Hoka opens the second generation of its plushest carbon-plated trainer on Friday 15 May, with the Skyward X 2 going on sale through Hoka.com, Running Warehouse and specialty retailers at $225/£225. The original Skyward X arrived in 2024 as Hoka's first foray into max-stack carbon for the everyday distance runner, and the second edition keeps the dual-density PEBA-over-EVA midsole architecture while sharpening almost every other element of the package. A wide version will be offered alongside the standard width on launch day.
The headline numbers are a 2mm reduction in stack height to a 46/41mm men's profile and a roughly one-ounce drop in weight to 11.0oz for a men's US 10. World Athletics' 40mm road-shoe stack ceiling makes this a training shoe rather than a racer, but the trimmed midsole and the redesigned carbon plate combine to give a more decisive forward roll than the original's gently rocking ride. The plate now sits more aggressively in the midsole stack and curves more sharply through the forefoot, which testers have described as a noticeably more engaged toe-off.
Upper changes are arguably the most visible. Hoka has moved to a premium jacquard mesh with what it calls elevated overlay materials, a more sculpted heel collar and an internal gusset on the tongue. Lockdown around the midfoot has been tightened to address one of the most common complaints about the original. The outsole keeps the rubberised pods at high-wear zones and exposed EVA in the rest of the contact patch, which limits durability claims but keeps the weight on target.
First-wave reviews from Believe in the Run, Road Trail Run and The Run Testers have landed on the same broad verdict: the Skyward X 2 retains the bouncy, comfortable signature that made the original a daily-trainer cult favourite while solving the sloppy fit and slightly muddled ride that held it back. Comparisons to the New Balance SC Trainer v3, Asics Superblast 2, Saucony Endorphin Speed 4 and Nike Vomero Plus place the Hoka at the higher-cushion, higher-price end of that bracket but with a more permissive ride than any of them.
At $225/£225 the Skyward X 2 is priced firmly in trainer-as-marathon-race-day-shoe territory, and that is realistically where it sits for the back- and mid-pack runner who will spend three to five hours on their feet on race day. For sub-3 marathoners it remains a long-run cruiser rather than a race-day option, but the package now justifies its price tag more comfortably than the original. The Skyward X 2 launches in two colourways at $225/£225 on 15 May, with a wider rollout to international markets across the rest of the month.