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HOKA ONE ONE ANACAPA: LIGHT AND VERY CUSHIONED HIKING SHOES.
HOKA ONE ONE ANACAPA: light and very cushioned hiking shoes. Our HIKING SHOES section brings you today an important novelty of the French brand HOKA ONE ONE.
The new Hoka Anacapa are the brand’s big launch for trekking this summer. Legan in four versions: Men’s trehikingshoes vs Women’s hiking shoes. And with them, high or low cane option. Let’s go with the details.
HOKA ONE ONE ANACAPA
It all started down to La Fouly, in 2007… Nicolas Mermoud was the leader of the hundred miles of the UTMB after running the first 100km to Switzerland. But the long descent of almost 20km at full thround on the track from the Italian Col Ferret, took its toll. Molten, without quadriceps, it was surpassed by the much lighter Elm Frame from Champex.
The last marathon of the four that make up the race, made him lose the race even if he stayed on the podium. Years later, Nicolas told me that it was then, at that moment, when, in true Scarlata O’Hara style, he swore to himself that something like this would never happen to him again. In 2009 Nicolas Mermoud founded HOKA ONE ONE, together with his friend Diard.
FROM MINIMALISM TO MAXIMALISM
Interestingly, Hoka One One was born just as the wave of minimalism running was becoming a real tsunami, when it was published in 2009 BORN TO RUN. Mc Dougall’s bestseller and his replica of Micah True’s 1994 Leadville chronicle inspired thousands of people to go for a barefoot run, or almost…
Injuries from wanting to go too far, too soon soon came. Just 3 years later, Hoka One One stopped to be bought by a powerful group USA. The French brand was now, together with the natives of Altra, to lead the turn to maximalism. And it’s going on strong…
FROM MOUNTAIN RACING TO HIKING
In the middle of 2021, Hoka is the most growing mountain footwear brand. Of the world. It’s no longer just that the hundred miles of Leadville peloton is dominated by the maximalist Altra – Hoka.
It is also that among the hikers who board the Appalachian Trail, the most popular long-distance trail in the USA; with about 3,500km of travel, they are currently the majority.
The success came to the brand in the USA before in Europe, which together with its purchase in 2013 by the Deckers group perhaps explains why for many Europeans it is seen as an American brand. But the truth is that no, it all started in Switzerland and went ahead thanks to a couple of visionary Frenchmen. For this year, sales close to 500 million dollars are expected. And it keeps going up, with enormous force…
HOKA ONE ONE HIKKING 2021
The HOKA HIKING 2021 range has seven different shoes: They are the Sky Kaha, Tennine Hike, Sky Toa, Challenger, Challenger Mid the Speedgoat Mid 2… and this brand new HOKA ANACAPA.
Now, really this HOKA ANACAPA marks a before and after in the commitment to the trekking shoes of the brand, let’s see why.
HOKA ANACAPA MEN: DATA SHEET.
The Anacapa Low GORE-TEX are a low-profile version of the Anacapa Mid GORE-TEX, hiking boots for daily use made with responsible manufacturing in mind. This versatile model, designed with lightweight leather certified by the Leather Working Group, uses recycled polyester in the neck.
- Price 155 €
- Weight 397 grams
- Ground height 24mm – 30mm
- Drop 6mm Water-repellent treatment without PFC
- Waterproof nobuk with leather working group’s Gold seal
- Reinforced tongue
- Recycled polyester materials in neck, mesh and laces
- GORE-TEX fabric for footwear with recycled textiles
- Molded polyurethane 50% soybean oil ed.
- Compression molded EVA midsole
- Expanded heel designed for smooth impact
- Meta-Rocker in post-stage position
- Vibram Megagrip rubber with 5 mm lugs
HOKA ANACAPA WOMEN: DATA SHEET.
- Price 155€
- Weight 335 grams
- Height to the ground: 22mm forefoot – 28mm heel. Drop 6mm
- Water-repellent treatment without PFC
- Waterproof nobuk with leather working group’s Gold seal
- Reinforced tongue
- Recycled polyester materials in neck, mesh and laces
- GORE-TEX fabric for footwear with recycled textiles
- Molded polyurethane 50% soybean oil ed.
- Compression molded EVA midsole
- Expanded heel designed for smooth impact
- Meta-Rocker in post-stage position
- Vibram rubber® Megagrip with 5 mm lugs
HOKA ONE ONE: THE DESIGN PILLARS.
As you can see in the image above, almost all Hoka shoes (the Torrent as an exception) share basic principles: More than 25mm. cushioning, Ccntained weights (264-333gr), medium drop (4-5mm), rocker chassis and oversized sole in width that stabilizes ground height and better distributes weight.
Light foam: Hoka remains true to its patented EVA rubber blend. They emphasize that it is more elastic, for better support and energy return. They also argue that it is more durable than traditional EVA. The foam has received different names, including RMAT and R-Bound, but the underlying chemistry is essentially the same. Rocker chassis: Translated into names like Meta-Rocker and the Active Foot Frame.
- The Meta-Rocker is a combination of a low heel tip drop and a rounded sole shape that, according to the house, complements the natural stride and helps to propel forward.
- The Active Foot Frame cradles the foot deeper into the shoe midsole, providing more support as you run. Hoka compares the design to sitting in a low bucket seat of a race car. And true, that peculiar adjustment made it narrow for many people to narrow their last years.
HOKA ONE ONE ANACAPA. CONCLUSIONS.
This new model of Hoka is a commitment to trekking shoes within the brand. A bet, it is true, that the same market has asked them, to be adopting more and more their trail running shoes to make the great hiking trails throughout the United States.
Unlike sisters like the Tenniine or Speedgoat the Anacapa has been born by and for trekking, although of course it allows us to alternate running and walking if we want.
The huge range of the shoe, with two versions by sexes, plus two by height of cane and with three colors in each case makes it clear that you are looking for a best-selling trekking shoe, Surely it will be only the first step of a range that, as in the mountain races first and the running shoes later , we will see it grow later.
And as a first step, it certainly promises…. wishing to be able to fit them to complete this technical analysis with their real performance in our Pyrenees, Picos de Europe, Montserrat, Sierra Nevada, Gredos, Guadarrama and others. We’ll tell you.
