The Best Gravel Running Shoes

HOKA’s max-stacked Rocket X Trail combines road race shoe energy with boosted grip from a 3-mm lugged outsole. If you’re looking for a fast shoe to go on the attack, this is it. It’s also fantastic for all round comfort. In testing, I laced up the Rocket X Trail and ran 3 hours (just short of 19 miles) fresh out of the box, across roads, forest gravel trails, some grass and through some serious water. It delivered efficiency and energy whether I was moving at marathon pace or with heavier, tired, ragged footfalls in the latter miles.

The rockered, supercritical midsole uses HOKA’s liveliest foam, similar to those you find in its race-ready road shoes, along with a carbon plate. That combines for a really fun ride that’s smooth, springy and fast and really consistent. It’s also highly cushioned, so you will sacrifice a lot of ground feel for that big stack springy softness. It’s also less stable over very lumpy terrain. But on open, flat, runnable mixed terrain, it’s excellent.

The lightweight uppers have a race-shoe-ready feel and after running through ankle-deep flooded sections, they shed water really quickly. This is a pricey road-to-trail shoe, it’s versatile and there’s plenty of winter road potential, too.