Every Chunky Shoe Owes a Debt to This HOKA
Six years later, the HOKA Bondi 7 makes its glorious return in very different circumstances. When this chunky road runner hit the market, HOKA was still a relative underdog, its unimaginably oversized shoes loved by runners but yet to really penetrate the wider sneaker market.
Now, the sport brand has wholeheartedly infiltrated fashion, scaling its bulky sneaker business to the extent that rival executives are sweating while diversifying its offering to the extent that it even includes leather loafers. From this stylish new landscape emerges a new kind of HOKA Bondi 7, a sneaker not for chewing up miles but for everyday use.
When the Bondi 7 dropped in 2020, it was aimed at runners seeking a cushioned step. But some prescient folks saw the stylishness of these monstrous sneakers and wore them as casual footwear.
The difference in 2026 is that now, they’re marketed as such.
Make no mistake, HOKA’s newly revived Bondi 7 still has plenty of utility under its bonnet.
The shoe’s chunky sole unit packs ample cushioning and open mesh construction maximises airflow but it’s nothing compared to HOKA’s new-generation top-of-the-line runners.
The Bondi 7 was born for long training days but it’s now primed for a life in the slow lane. Even on HOKA’s website, where the shoe retails for $165, the brand isn’t hyping up its racing credentials, rather focusing on how the Bondi 7 “delivers comfort that lasts well beyond the morning commute.” In other words, this is your go-to strolling shoe.
As with the 2013 Stinson Evo trail shoe, which initially put HOKA on the wider footwear biz’ map, 2017’s gorgeously gaudy Speedgoat 2, and the long-distance Elevon runner from 2018, this revival is about looks rather than performance.
The classic silhouettes that propelled HOKA to its current heights are back, almost entirely unchanged yet released for a different audience.
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