Took my new love at 1st sight Hawkie ‘wings’ for a 13K flight at MR on 12 Jan 2010.
Fitting: Forefoot area is wide enough for comfort and roomy toe area for toes to wriggle freely. I like the heel area where the shoes cup nicely around the heels; felt very secure and stable. Overall the shoe is very comfortable as it wraps around the feets nicely and the insole is made of good soft materials; they called it “OrthoLite” (looks like a piece of orthotic). The quick release shoe laces were easy to use but was wondering where to tuck in the continuous loop laces as it looked dangerous dangling outside. Then I found the ‘secret’ hood covering just above the laces! This designer got brains!
0- 4K: Good grip both at the forefoot area and at the heel of the shoe; no slipping on up hills nor downhills. The sole is as flexible as a road shoe (NF shoe is too stiff). It is also thin enough for me to feel the ground and thick enough to prevent pain to the bottom of my foot. The back of shoe holds up the heel very well. Good stability. Very pleased with its performance at this point of time.
Was wondering at the 4K mark how it would perform under wet conditions, then the sky opened up and poured! Someone up there allowing me to do the full test today!
I was very cautious at the beginning of the deluge. When the shoes seems to be holding up well over wet sand, mud, stones & gravels, I decided to take some risks and push it a little further; was able to run downhill at a good speed without slipping on the wet yellow earth. I believe a good trail shoe must be well ventilated. The TX Hawk has lots of netting around the body and even in wet condition, my feet still feels comfortable.
As the rain blurred my specs and vision, I had to run semi-blinded and hoping that the shoe would save me from injuries. A few ankle twisting moments but thankfully no harm done. I am not too sure whether it’s the shoes that help to prevent injuries to the ankles; suspected it did. I was able to depend on the shoe’s good traction and stability to return safely.
Verdict: A good cross between a Road Shoe and a Hard Trail Shoe; it has the Road Shoe’s flexibility & feel of the ground and the Trail Shoe’s stability. The shoe that I have been looking for since the NF100 experiece! So sometimes love at 1st sight may not be wrong after all : )
Stability: 4.5/5
Comfort: 4/5
Ventilation: 4.5/5
Flexibility: 4/5
Road use: 3/5
Laces: 4/5
Traction: 4.5/5
Ground Feel: 4.5/5
Wet Condition: 4.5/5
No comments:
Post a Comment