What are those numbers on the side of Hoka shoes?

If you have bought a pair of Hoka running shoes recently, you may have seen some numbers and letters on the inside of the midsole. Below is a list of what they mean.

Letter	Description
S	The ‘spring’ of the shoe. How far off the ground in millimetres the toe and heel sections are
V	The volume of the midsole cushion in cm³ (cubic centimetres)
W	The weight of the shoe in grams
C	The carbon plate version number

And below are some shoe examples.

Shoe	Spring	Volume	Weight
Clifton Edge	36 x 20	734	246
Torrent 2	33 x 16	395	270
Challenger 6	37 x 30	641	276
Mach 4	39 x 25	642	238
Clifton 8	34 x 22	655	250
Rincon 3	38 x 24	603	215
Kawana	35 x 32	712	288
Speedgoat 5	35 x 21	651	284
Arahi 6	33 x 23	667	269
Zinal	32 x 19	490	242
Stinson 6	42 x 33	809	332
Cielo X LD	12 x 45	211	104
Cielo X MD	14 x 49	173	126

It’s worth emphasising that the ‘spring’ measurement is the curvature of the shoe – not the heel-to-toe drop (normally 4-5mm). Hokas have a signature rocker feel to them, hence why something like the Mach 4 has a difference of 14mm from back to front.

With regards to the carbon plate numbers, these currently range from C001 to C003. Below is a list of what plate is in each shoe. And yes, the stats are the same for both Carbon X shoes!

Shoe	Spring	Volume	Plate no.
Carbon X 2	41 x 36	728	C001
Carbon X 3	41 x 36	728	C001
Rocket X	40 x 15	612	C001
Bondi X	35 x 30	884	C002
Tecton X	36 x 26	701	C003

How is this information useful? Well the more you know, the more informed a decision you can make about which shoe is best for you.

This only really applies if you are browsing for shoes in an actual shop of course. Remember those?