Customer Reviews Hoka Gaviota 5

I've worn the Gaviota 2, 3, 4 and now the Gaviota 5. The 5 is a very different shoe. The cushioning has gone up a notch - It provides exceptional shock absorption without be squashy. my knees can feel the difference - no longer the shock to the knee that prior versions or any shoe for that matter caused. Hoka really nailed it with exceptional shock absorption. The stability has also improved significantly from prior versions - First off, it's a lot wider and that keeps my feet from rolling off the edge. I supinate (my feet roll towards the outside of the shoe). Not only does the width provide my foot with stability, but the new H frame prevents my feet from rolling outward (supination). In prior versions there was a J frame that provided stability only for pronators. The H frame supports pronators and supinators. The combination of the wider sole and the H frame provides amazing stability that I"ve not experienced with any other shoe. Thus, my body weight is distributed across the entire sole of the shoe each time I hit the ground. The combination of improved shock absorption and stability makes a huge difference, reducing the shock and stress to my knees and legs beyond what I've experienced with any other shoe. Truly amazing!. The toe box looks wider but functionally the front of my foot remains grounded and it doesn't slide around. So I have no issues with the toe box. Quality wise, I did have an issue - the heal padding at the back of one shoe broke loose and sank to the bottom of the shoe. I returned it to Zappos and received a replacement pair which seems fine. Hoka needs to do a more consistent job of gluing the heal padding in place. If you've worn the Gaviota 3 or 4, this is different but in my opinion much improved shoe. Just takes a little getting used to. Overall I absolutely love the Gaviota 5 for walking, jogging, or standing still.

Really love the shoes, great for walking, jogging and gym. But awful for driving. The bottoms of the shoes are very broad. The shoes I am wearing are an 11 D, and with my foot up against the footwell and on the gas pedal the distance between the left edge of my shoe and brake pedal is less than half inch. I have to be really cautious when I drive not to accidentally hit the brake when I hit the gas. I learned the hard way. Moral of story, I don’t drive in them.

These are very comfortable for my flat feet. I need stability shoes that are medium firm and these seem to be a good choice. I also liked the Arahi for this reason. Hoka Bondi seems too soft and didn’t last me 3 months. I tried those for standing on concrete.

I ordered these Hoka Gaviota 5 sneakers so that my husband would have the shoe in a darker color for the fall season, as his current Gaviota 5 is white, and he prefers the darker colors. He loves the quality and fit of this shoe.

It took a long time to find the HOKA Gaviota 4 as a stable supportive replacement for the beloved Brooks Beast worn for 8 years. Brooks unsuccessfully tried to reinvent the wheel when they changed the support system in their best selling stability shoe. I am sad to say that HOKA has done the same by changing the exceptional J-frame support of the Gaviota 4 to a mushy, sometimes unstable H-frame in the G-5. In addition, believe the other reviewers who say the toe box is twice as big, which adds to the disaster of this shoe by allowing the foot to slip around and causes pain and an unbalanced walk/run. Hoka directs customer to the Arahi as a substitute for the Gaviota 4, but it is a poor substitute for someone who needs the stability and cushion. Arahi is a very aggressive arch support with little padding. If HOKA is listening, please bring back the Gaviota 4 which was the both of best worlds - perfect support/stability with perfect cushioning.

Very different from the 4 model. Much wider and thus created foot pain from rolling when getting up

looked wider in person vs picture

I ordered this style shoes hoping that they would work for me on an upcoming trip in which I am going to do a fair amount of walking in different terraines. Overall the shoes run big and they don't have much cushion on the bottom.