Ahh...I finally took the plunge and just gunned my way into Hoka One One. After years of hesitance and doubt about the things I've heard about its lineup of shoes being like boa constrictors on runner's feet, an all out sale by Toby's let me throw that out and get my first pair: The Carbon X. I have platypus bill like feet that flares outward that if my toes were lovers, it would be a long distance relationship or five singles who were meant for each other but haven't met yet because of the said circumstances (the big toe would be the third wheel.) I digress. As such, I have been on Altras for the past 5 years or so since I discovered them, both road and trail shoes with the occasional disastrous experiments and purchases from other shoe brands. I've loved my Altras because of the wide toebox which they are well known for and of course the looks that came with it. The comfort of those shoes was just great. From training to ultras, it was my main staple. It was so enjoyable and satisfying that all other brands were relegated to the back stage. Hoka One One included with the stigma of it not being wide foot friendly. Now with these on my feet, let me give you an initial review... I took them out for a shortish spin at my favorite road route here in Baguio City. A mix of rolling, steep and short straightways gave me a feel of what this carbon thingamajig was all about. First off, the feel. I wear a regular size 12 for all my none sport shoes, 12.5s on Altra for that extra breathing space AND a 13 on this Carbon X. Reason? My fear that a 12.5 would be a bit tight at the sides and my toes would have a hot and steamy orgy, social distancing be damned. Glad I chose 13. The fit was just right. No pinching, clamping and toe jamming at the toe tips. Rocked back and forth, toe-heel and I can sort of feel something subtle and springy. No mush just a little bounce. I'm at 178lbs and 6ft tall, I guess my weight just triggered this feel. All good so far! I ran in the afternoon after some errands, just to make sure my feet were at their widest and biggest after walking all morning. As baduy as it can get, I wore thick regular socks for that Tito-esque look. Speaking of looks, I like the mint green outsole cladding, it complements the biggish Hoka on the side of the shoe. The white color is spot on to scream Country and Yacht Club member here! It doesn't betray the 5,000 pesos I shelled out for it coming from the 9k regular price it demanded. On a side note, the day after I ordered these, the price dropped to 4,000. Bummer. With my experience on Zero Drop shoes aka Altra, I usually land on my forefoot and kind of push off with my toes with a little "snap" in the end to move forward. With the Carbon X, it was strange. The first 3 kilometers or so was disorienting. I couldn't detect the springy feel it had initially. It was mushy and felt like the Altra Duo (Altra's max cushioned road shoe), soft and pillowy. Don't get me wrong, it was a pleasant and comfy 3k. It was just different. Then I tried to land on my midfoot and roll forward sans the "snap" and there it was! The springy feel returned and a little nudge forward can be felt. So I kept on and after a couple of hundred meters or so I started to get the hang of it and like it. I didn't break any PRs on these, just the regular lazy pace I do on slow days to get a feel of the shoe. And boy, it was a good experience to say the least. I can breathe a bit easier after shelling out 5k for the pair. I was thinking if it didn't work out well on my first run, these would be casual day shoes at the office that it would be stained with coffee drops when I drool because of getting burned by the hot brew. So, I'll go for another spin today and see how it goes. Maybe a 50k on the weekend. Overall, it was comfy, airy and bouncy. Is this enough to sway me away from mainstay Altra? Maybe not yet. Too early to tell. A lot has to be proven yet on durability, long distance feel and most importantly comfort in all situations. For now I'm open to learn on how to run in these and hopefully transition seamlessly to my other shoes without discomfort or worse, injury. I purchased these over at Toby's. If it weren't for the sale price, I would have not even given it a second chance because of the stigma I pinned on Hoka One One's shoe line up. Just to let you know, the sale was so good, I got 3 more Hoka pairs. Ouch. Then again, I'll reserve that for furture reviews. Happy Holidays!!! * For additional feedback on the shoes, I have captioned the pictures below for your reference. #cowpatchman #ultratito #hokaoneone #carbonx #hoka

Picked up the item from Toby's flagship store in BGC. The shoes were brand new in the box, but had some brown stains on the upper of the left shoe, which could probably be due to storage. It can easily be cleaned with a little detergent. Just glad to get a new pair to replace my previous Carbon X which has 530kms on it already. What I'm disappointed with is the service. I ordered the item on November 10, and received an email saying I should wait for another email to confirm when I can pick up the item in Toby's BGC. I never received a confirmation email. Only when I followed up the item through email last November 26 did I get a response that the item is ready for pickup. Upon arrival at Toby's BGC, the item was retrieved from storage, and I signed for it on the log by the guard. The item was with a batch of other shoes which were picked up by lalamove on November 18. Which means my item had already been in BGC for over a week and no one had the initiative to contact me and inform me that the item is ready for pickup. Please improve your system as it is disappointing.

The shoes were great. It also arrived on time. My concern was the handling since when I received it, the top of the box was already not in good shape. Good thing the shoes inside was not affected.