First time Hoka buyer of this model in Men's and one for Woman's for my girlfriend. I've worn New Balance for 20+ years and my GF has worn Brooks for 10+ years. We decided to try this model on to see what the hype was all about. Initially, we loved them instantly! I occasionally wear them to work in a medical setting and my GF wore it daily while bartending. We both liked the fit, color we chose, being Goretex and being comfortable. After 10 months, my Challenger 7 GTX started to tear on top of the shoe, in the crease where I flex my toes. Her's started to do the same in 5 months plus her treaded soles started to come apart!! We haven't even worn them in a rugged trail. It's upsetting because we hoped it would last longer. I reached out to Customer support and we ... MoreFirst time Hoka buyer of this model in Men's and one for Woman's for my girlfriend. I've worn New Balance for 20+ years and my GF has worn Brooks for 10+ years. We decided to try this model on to see what the hype was all about. Initially, we loved them instantly! I occasionally wear them to work in a medical setting and my GF wore it daily while bartending. We both liked the fit, color we chose, being Goretex and being comfortable. After 10 months, my Challenger 7 GTX started to tear on top of the shoe, in the crease where I flex my toes. Her's started to do the same in 5 months plus her treaded soles started to come apart!! We haven't even worn them in a rugged trail. It's upsetting because we hoped it would last longer. I reached out to Customer support and we are returning them for a refund and and exchange for my GF. Crossing our fingers that her exchange of the same shoe will be a better experience. The did not have mine in stock anymore. This review would not allow me to post any photos I took to show you how they aren't holding up as they should. I really liked the pair I had too.

Pulled these out of the box and they looked so good I thought it would be a good idea to do the Mailbox Peak hike in Washington. Mailbox Peak is a 4,000 vertical hike in just over 2 miles. The sign on the trailhead says the average time round trip for the hike is 8 hours. The trail was relatively dry with some areas of mud, roots, and rocks. The shoes were great in all conditions and the only part of my body that wasn't in pain was my feet when I reached the summit after about 2.5 hours. I can usually fly on the down hike so figured I would be back at the van in an hour. Almost immediately my knees, hips, thighs, and calves were on fire. It was the longest down hike ever. Visions of me having to call my wife on the walkie talkie to have her call SAR kept flashing ... MorePulled these out of the box and they looked so good I thought it would be a good idea to do the Mailbox Peak hike in Washington. Mailbox Peak is a 4,000 vertical hike in just over 2 miles. The sign on the trailhead says the average time round trip for the hike is 8 hours. The trail was relatively dry with some areas of mud, roots, and rocks. The shoes were great in all conditions and the only part of my body that wasn't in pain was my feet when I reached the summit after about 2.5 hours. I can usually fly on the down hike so figured I would be back at the van in an hour. Almost immediately my knees, hips, thighs, and calves were on fire. It was the longest down hike ever. Visions of me having to call my wife on the walkie talkie to have her call SAR kept flashing through my head. I finally made it to the parking lot after about 3 hours of agony and as I write this review 5 days later I struggle to stand up I'm so sore. The one part of my body that didn't hurt and don't hurt today were my feet. I did get some small rocks in my shoes on the way down but the thought of bending over to take my shoes off was far worse than just dealing with the pebbles. Sorry for the long winded review just wanted to give some perspective. I would strongly recommend the shoes.

Challenger was the first HOKA model I had about 5-6 pairs back wearing them exclusively for work, so I went with them this go. I pay another $60 every pair of shoes for superfeet insoles instead of using HOKA's so-so stock insole. Pushing over $220 + tax for my work kicks - I'm extremely careful with the shoes, fully unlacing them and keeping them dry/clean. First wore these to work June 1st and noticed mid-September the lining was starting to come apart/wearing through at the back interior of the shoe. About 2-3 weeks more and the side of the shoes started showing odd failure splits at a similar spot. Sure, I'm on my feet or walking my entire 25-30 hour a week work shift, but every HOKA model before this stayed solid for at least 6 months before I could tell ... MoreChallenger was the first HOKA model I had about 5-6 pairs back wearing them exclusively for work, so I went with them this go. I pay another $60 every pair of shoes for superfeet insoles instead of using HOKA's so-so stock insole. Pushing over $220 + tax for my work kicks - I'm extremely careful with the shoes, fully unlacing them and keeping them dry/clean. First wore these to work June 1st and noticed mid-September the lining was starting to come apart/wearing through at the back interior of the shoe. About 2-3 weeks more and the side of the shoes started showing odd failure splits at a similar spot. Sure, I'm on my feet or walking my entire 25-30 hour a week work shift, but every HOKA model before this stayed solid for at least 6 months before I could tell support/sole-wise - time to replace. Also used to get another few months casual use from the old ones before they became work/lawn mowing shoes. Now they won't even make it as long 6 months? No thanks HOKA. Returned them to REI and switched to Keen Targhee III, which are a way more solid feeling shoe. I've been wearing these a week + now at work, up and down stairs, over all kinds of terrain, though water with dry feet and more comfortable than HOKA. They're put together so well - should at least get to 6 months out of them. I also get tired of the HOKA models always being redesigned. I just want the ones that worked well for me last time. I've HOKA'd my last HOKA.