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{{DISPLAYTITLE:Hoka Clifton 2 Review}}The Clifton 2 is a remarkable achievement for [[Hoka Shoe Review| Hoka]], giving the soft an amazing level of cushioning of the [[Hoka Bondi]] at a much lighter for its light weight. In factThe original Clifton was a justifiably popular shoe, and the Clifton and Bondi feel remarkably similarbest seller at Running Warehouse in 2014, and I've even run with one on each foot (no mean feat for what was a niche shoe not something I'd recommend you tryinglong ago.) The difference in thickness of the 2 shoes Clifton is dramatically different, but beyond that nearly as well cushioned as the cushioning, overlaid[[Hoka Stinson]], and overall feel were almost identical. Like all of while it's not quite as cushioned as the [[Hoka rangeBondi]] or [[Hoka Mafate]], the it's a lot lighter than either. The original Clifton has a horribly small toe box, but once its cut open been replaced by the shoe works quite well. (he Clifton is available as a trail version2, called and it's been joined by the "similar [[Hoka Odyssey]] and Challenger ATR. (See below for comparisons with each. I'll use "Clifton". However, like many softly cushioned shoes it should work pretty well on most trails, though it lacks to mean the lugs for slicklatest version, muddy tailsand specify a version when comparing. ) {{H:WhatToLookForInShoes}}

* {{H:cushioning}}. The Clifton has a high level of cushioning, with the soft ride that Hoka of famous for. It's not thick or soft as The cushioning that the Clifton provides for its weight is quite remarkable, and better than any other [[Hoka StinsonMinimax]] or [[Hoka Mafate]], but it's on a par with the Bondi and Olympusshoe. (The Clifton midsole only shoe that has better weight-to-cushioning is made of a lightweight EVA foam. There are a number at the other end of reports that the Clifton would use the much firmer RMAT foam used in spectrum; the ultralight [[Hoka ConquestNew Balance RC5000]] and Huaka, but this does not appear to be the case. There is no mention of RMAT on the Hoka website page, nor is the RMAT logo on the shoe.)* {{H:drop}}'''. '''Like other Hoka shoes, the The Clifton is not has about a zero 5mm drop unloaded, but when the shoeis worn this is reduced to 1mm, and the rear which is about 6 mm thicker than the front. That's about half the drop of a traditional running shoe and I typically don't have any issues moving between the Hokas and a effectively zero -drop shoe like the Altra.* {{H:structure}}. This shoe is made of a single type of foam, though it is colored to appear like there are two different foams in use. The Clifton has a less abrupt taper at the very front of the shoe than the Bondi, but not as gentle as the Altra Olympus. While I prefer the Olympus taper, the Clifton is better than the Bondi. The very rear of the shoe is cut away slightly, creating a little bit of a rocker shape that's almost identical common to the BondiHoka range. The midsole wraps around the lower part of the foot to create additional stability. This helps overcome some of the problems you get with a thick sole creating a stilt like instability.

* {{H:outsole}}. The Clifton has some exposed midsole, with some durable rubber in high friction areas. The durable rubber is placed in much better positions than it is in the Bondi, improving the life of the shoe. In fact, the midsole that is in contact with the ground seems to be remarkably durable, probably because it is in not in the high impact areas.

* {{H:upper}}. The upper is a reasonably thin, breathable, and inflexible, with good padding around the ankle opening.* {{H:tongue}}. The Clifton has a classic tongue rather than a tongue-less sock style of upper. The tongue has no plenty of soft padding, but I didn't find this a problem.* {{H:lacing}}. The Clifton uses thin round flat laces which I found tended to come undonestay tied. It's amazing that in the 21^st century shoe manufacturers can't use The laces that work. Unlike many shoes have a slight bit of elasticity in the Hoka rangethem, there are no elastic straps that pull improving the sides together even if overall comfort of the laces are looseshoe. (I always cut the elastic straps off.)* {{H:heelcounter}}. The Clifton has only a slightly firmer modest heel counter than the Bondi that extends around the foot to the level of the top of the lacesis both useless and harmless.{{BuyShoesFastBlr|RW=Thoka-one-one/clifton-2-1062|RRS=T1062|AZ=T|ZP=THoka Clifton 2}}

==Compared with Altra OlympusHoka Clifton 1 and 2==Thankfully Hoka didn't screw up their update to the Clifton. Even when running with each shoe on either foot, they seem quite similar. * The [[Altra Olympus]] biggest concern I have with the Clifton 2 is that it's put on nearly an ounce. While that's not a competitor huge difference, the key benefit of the original Clifton was its light weight. * The Clifton 2 makes up for its weight increase by having slightly better cushioning. Like the Cliftonweight change, and I believe it represents a better shoe's quite minor. * The Olympus loaded drop has been reduced from 4mm to 1mm. Again, a 7-13mm thicker soleslight difference, but a toe box shaped for good one. * The tongue on the Clifton 2 is now padded as the lack of padding on the original Clifton apparently caused some runners issues. However, I'd argue that if you're tying your shoes tight enough to notice the human footdifference then there's something wrong. The Clifton 2 is a little more comfortable, but I've found the original Clifton to be fine in 100 mile races. * The laces on the Clifton 2 are better – they stay tied and zero dropthey're slightly elasticated. However Overall, the Olympus Clifton 2 is not quite as softly cushioned as only a slight change to the Clifton original, and both are great shoes. Given a straight choice, I'd go for the original, but it's heaviera close call.

|[[File:Hoka Clifton 2-top.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Hoka Clifton 2 top]]|[[File:Hoka Clifton 2-bottom.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Hoka Clifton 2 bottom]]|[[File:Hoka Clifton 2-inside.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Hoka Clifton 2 inside]]|[[File:Hoka Clifton 2-outside.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Hoka Clifton 2 outside]]|- valign="top"|[[File:Hoka-OneOne-Clifton-top.jpg|none|thumb|150px|Hoka OneOne Clifton 1 top]] |[[File:Hoka-OneOne-Clifton-bottom.jpg|none|thumb|150px|Hoka OneOne Clifton bottom1bottom]]|[[File:Hoka-OneOne-Clifton-inside.jpg|none|thumb|150px|Hoka OneOne Clifton 1 inside]]|[[File:Hoka-OneOne-Clifton-outside.jpg|none|thumb|150px|Hoka OneOne Clifton 1 outside]]|}{{FastBlr|hoka-one-one/clifton-730|730|Hoka Clifton 1}}==Clifton and Odyssey==The [[Hoka Odyssey]] looks almost identical to both the original Clifton and the Clifton 2, and it would be easy to think it's the same shoe. The Odyssey is sold as a mass market version of the Clifton, with the Clifton only available through more specialist outlets. However, the Odyssey has a midsole that is closer to the [[Hoka Bondi]] than the Clifton in both thickness and firmness. So the Odyssey has similar cushioning to the Clifton, but through thicker, firmer foam. The Odyssey is also slightly heavier than either Clifton. The tongue on the Odyssey is unpadded, like the original Clifton, but unlike the original Clifton, I found the Odyssey tongue cut into my ankle slightly. Overall, I found I prefer the Clifton (1 or 2) over the Odyssey or the Bondi, and my subconscious preference seems stronger than I'd expect from the relatively small differences. I suspect that the small differences between the shoes add up, so get the Clifton or Clifton 2 over the Odyssey. {| class="wikitable"|- valign="top"|[[File:Hoka Clifton 2-top.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Hoka Clifton 2 top]]|[[File:Hoka Clifton 2-bottom.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Hoka Clifton 2 bottom]]|[[File:Hoka Clifton 2-inside.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Hoka Clifton 2 inside]]|[[File:Hoka Clifton 2-outside.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Hoka Clifton 2 outside]]

|[[File:Altra-OlympusHoka Odyssey-top.jpgJPG|none|thumb|150px|Altra Olympus Hoka Odyssey top]] |[[File:Altra-OlympusHoka Odyssey-bottom.jpgJPG|none|thumb|150px|Altra Olympus Hoka Odyssey bottom]] |[[File:Altra-OlympusHoka Odyssey-inside.jpgJPG|none|thumb|150px|Altra Olympus Hoka Odyssey inside]] |[[File:Altra-OlympusHoka Odyssey-outside.jpgJPG|none|thumb|150px|Altra Olympus Hoka Odyssey outside]]

The Clifton seems like it's an evolution of the [[Hoka Bondi]], giving similar cushioning at a much lighter weight. It feels remarkably While the Clifton and Bondi feel quite similar, even when wearing one shoe on each footI find the Clifton is more comfortable and the lightness is a big deal. The Clifton is lighter, and has better wear characteristics, so it works out cheaper per mile. The Clifton shares even without the poor toe box design of all the Hokascheaper purchase cost. It's not clear to me why anyone would buy the Bondi now that the Clifton is available.

|[[File:Hoka-OneOne-Clifton2-top.jpgJPG|none|thumb|150px|Hoka OneOne Clifton 2 top]] |[[File:Hoka-OneOne-Clifton2-bottom.jpgJPG|none|thumb|150px|Hoka OneOne Clifton 2 bottom]]|[[File:Hoka-OneOne-Clifton2-inside.jpgJPG|none|thumb|150px|Hoka OneOne Clifton 2 inside]]|[[File:Hoka-OneOne-Clifton2-outside.jpgJPG|none|thumb|150px|Hoka OneOne Clifton 2 outside]]| rowspan="4" | [[File:CliftonBondiDissect.JPG|none|thumb|350px|Clifton and [[Hoka Bondi]]. ]]

The Clifton looks virtually identical to the [[Hoka Conquest]] (see below for an image.) However, the shoes are radically different, as the Conquest is way too firm for a surprisingly firm[[Minimax]] shoe. The diagonal slices through the midsole are actually cutaways in the Conquest, but simple coloring on the Clifton. The Conquest really needs those cut outs to mitigate the firmness of the foam, where the Clifton doesn't.

|[[File:Hoka-OneOne-Clifton2-top.jpgJPG|none|thumb|150px|Hoka OneOne Clifton 2 top]] |[[File:Hoka-OneOne-Clifton2-bottom.jpgJPG|none|thumb|150px|Hoka OneOne Clifton 2 bottom]]|[[File:Hoka-OneOne-Clifton2-inside.jpgJPG|none|thumb|150px|Hoka OneOne Clifton 2 inside]]|[[File:Hoka-OneOne-Clifton2-outside.jpgJPG|none|thumb|150px|Hoka OneOne Clifton 2 outside]]

==Compared with the Altra One2==The Clifton is only an ounce heavier than the [[Altra One2| Altra One²]], but this is not reflected in the way the shoes feel. I found that the Clifton felt much closer in weight to the Bondi than the One² despite the much greater weight difference. The Clifton is much more cushioned than the Altra, which might be the reason behind the perceived weight dissimilarity.{{FastBlr| class="wikitable"|hoka- valign="top"|[[File:Hokaone-OneOneone/conquest-Clifton-top.jpg|none|thumb|150px|Hoka OneOne Clifton top]] |[[File:Hoka-OneOne-Clifton-bottom.jpg|none|thumb|150px|Hoka OneOne Clifton bottom]]|[[File:Hoka-OneOne-Clifton-inside.jpg|none|thumb|150px|Hoka OneOne Clifton inside]]|[[File:Hoka2-OneOne-Clifton-outside.jpg|none|thumb1084|150px1084|Hoka OneOne Clifton outside]]|- valign="top"|[[File:Altra-One2-top.jpg|none|thumb|150px|Altra One2 top]] |[[File:Altra-One2-bottom.jpg|none|thumb|150px|Altra One2 bottom]] |[[File:Altra-One2-inside.jpg|none|thumb|150px|Altra One2 inside]] |[[File:Altra-One2-outside.jpg|none|thumb|150px|Altra One2 outside]]|Conquest}}

I like to compare shoes against the [[Asics GT 2000]] as it represents the traditional running shoe. The GT 2000 is over engineered and includes many things I dislike in traditional running shoes. These excessive features go against [[The Science of Running Shoes]] and are more likely to cause problems than solve them. The GT 2000 is nearly 50% heavier than the Clifton, but provides far less cushioning. The I can think of no advantage the GT 2000 has a little more padding in the rear of over the upperClifton, and a much nicer tongue, but thatI's about its only advantagesd choose the Clifton every time.

|[[File:Hoka-OneOne-Clifton2-top.jpgJPG|none|thumb|150px|Hoka OneOne Clifton 2 top]] |[[File:Hoka-OneOne-Clifton2-bottom.jpgJPG|none|thumb|150px|Hoka OneOne Clifton 2 bottom]]|[[File:Hoka-OneOne-Clifton2-inside.jpgJPG|none|thumb|150px|Hoka OneOne Clifton 2 inside]]|[[File:Hoka-OneOne-Clifton2-outside.jpgJPG|none|thumb|150px|Hoka OneOne Clifton 2 outside]]