Hoka has spent the past two seasons quietly rebuilding its trail catalogue around a handful of clear purposes, and the Zinal 3 is the cleanest example of that discipline so far. The third generation of the short-course speed shoe, named after the Swiss 31K Sierre-Zinal race, launched this month with a supercritical EVA midsole, a stripped-back leno-weave upper and a new 4mm-lug Hoka-rubber outsole. At $150 it arrives $10 cheaper than its predecessor, and after a few weeks on mixed British and European terrain it feels like one of the most complete short-course trail shoes on the market for 2026.
The midsole is the headline change. Hoka has moved to a supercritically foamed EVA compound that sits at 31.8mm at the heel and 26.8mm at the forefoot, which is 1.8mm taller than the previous Zinal and roughly in line with other short-distance trail racers such as the Vj Spark and Nnormal Cadi. The foam is the most notable part of the update: it is stable and quick-reacting at the same time, with enough energy return to make the shoe usable for sub-threshold tempo efforts on smoother trails, while avoiding the bouncy, vague feel that can haunt entry-level supercritical foams.
The upper is where the weight savings have come from. The Zinal 2 used a knit tongue and a low gaiter collar; the new model ditches both for a more conventional tongue and a precise leno-weave mesh upper that wraps the midfoot without dropping lockdown on technical ground. A UK size 9 tips the scales at 253 grams (8.9 ounces), which is competitive with the best short-course trail racers currently in circulation. Hoka has also moved the heel counter slightly forward and softened the external structure, which benefits runners with narrower ankles in particular.
Outsole and grip have gone the other way, at least on paper. Hoka has dropped from the 5mm Vibram MegaGrip outsole that defined earlier Zinals to a proprietary Hoka-rubber compound with 4mm lugs. In practice, the new outsole handles dry South Downs chalk and gritty fell surfaces well, and the lower lug height is a welcome upgrade if you intend to use the shoe on the runs-to-the-trailhead that dominate a lot of recreational training. On steep, greasy British winter mud it is the obvious weak spot, but the shoe was never really built for that environment, and the lighter, more biddable ride is the fair trade.
Where does it sit in the wider 2026 trail market? Competitively, we think. The Nnormal Cadi remains the more technical proposition at a higher price, while the Saucony Endorphin Edge and New Balance SC Trail V3 are faster for dry, runnable courses. But at $150 the Zinal 3 is the most forgiving and versatile of that group, and it is the one we would reach for first on a Sunday trail 10K or a Skyrunning-style short race with mixed surfaces. If your trail cupboard needs a single shoe that can handle anything up to around three hours of running at pace, the Zinal 3 has just made a very strong case for itself.