Hoka has confirmed that the second generation of its max-cushion Skyward X carbon-plated trainer will go on sale on Friday 15 May, priced at $225 in the US and £225 in the UK. The Skyward X 2 keeps the franchise's defining 5mm drop and the dual-foam construction that pairs supercritical PEBA on top of supercritically foamed EVA, but Hoka has used the second iteration to dial back the proportions of the original and to give the carbon plate an unmistakably more aggressive role in the ride.
The headline numbers are a 2mm reduction in stack height — bringing the men's stack just inside World Athletics' 40mm road cap — and a weight saving of roughly an ounce, taking a UK 9 to a claimed 311 grams. Hoka has also redesigned the winged carbon-fibre plate so the front portion now sits at a more pronounced angle, a change the brand says is designed to put the runner into a more engaged, forward-tilted stance from the moment the foot hits the ground. The Meta-Rocker geometry that defined the first Skyward X has been retained but slightly steepened to match.
The upper has been reworked too. Out goes the soft, almost lifestyle-leaning knit of the Skyward X v1; in comes a premium jacquard mesh with internal reinforcement at the midfoot, a redesigned heel collar, and a tongue that Hoka says draws on patterns developed for the Cielo X1 race shoe. Importantly for runners who struggled with the first version's narrow toe box, the Skyward X 2 will be offered in proper wide (D) and x-wide (2E) widths in men's sizing from launch — a first for the line, and a notable concession in a category that has tended to default to standard fits.
Early review embargoes have lifted in the past week, and the consensus is largely positive. Reviewers describe a softer, smoother heel-to-toe transition than the original, with the new plate geometry producing a more obvious snap at toe-off without making the shoe feel uncomfortably aggressive at easy paces. Several testers noted that the Skyward X 2 holds up better at threshold and tempo efforts than its predecessor — a useful range for a trainer that, at this stack and price point, is realistically being pitched as a long-run shoe with marathon-day pretensions rather than a pure training-mileage workhorse.
The launch lands in a competitive month for the category. Adidas's Adios Pro Evo 3 has just helped Sabastian Sawe and Yomif Kejelcha go under two hours in London, Nike's Vaporfly 4 is approaching its first major test, and Asics, Saucony and Puma all have new flagship racers either on the shelves or weeks away. The Skyward X 2 is not aimed squarely at that race-day market — it is too heavy and too cushioned to compete on PB day — but Hoka is plainly using the launch to argue that the brand's max-cushion identity can coexist with the more measured, more efficient ride that supershoes have taught the rest of the market to expect.