The RW Takeaway: With a new, lighter weight midsole and a sportier aesthetic, the limited-edition Mach Supersonic combines the best of the Mach 4 and Mach 5.
- Responsive Profly+ foam provides adequate cushioning
- Early-stage Metarocker encourages a smooth ride
- Hoka decks out the breathable mesh upper with a heel pull tab
Type: Road
Price: $150
Weight: 8.3 oz (M), 6.9 oz (W)
Drop: 5 mm
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When you release a shoe that’s been a huge hit with runners (and earned a Runner’s World Gear of the Year award) the obvious follow-up is to go sonic—or supersonic. This offshoot of the iconic Mach 4 is all about getting uptempo.
The new Profly+ midsole is the Mach Supersonic’s special sauce; it provides a generous bed of cushioning and delivers a propulsive ride. The shoe is approximately the same weight as the Mach 4. Side by side, however, the Supersonic looks downright sportier. The breathable jacquard upper aerates your foot, and the contoured heel collar and padded tongue lock down your foot.
A minor complaint we had with the Mach 4 was the need for an actual heel tab to ease it on. The Supersonic has the same streamlined fit, but a sizable tab across the entire heel makes sliding into the shoe less of a hassle. Another major improvement is the shoelace length; the Mach 4’s laces were comically long, causing some testers to triple-knot or replace them.
The shoe runs big lengthwise, so you may want to size down. Still, testers who ran in the Mach 4 weren’t disappointed with its successor.
“The Supersonic is the cream of the crop of road shoes,” said one. “This shoe is for all runs. For the first time ever, I cannot come up with something, even petty or minor, that I dislike about this shoe.”
High praise for the precursor to the Mach 5 (now available), though I’ll admit, I wished for a little more foam in the midsole. Still, if the Mach 4 and Rincon 3 had a kid, it’d be this super-charged explosive speedster.
More Tester Feedback
Alex P. | Tester since 2021
Arch: Medium | Gait: Neutral | Footstrike: Midfoot
“Overall, I enjoyed these shoes! They grew on me the more I wore them. Initially, I was surprised by how firm and flat they felt. I had the preconceived idea that Hokas were bulky and squishy—these were neither. It was a nice change of pace from the daily trainer I am used to. I tested the Mach Supersonic as a daily trainer, workout shoe, and long run shoe. My paces varied from 5:00/mile to 7:00/mile. My long runs went well, but I was starting to feel my knees and feet towards the end, likely due to the firmness and neutral nature of the shoes. When working out in them, I had no trouble turning the legs over to get down to 5:00/mile. However, the longer the workout and the higher the reps, the more beat up my body was feeling. These shoes suited me best as a daily trainer for just getting the miles in each day—not crushing the pace.”
Amanda is a test editor at Runner’s World who has run the Boston Marathon every year since 2013; she's a former professional baker with a master’s in gastronomy and she carb-loads on snickerdoodles.
