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From Fellrnr.com, Running tips
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* '''Structure'''. This shoe is made of a single type of foam. (There is mention of using [[RMAT]] foam in the midsole, but I think that the RMAT is mostly limited to the outsole.)
* '''Flexibility'''. The Mafate has no real flexibility, but it's so thick it deforms a little. It's the least flexible shoe I've come across, and similar to a hiking boot.
* '''Outsole'''. The Mafate has aggressive lugs for grip on soft surfaces, and some of these are made of hard, durable rubber. However, most of the outsole is made of the softer [[RMAT]] foam, and I'm not sure how well this will wear. In the pictures above, the hard rubber is black and the RMAT is red. You can see that Hoka were concerned about the RMAT wearing as they added the harder rubber in the highest abrasion areas. The Mafate outsole is reasonably happy on roads, though I've found and the outsole sometimes lacks softness of the RMAT lugs is sticky, so it has great grip on wet asphaltmost surfaces.
* '''Shape'''. The Mafate has the typical Hoka shape, which includes a horribly constricted toe box. In fact, the Mafate seems a little worse than most Hokas. The Hoka toe box tends to cause a distinctive pattern of blisters, so it's critical to [[Shoe Modifications| cut open the toe box of any Hokas]].
* '''Upper'''. The upper is inflexible and has a little padding. It's not quite as breathable as I'd like, but it's not terrible. There are a few seams, but they should not cause problems.
=Compared with the Earlier Mafate=
Hoka has made a number of changes between the original Mafate and the Mafate Speed. The update is rather mixed, with some improvements and some declines. Overall, I think I prefer the original version, but it's close.
* A large portion of the outsole is now made from the softer RMAT foam. I think this will reduce the life of the shoe, but it's too early to be sure. However, the softness of the RMAT lugs does make them surprisingly sticky, so the new version has great grip.
* The upper is thinner and has far fewer seams, but is less padded.
* The laces are now the Hoka "speed laces", which is probably why they added the "speed" suffix. You can use standard laces instead.
* The toe box seems slightly worse, as it's even narrower.
* The tongue is now attached to the upper, in a sock-style arrangement. This works a little better than the original. * The latest version includes an optional thinner insole that reduces the cushioning by 3-4mm, but increases the internal room. This is a nice way of tweaking the fit of the shoe.
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