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Clifton 9
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Best price todayLowest tracked · 90d
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Today's tracked prices
- 01YOOXLIVE£92.00£140.00−34%
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Expert review
Our verdict
The Clifton 9 is Hoka at its most crowd-pleasing: a tall-stacked, lightweight daily training shoe that feels far nimbler than its cushioning suggests. At 252g it is genuinely light for a max-cushion running shoe, and that low weight is the whole trick. You get a big pile of soft foam underfoot, but your legs never feel like they are dragging bricks around. The signature rockered sole rolls you forward smoothly, so easy miles and steady runs tick by with very little effort. This is not a shoe for chasing a personal best, and it is not built for pace work. Think of it as the everyday workhorse: the shoe you reach for on recovery days, long slow runs and the daily commute of base miles. In our view it remains one of the safest picks in the neutral cushioned category, especially if you want plush protection without the bulk. If you are new to the range, it is an easy first Hoka.
Key features
- Lightweight max cushioningGives you a tall, protective stack at just 252g, so your legs stay fresh on long runs without the dead-weight feel of most cushioned shoes
- Early-stage Meta-RockerRolls you smoothly from landing to toe-off, keeping easy miles feeling effortless and your stride flowing
- Wide, stable basePlants the tall stack firmly on the road so it never feels tippy, even as you tire late in a run
- 5mm dropSits low enough to encourage a natural midfoot roll while staying gentle on tight calves and Achilles
- Breathable engineered mesh upperHolds your foot securely with no break-in and vents heat well across the seasons
Who it suits
Who should buy it
- Runners who want plush daily cushioning without the heavy, sluggish feel of most max-cushion shoes
- Recovery days and long slow runs where saving your legs matters more than speed
- Beginners after a forgiving, do-everything first training shoe
- Neutral runners logging high weekly mileage on hard roads
Good to know
Extra information
Fit & sizing
The Clifton 9 fits true to size for most runners, so order your usual length and you will be fine. The toe box is medium width: comfortable for a standard to slightly narrow foot, but not a roomy shoe. If you have wide feet, a genuinely broad forefoot or you like to splay your toes, we would size up half a size or look for the wide fitting, which Hoka offers in several colours. Midfoot lockdown is secure without feeling clamped, and the gusseted tongue keeps things tidy. The heel hold is the one area to check in store: the collar is well padded and works for most, but if you have a narrow heel you may want to lace-lock the top eyelets to stop any slip. Overall it is a forgiving, easy fit that suits long runs where your feet swell later in the session.
Performance breakdown
Ride & feel
The Clifton 9 rides soft but stable, with the early-stage rocker doing the heavy lifting. Land anywhere from midfoot to heel and the shoe rolls you smoothly toward toe-off, which is exactly what you want on relaxed miles. The cushioning is protective rather than bouncy, so do not expect a springy pop back at you. It soaks up impact and asks nothing of your legs in return. That makes it a brilliant recovery and easy-day tool. Push the pace and the ride gets vaguer, because there is no plate or firm propulsion to snap against. It will handle a steady effort happily, but a genuine tempo session is not its natural home. For that you would want something like the Hoka Mach 6. As a do-everything cruiser at easy pace, though, it is hard to fault.
Cushioning
This is where the Clifton 9 earns its keep. The stack is tall and the foam is soft enough to take the sting out of long miles on hard pavement, so your legs feel fresher deep into a session than they would in a lower shoe. It leans plush and forgiving rather than firm and responsive, which is the right call for a daily cushioned trainer. Compared with the heavier, even softer Hoka Bondi 9, the Clifton keeps things lighter and a touch more connected to the ground, so it is the better pick if you find full max-cushion shoes a little unwieldy. Over marathon distance it holds up well for gentle running, though hard-charging runners may find it bottoms out slightly at speed.
Stability
The Clifton 9 is a neutral shoe, so there is no medial post, no guide rails and no corrective structure. That said, the wide, flat base and the moderate stack give it more inherent steadiness than the numbers might suggest. For a neutral runner it feels planted and predictable on the road, and the broad platform stops it from feeling tippy despite the height. If you are a mild overpronator who does not strictly need support, plenty of runners get on fine with it. But if you genuinely need stability, or you have a history of rolling inward under fatigue, this is not the shoe. Look at a dedicated support trainer such as the Hoka Arahi 8 instead. As a neutral cushioned option it is stable enough for its job.
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Common questions
FAQ
The numbers
Specifications
| Category | Max Cushion |
| Surface | Road |
| Drop | 5mm |
| Heel Stack |
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