There are two notable updates on the Hoka Carbon X3.
It impresses more as a versatile trainer/racer that can handle regular running better than most carbon shoes, and those who tackle ultramarathon events on the road might find it a good pick for that.
That price makes it cheaper than most carbon plate shoes, though Hoka’s own Rocket X is cheaper at £140.
The Carbon X3’s new knit upper has supportive sections to achieve a locked-down fit and for the most part it works well, but when I used the shoe for faster training sessions there was some lateral movement of my foot in the shoe when rounding corners.
Along with a full-length carbon plate, the midsole of the Carbon X3 features a new EVA foam, which is an improvement on the material used in the Carbon X2.
It has an outsole made from rubberised EVA, rather than a full rubber outsole, and this reduces the grip and durability.
At 240g in my UK 9, the X3 is slightly lighter than the X2, which was 246g, but it’s still heavier than pretty much every other carbon shoe I’ve tested, which does point to the fact the X3 is built more for versatility and longer events.
At the back of the shoe you have an extended swallowtail design to smooth the transition of your footstrike when landing on the heel.
Out of the box I took it for the tempo run, where I warmed up with 30 minutes of easy running before running for 30 minutes at around 3min 30sec/km pace.
That second 30 minutes was around my marathon pace and on the other occasions I have hit that pace or faster in the X3 I’ve had a similar experience.
However, when running at easy and steady paces, I enjoyed wearing the X3 a lot more, especially on the longer run and the progression runs.
The pace came naturally and it does show off the better aspects of the X3’s ride in helping you roll along at a decent pace, but not pushing too hard, which may well work well for road ultramarathons.
I found it also works well for easy runs, and it has a more stable ride than most carbon shoes.
The Hoka Carbon X3 is an improvement on the X2, but because there are better options for both race-day performance and all-round versatility it’s not a shoe I’d pick up myself.