You can’t expect anything less something done in a very original way from Hoka. While the introduction of the carbon plate is nothing new for the American company (the first to receive it was the Carbon Rocket in 2019, then followed by the Rocket X in 2020), the novelty represented by the Cielo X1 is that the base of this shoe is pure racing.
The Cielo were introduced to the market by Hoka in 2022 and represented its first approach to speed racing. A momentous step for a brand known until then (and still only born in 2009) for comfort and extreme protection but not for speed.
The idea for the Cielo X1 must have come about just as Hoka wondered whether to update and improve the Rocket X or to try something new: to make the Cielo even more race-like.
Cielo+
They could have called them Cielo+, although of their cousins (which are in the catalog in both road and track versions) they retain certain references in the minimal upper design but not much else. So let’s go for Cielo X1, to declare from the start that it is a first version.
There is plenty of substance, and they express it through Hoka’s signature colors (certainly not shy) and a midsole composed of two layers of resilient PEBA foam at different densities (softer on the top one and more responsive on the bottom one) for maximum energy return, augmented further by the carbon plate sandwiched between them.
If you look at its profile, you can’t help but notice the very pronounced front rocker-it’s called the MetaRocker™ and it’s meant to increase stride momentum, also helped by a rubber outsole that provides durability and control.
An ultra-lightweight upper is a must in a speed shoe, such as the engineered upper suitable for a breathable, lightweight fit, while other details such as the asymmetric tongue make it even more of a race shoe.
With a 7 mm drop, a weight of 263 grams and a stack of 40 mm, the Cielo X1 falls within the standards set by World Athletics, thus allowing it to be worn in competition.
But what really makes this shoe special? Colin Ingram, Vice President of Product and Apparel at HOKA, tells it this way, “The extreme geometry of the carbon plate, combined with the forefoot rocker, optimizes thrust and propulsion, taking athletes to the edge of the universe-race.”
Athletes like Wesley Kiptoo and Kellyn Taylor have already achieved outstanding performances wearing them.
Are you ready to fly? The Cielo X1 is available for 275 euros at HOKA.com and at authorized HOKA retailers worldwide.
