HOKA | Women’s Clifton 9 Running Shoes – Bellweather Blue

Advice for Road Runners: The HOKA Women’s Clifton 9 in the Bellweather Blue/Evening Sky are perfect for the daily miles. We think these ‘rockered’ running shoes are one of the best options for slow to steady paced runs. 

Underfoot Feel

The cushioning in the HOKA Clifton 9 feels protective and padded. A slight firmness in the midsole improves how the Meta-Rocker works. When you land, the curved midsole rolls your feet forward. This lowers the stress on the calf muscles. 

Your feet sit into the midsole, as the sides of the foam rise up the lateral and medial sides of the shoe. In a similar way to how a bucket seat works, this holistic support stabilises your feet. This support is particularly beneficial if you fatigue in the later stages of a run. With the total shoe weighing (approximately) just 205 grams, the Clifton 9 cushioning feels very light.

Upper Fit

Like the midsole, the upper of the HOKA Clifton 9 feels very light. The breathable engineered knit upper keeps your feet feeling cool.

A point to note is that you may be aware of the midsole walls around the side of your feet. In our experience, the Clifton 9 fits a range of foot shapes and these side walls don’t rub. However, we do stock the Clifton 9 wide-fit at Run4It. 

If you’re looking for great ankle lock-down, the plush heel collar holds you securely. HOKA’s signature extended heel tab also reduces ankle rubbing. 

In case you don’t know, HOKA only converts the women’s size from US to UK by one and a half sizes. Most running brands convert it by two full sizes. We recommend choosing your normal US running shoe size.

Ideal Run Type

The HOKA Women’s Clifton 9 running shoes are best suited to slower to steady paced runs. That’s because the cushioning feels great at these paces. The midsole geometry also lowers the work being done by your calf muscles. So, when you want to take the stress off your legs, we recommend these running shoes. 

We also recommend the Clifton 9 for longer distance runs. The rocker midsole helps the miles to disappear. That’s why we position the HOKA Clifton 9 in our Float Experience category. If you’re looking for a softer underfoot feel, you might want to check out the ultra cushioned HOKA Bondi. 

Shoe size is a personal preference and everyone’s feet are different, but we want to ensure you avoid any pain or discomfort from bruised toenails, rubbing, blistering or pins and needles.

Your running shoes should have enough width to allow you to spread your toes and should have some space at the front (we recommend having a half to one thumb’s width of space from the end of your longest toe to the front of your running shoes).

This usually means that your running shoe will be at least a half size bigger than your regular shoe size though this can vary from brand to brand.

Technical Features

• Approximate weight: 205 grams
• Forefoot stack height: 24 mm
• Heel stack height: 29 mm
• Drop: 5 mm
• Gusseted tongue
• Early stage Meta-Rocker
• Inherently stable geometry 
• Durabrasion rubber
• Recycled polyester laces
• Recycled content mesh
• Vegan