Bottom Line
The HOKA Rocket X Trail is HOKA’s newest trail racing super shoe. It’s a trail-focused adaptation of the brand’s road racing super shoe, the Rocket X 3. Not surprisingly, given its super-shoe status, the Rocket X Trail comes with an insanely high stack height of 42 millimeters at the heel and 36 millimeters at the forefoot, along with an “H”-shaped parallel carbon plate. This gives the Rocket X Trail an incredibly propulsive, responsive, and fun feel that excels at faster paces.
Of course, that stack height comes with some trade-offs on the trails. It’s not the most stable trail shoe, as we had a couple of near-disastrous ankle rolls during our testing. And with just 3-millimeter lug depth, the grip and traction left something to be desired. The $250 price tag also makes this cost-prohibitive for many runners.
That said, it’s a fun and fast shoe. If you’re serious about trail racing, it’s an excellent option from our top recommendations for trail running shoes that should be seriously considered.
Quick Specs
HOKA Rocket X Trail
Best Trail Running Shoes for Racing
CleverHiker Rating: 4.4/5.0
Price: $250
Weight (Pair): 1 lb. 2.9 oz.
Heel-to-Toe Drop: 6 mm
Cushioning: Maximum
Best For: Racing
Pros
- Fun & fast
- Excellent response & spring
- Supports aggressive stride
- Good comfort & cushion
- Breathable
Cons
- Niche use case
- Not great for uneven or slick terrain
Comfort
The HOKA Rocket X Trail is a comfort-forward shoe. With all of that soft underfoot cushion, it’s hard not to be. HOKA packs the massive underfoot stack height with its super-soft, responsive A-TPU midsole superfoam. And the upper features a stretchy, lightweight, and breathable mesh. We could see the writing and logos of our socks through the mesh material.
The lacing system is solid and creates a nice, snug yet comfy fit around the sides and top of your feet. The shoe also didn’t require any break-in period for us. Out of the box, we were out for 10 miles of comfortable, springy, responsive fun on our local trail system.
Traction
This is the category that gave us some pause with the HOKA Rocket X Trail. HOKA did not design the Rocket X Trails for technical terrain. HOKA made this shoe to rip on packed dirt trails and gravel. That said, we found ourselves slipping around quite a bit, even on gravel paths and roads and packed dirt singletrack.
There are a few reasons for this lack of traction. First, the lug depth of 3 millimeters is definitely on the smaller side, and something you see more often on road-to-trail, mixed-terrain, and gravel shoes. Second, there’s quite a bit of exposed midsole on the bottom of the shoes. The rubber outsole with lugs doesn’t actually take up much of the shoe’s bottom. Lastly, and probably least importantly, the lugs are spaced further apart than in some other shoes on our best trail running shoes list.
If you mostly race on technical trails with loose surfaces, go for another racing shoe. But, if you don’t mind sacrificing some traction for responsiveness and propulsion, or do most of your off-road racing on gravel and packed dirt, the HOKA Rocket X Trail’s traction will probably suffice.
Weight
At 9.45 ounces (268 grams) per shoe, and 1 pound, 2.9 ounces per pair, the HOKA Rocket X Trail is in the top three lightest shoe on our best trail running shoes list. Even without side-by-side comparisons to other tested shoes, it feels light while running.
The Rocket X Trail’s lightness definitely comes from the lack of a rubber outsole covering all of the midsole foam. HOKA also employs a lightweight midsole superfoam. And the upper’s lightweight mesh material helps decrease the shoe’s weight. While you could certainly find lighter trail racing shoes (the Kjerags and T1s being examples), it’d be tougher to find lighter ones with the same amount of stack height and responsiveness.
Durability
While we haven’t had any durability issues as we near 100 miles on the HOKA Rocket X Trail shoes, they are focused on being lightweight. With any lightweight gear, durability isn’t usually a shared feature. Also, HOKA has a recent subpar durability track record in its running shoes. Plus, all of the exposure of the midsole foam isn’t helping. It may be unfair to make assumptions. But this type of exposure is more of what we see on road running shoes, where there’s far less impact on rocks and other sharp objects.
And while we definitely appreciate the breathability and comfort of the mesh upper, there are no reinforcements or extra protection between the upper and the outsole. Quite frankly, it resembles some of the earlier HOKA Tecton X racing shoes, which, while fun, blew out the sides on us after a few hundred miles.
Breathability
Often, when a shoe lacks durability, it makes up for it in other areas, such as breathability. And that’s the case with the HOKA Rocket X Trail shoes. We have found these shoes very breathable, thanks to the see-through mesh upper. The mesh material is lightweight, thin, and comfortable, boosting breathability.
If you’re racing, especially in hotter temperatures, choosing a racing shoe with a breathable mesh upper is probably important. And compared to other racing shoes on this list, the Rocket X Trail excels in breathability.
Responsiveness
As expected with a supershoe, responsiveness is where the HOKA Rocket X Trail shines, beating out all of its competitors in the category. Equipped with an “H”-shaped carbon plate and loads of superfoam underfoot, the Rocket X Trail is highly responsive, almost to the point where it feels like it might spring you off the trail on downhills. The 6-millimeter heel-to-toe drop and slight rockered design also help boost responsiveness.
That responsiveness is mostly good, especially when racing, but one point should be considered. Like many other supershoes, the responsiveness is felt more at faster paces. Once you dip into the 6-minute-per-mile range, the Rocket X Trails really zoom.
The heel stack height of 42 millimeters is higher than any other trail running shoe on our list, by quite a bit. And with that high of a stack height definitely comes some instability. We wouldn’t say the shoe is super unstable, but we did have multiple occurrences where our foot hit a rock at a bad angle and almost rolled the ankle. That said, if responsiveness is the most important decision point for your next trail racing shoe, the HOKA Rocket X Trail is your best bet.
Should You Buy the HOKA Rocket x Trail?
The HOKA Rocket X Trail is not a small investment for a niche use-case shoe. It’s the most expensive shoe on our best trail running shoes list. And this shoe serves a very specific purpose of racing on hard-packed trails and gravel roads. You probably could get by racing on technical terrain with it (we ran many runs at quick paces on some of our most technical local trails and survived to write this guide), but there are certainly better options for racing fast on technical terrain.
That said, if you’re serious about trail racing and do it many times throughout the year, the HOKA Rocket X Trail is a good option, and one of our favorite off-road racing shoes currently on the market.
What Other Hiking Shoes Should You Consider?
Check out our best trail running shoes for men list to see how the HOKA Rocket X Trails compare to our other top picks. And consider these other top trail running shoes:
Mount to Coast T1 Review: The Mount to Coast are also super fun and responsive everyday trail running shoes that double as trail racers. They have excellent traction and durability. And at $180, they’re almost half the price of the HOKA Rocket X Trails.
Nnormal Kjerag 02 Review: The lightest shoes on our best trail running shoes list, these are also excellent for racing. Like the Rocket X Trails, they don’t have the best traction. But they make up for that in comfort, agility, and lightness.
Saucony Peregrine 16: Saucony actually designs the Peregrines to be race-friendly. And at 1 pound, 3.2 ounces per pair, they’re almost the same weight as the Rocket X Trails. Plus, they’re a lot more affordable and double as everyday trainers.
