Heard a lot of hype and read a lot of positive reviews during my research, and narrowed my choice down to two brands (ON & HOKA). I decided on the Clifton 9's as my 1st choice. Initially, I felt a little slippage in the heel, so I tied the laces in a heel lock which helped with the slippage. However, it applied to much pressure on the tongue which made my ankle sore. This made me think I purchased the wrong shoe after just one walk. I took out the heel lock the next day and readjusted the tongue several times during the walk until I found the sweet spot and was able to continue my walk. I walk at a very brisk pace and depending on the day/weather, travel between 2-4 miles. If the comfort level continues, I'm going to consider buying the waterproof version of the Clifton 9 for those slightly rainy days that I walk in. Overall, while I consider this shoe expensive compared to previous purchases of other brands, I bit the bullet and paid full price for these shoes. Time will tell if the expense of this shoe is in fact worth all the hype. As for size, depending on the Hoka model, it is sometimes recommended to size up a half size. I found my regular size 10M true to size with no need to size up.

I just bought these to replace the first pair of these I bought about 10 months ago. I'm new to running and these are the first pair of actual running shoes I've ever tried. So I really don't have much to compare them too. Aside from just the Sketchers I ran in before, and of course these are far more comfortable, supportive, and cushioned for running then those were. In the 10 months I've owned them they wore well, lasted long, and became better fitting and comfortable as they broke in. On initial purchase I found them tight in the toe box. I have wide feet. 2E. And the 9.5 2E were still tight. However, opening up the laces and widening the shoe as much as possible helped. In fact, when I just bought the new ones, I did this from the start, and they were good from the first run. Honestly, these shoes seem great and do the job. I'm 58, male, running for a couple of years now. I'd like to try other shoes, but liked these well enough to buy the exact same pair again to use while I investigate other Hoka models and or other brands. I easily got 400 miles plus out of these...though I perhaps wore them longer than I should have. One star off for the tight toe box.

Between my wife and I we own several pair of Clifton 8 shoes and love them. Since experiencing plantar fasciitis and most recently Achilles tendonitis, they are the only shoe I can wear for any length of time. I recently purchased this pair of Clifton 9 shoes and immediately noticed they'd made much more than cosmetic changes from the Clifton 8. As soon as I start walking in them my Achilles pain returns and immediately goes away as soon as I take them off. They aren't as comfortable and what used to be a silky fabric liner is now a course mesh that despite wearing good Bombas socks and fitting properly, are rubbing my heel and back of my angle raw. I wouldn't buy these again but will probably look for another Hoka model that is more like the Clifton 8. If you make other than cosmetic changes to a shoe, why use the same name vs. giving these a new name? It is deceiving. I can't imagine why they'd scrap a shoe design as good as the 8 for this design. I'll be returning them.

These are my second pair of Hokas, first being the Mach 5, and I think I am now a Hoka fan boy. One of the things that first noticed was the fit on these were a bit more snug compared to the Mach 5. My right foot I guess is a tad wider, so I had a hot spot on the side of my big toe. The feel when running isn't like the Mach 5.

The Clifton 9 felt more solid and less lively than I thought it would be. The cushion I felt came to play during my long runs. My feet felt less tired and when I land, the shoe's cushion it/absorb the landing. It does not have the pop or bounce back the Mach 5 have, so they kind of feel "boring" but my knees and feet thank me at the end of the week.

Overall, I think these are great shoes for daily easy runs and long easy runs, but not for faster pace work. The toe box is not as spacious, but the cushion does work to absorb miles. Were these shoes really shine for me is in the durability. As of this writing, I have 178. 5 miles on the shoes in less than a month, and the sole still looks pretty new. So I will definitely be clocking over 300 miles on these.