Hoka One One Challenger ATR 5 – Great For Road and Trail

Andrew Piotrowski

I have been predominantly using Hoka shoes for a few years now and have overall been really pleased. In the past my biggest gripe with some of the shoes was durability. I had a couple of cases in which the bottom rubber would start to peel off some of my trail shoes.

Hoka One One Challenger ATR 5

However, Hoka was able to fix this with the ATR 5 and they are now my go-to for both trail and road running. The current pair that I am running in daily has around 500 miles on them and show very little signs of wearing. Not only are they durable but they are also light, comfortable, and get great traction on rough terrain. 

Hoka One One Challenger ATR 5

What I love:

• Weight: 9.4oz a shoe is very light and feels fast on both road and trail. While they are designed for trails they do exceptionally well on-road and don’t feel clunky.
• Comfortable: The 5mm drop coupled with the CMEVA foam make these a joy to wear on long trail runs and have great stability. I recently wore them for an 11+ hour, 43.5 Mile, and 16K+ vertical change trail run and had zero blisters, pain, or discomfort from the shoes. (stubbing my toes on rocks was my own fault).
• Traction: While these run smooth on pavement they still maintain an excellent grip on a variety of rough terrain. I have worn these shoes on slick rock, loose dirt, sole crushing Adirondack mud and have found them to have exceptional grip. 

Tip:

• If you have wide feet, I have found the toe box to be a bit narrow. This can be mitigated by ordering them in a wide size which Hoka graciously offers in a few different colors.

If you are looking for a shoe that can excel on both road and trail these are more than worthy. 

Andrew Piotrowski

Andrew is a trail runner, climber, paddler, snowboarder, marketer, and most importantly a dog dad. Andrew grew up in suburban Philadelphia and now lives on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

Andrew Piotrowski

While he lives pretty far from the mountains, he puts a heavy focus on preparing for them and inspiring others to do the same. He first fell in love with the mountains on family trips to the White Mountains and the Adirondacks. He spent the majority of his early life competitively running and leisurely paddling, however after college he began focusing on learning to climb, snowboard, and backpack.

Andrew Piotrowski backpacking

Over the past ten years since then, he has been fortunate enough to gain some amazing experiences exploring North America. Some of the most memorable thus far are alpine climbing in the Sierra, trail running in Alberta, learning to splitboard in NH, countless days hiking in the Catskills, or a plethora of mellow days paddling the Chesapeake Bay with friends.

Andrew Piotrowski on MT Whitney

When he can’t be in the mountains Andrew is often running or hiking with his favorite training partners, his two rescue dogs Calvin and Enzo. Andrew is also a self-proclaimed gear junkie and confessed that his gear loft is the most organized place in his home.

Blog: Flatcityclimbing.com

Instagram: pack_mule_piotrowski