stack height at the heel feels higher than some other race-day shoes, but the foam is incredibly light and bouncy without feeling unstable. The rearfoot-focused Active Foot Frame provides cushion for any type of footstrike, and the midsole foam provides plenty of propulsion.
The MetaRocker geometry offered by HOKA is now a mainstay feature of the road and trail offerings from the brand, and is also a key feature of the new Rocket X 3. The MetaRocker geometry puts your feet and the rest of your body in their most efficient position, no matter where in your gait cycle you are.
The majority of the propulsive and springy nature of this super shoe comes from its embedded carbon fiber plate, further refined in the new Rocket X 3. A stable shoe is a fast shoe, and the Rocket X 3 joins the HOKA Tecton X 3 with gaining winglets on the front of its carbon plate for improved lateral stability. Curious carbon plate fans can glimpse these winglets exposed on the lateral sides of the shoes.
The midsole of the HOKA Rocket X 3 is designed to provide marathoners with a high-performance shoe that doesn’t compromise comfort or control.
Sticky Outsole
When it comes to the outsole of a super shoe, it must balance being lightweight with providing enough traction on potentially slippery surfaces. The sticky rubber outsole of the HOKA Rocket X 3 provides necessary traction without adding extra weight. With more cutouts and a rubber compound that keeps you in control, the outsole saves weight without compromising performance.
When you’re ready to get ahead of your time, the HOKA Rocket X 3 will take you there.
[Editor’s Note: This article is sponsored by HOKA. Thank you to the brand for its sponsorship of iRunFar, which helps to make iRunFar happen and free for all to enjoy. Learn more about our sponsored articles.]
