ALL HAIL THE TORRENT 3

MOST EVERYONE CAN SPOT A PAIR OF HOKAS FROM A MILE AWAY. And over the years, the brand has changed quite a bit in the way it looks, feels and performs – very much attracting high numbers of trail runners to its sweet and sexy line of footwear.

Falling under Hoka’s Sky category of shoes, the Torrent 3 is lightweight and after following the Torrent 2, has provided users with improvements in a variety of areas, allowing it to perform better for everyone – from newbies on the trails to the those seeking podium finishes.

As a minimal neutral shoe, the Torrent 3 is surprisingly lightweight and feels springy underfoot. The midsole has Hoka’s ProFly feature, a dual-density cushioning system that combines soft foam in the heel with firmer foam in the forefront; the system allows for soft landings and a powerful toe-off due to utilising a firmer material specifically designed to provide an efficient pushoff. This makes the Torrent 3 respond to your needs on all surfaces however there is no rockplate, so you will feel the surface you’re stepping on a little bit more than usual if you’re used to a different shoe.

The ProFly foam is usually seen on more faster-focused Hoka shoes, so it’s a nice feeling cushioning effect and allows the Torrent 3 to do its job in a number of conditions.

Because of this, the Torrent 3 is made specifically for trails seeing as the low-profile cushion bed keeps your foot closer to the ground, so to speak. If pavement running will be a higher percentage over trail running whilst training or in a race, then this shoe isn’t for you. If, however, you’re only going to be doing perhaps 3km or 4km (of road) from trail-to-road-and-back-again, then there are no issues.

Weighing less than the Torrent 2, the Torrent 3 has an incredible outsole with its 4mm lugs. There has been no change to the lug pattern (don’t fix it if it ain’t broke, right?) and I actually have a pair of Hoka Torrent 2s to make the comparisons – but Hoka have claimed the lugs to be ‘stickier’. Personally, I didn’t feel much of a difference with ‘stickiness’. On a positive note though the grip is great, traction is brilliant, and the whole outsole does the job well on technical terrain.

If you put the shoe in your hands and squash it inwards, there’s not much flex to it both at the upper and at the heel cup; over time though, it will soften but whilst new and relatively un-used before putting the kilometres on them, the padding is thick and snug, and there was no heel slippage when I did my usual lace lock. The laces are slightly thinner than its predecessor, and not too stretchy (I love a good bounce in my laces) but they stayed in place and were good in length.

Moving onto the upper, the new material here is a breathable, single layer mesh and holds your foot securely in place. The toebox has ample room in length and width, but isn’t necessarily fit for wide feet. For those who suit the Torrent 3 in the toebox department, there’s a lot of structure here and the overlays provided by the material prevent it from sagging down whilst at the same time giving a bit of extra protection from rogue stones, twigs and other debris.

Hoka’s Torrent 3 has kept its gusseted tongue (padded quite thickly) design to give extra support, and it comes up nice and high, catering to my love of a heel lock lace. I enjoy having a thicker tongue sitting at the top of my foot (that doesn’t sound right, does it?), it makes everything feel more secure.

Overall, when I took the Hoka Torrent 3s out for a spin on my local trails, I really came to appreciate how it’s a fabulous all-rounder – there’s no focus on any particular speciality on what it does; like I mentioned before, it’s brilliant for the novice trail runner all the way through to the elite.

True to size, the Torrent 3 Heel Stack is at 31mm and the Forefoot Stack is at 26mm, equalling to a 5mm drop, and you can get the Women’s in Mercury/ Evening Primrose whilst for the Men, you’ll get yourselves the snazzy Bluesteel/Dark Citron look.

The Low Down

GREAT FOR: Shorter distances, high technicality

NOT SO GREAT FOR: Pavement or bike path

TEST CONDITIONS: Hard-packed dirt, limestone, pea gravel

TESTER: Kate Dzienis

TESTER MECHANICS: Severe overpronator with wide feet

VITALS

RRP: $199.99 AUD / $248.00 NZD

WEBSITE: hoka.com/en/au hoka-newzealand.com

CONDITIONS: Shoes provided for testing by HOKA ONE ONE