Do HOKAs Have a Wide Toe Box? 8 HOKAs Measured
Of the current HOKAs we cover, the roomiest toe box is the Gaviota 6’s: 76.7 mm at the big toe, fourth widest of the 34 shoes we review that a lab has measured. The others sit within 2.6 mm of the median, and none comes within 5 mm of the three Altras at the top.
On this page
- The short answer
- Which HOKA has the widest toe box?
- HOKA toe boxes change with every version
- HOKA Regular vs Wide vs X-Wide: what each one buys you
- Which HOKA for a bunion, a hammertoe or crowded toes
- Do HOKA or Brooks have a wider toe box?
- All eight, measured three ways
- The HOKA with no figure yet
- Questions patients ask
- Related charts and guides
So do HOKAs have a wide toe box? One does, a little. The rest are average or narrow, and the two newest versions, the Clifton 11 and the Arahi 9, measured narrower at the big toe than the shoes they replaced. What HOKA sells instead is a Wide, and on the Clifton, Bondi, Arahi and Gaviota an X-Wide, which by HOKA’s own account add a few millimetres, mostly as volume over the top of the foot. For a bunion that can be enough. For crowded toes it usually is not.
This is a measurement page. Every shoe measurement here is from RunRepeat’s laboratory, which buys one pair of each shoe in a men’s US 9 and measures the inside from a gel mould of it. We have not measured these pairs ourselves, and HOKA publishes none of these numbers. Each shoe links to our specification review.
The short answer
Measured at the big toe, 28.3 mm back from the tip of the shoe where the toes actually sit, the six current HOKAs we cover and the two they have just replaced span 6.5 mm, from 70.2 to 76.7 mm. Across the 34 shoes we review that carry this figure, the median is 72.8 mm and 27 of the 34 sit between 70 and 76 mm. Seven of these eight HOKAs are inside that ordinary band; only the Gaviota 6 sits above it.
Toe box width at the big toe, in millimetres: RunRepeat laboratory, one pair of each shoe. Bars start at 60 mm rather than at zero, so that a millimetre or two is visible, on the same scale as our toe box width chart. The Arahi 9 is too new for our review library, so it is shown here but not ranked among the 34.
In order, with each shoe’s place among the 34: the Gaviota 6 (4th), Arahi 8 (12th), Clifton 10 (14th), Mach 7 (15th), Bondi 9 (joint 19th), Clifton 11 (27th) and Transport 2 (31st). Two of those have already been replaced, and both replacements measure narrower at the big toe: the Clifton 11 by 2.2 mm and the Arahi 9 by 3.1 mm.
Which HOKA has the widest toe box?
Of the current HOKAs we cover, the Gaviota 6, and not narrowly. At 76.7 mm at the big toe it is 3.1 mm roomier than the next HOKA, the Arahi 8, and 3.9 mm above the median shoe; outside Altra, none of the 34 shoes we review is wider there. It is also joint fourth of the 34 at the widest point of the forefoot (97.2 mm, level with the Clifton 10), and deeper than most over the toes (28.2 mm, joint 7th). No other current HOKA here is roomy on all three measurements, and of the twelve HOKAs we hold lab toe-box figures for, the only one wider at the big toe is the version it replaced, the Gaviota 5 (77.2 mm).
It is a stability shoe, built on the widest heel of the 35 shoes we review (105.6 mm across the base) with a firm heel counter, so it is not the right HOKA for everyone. If you do not want that much shoe, the next roomiest at the toes are the Arahi 8 (73.6 mm), a lighter stability shoe, and the neutral Clifton 10 (73.1 mm), both only just above the median, and both now replaced by versions narrower at the big toe. Our Gaviota vs Arahi comparison weighs the two stability shoes against each other.
HOKA toe boxes change with every version
HOKA lists the Clifton 10 and the Clifton 11 on the same stack and drop and sells both in Regular, Wide and X-Wide. On the lab’s measurements the Clifton 11 is 2.2 mm narrower at the big toe (70.9 against 73.1 mm), 2.5 mm narrower at the widest point (94.7 against 97.2) and sits on a forefoot platform 3.1 mm narrower, with the same depth over the toes. That moves it from the middle of the 34 to the eight narrowest at the big toe. If the Clifton 10 was only just wide enough, try the 11 on before you buy it, or go up a width. Our Clifton 10 vs Clifton 11 comparison covers everything else that changed.
The Arahi moved in two directions. The Arahi 9 is 3.1 mm narrower than the Arahi 8 at the big toe (70.5 against 73.6 mm) but 1.7 mm wider at the widest point (97.0 against 95.3), with a toe box 1.3 mm taller. Set against the same 34 shoes, it would be sixth widest at the ball of the foot and 31st of 35 at the big toe, and its 26.5 mm taper from one to the other would be the second steepest, behind only the New Balance 990v6. Better for the bump of a bunion, worse for crowded toes. Our Arahi 8 vs Arahi 9 comparison has the rest.
Those two are not exceptions. Our generation comparisons cover six HOKA version changes, each measured by the lab with the same toe-box tests, and the toe box moved every time, by up to 4.2 mm at the big toe and 5.0 mm at the widest point, in both directions:
| Version change | At the big toe | At the widest point |
|---|---|---|
| Gaviota 5 → 6 | 77.2 → 76.7 mm (−0.5) | 99.7 → 97.2 mm (−2.5) |
| Mach 6 → 7 | 70.1 → 72.9 mm (+2.8) | 95.5 → 92.5 mm (−3.0) |
| Bondi 8 → 9 | 69.2 → 72.5 mm (+3.3) | 92.2 → 94.1 mm (+1.9) |
| Clifton 9 → 10 | 68.9 → 73.1 mm (+4.2) | 92.2 → 97.2 mm (+5.0) |
| Clifton 10 → 11 | 73.1 → 70.9 mm (−2.2) | 97.2 → 94.7 mm (−2.5) |
| Arahi 8 → 9 | 73.6 → 70.5 mm (−3.1) | 95.3 → 97.0 mm (+1.7) |
RunRepeat laboratory, one pair of each version, as printed on our generation comparisons (each row links to one). A minus sign means the newer version is narrower.
The Clifton went from 68.9 to 73.1 mm at the big toe and back to 70.9 in two versions, and each of those swings is bigger than the gap between the middle HOKA and the middle Brooks further down this page. So a HOKA that fitted you tells you about that version only: try the new one on, or buy the one you know while it is still sold.
HOKA Regular vs Wide vs X-Wide: what each one buys you
HOKA sells the Clifton, Bondi, Arahi and Gaviota in three fittings, Regular, Wide and X-Wide. Its other models come in Regular and Wide at most, the Mach 7, the Transport 2 and the Bondi SR among them. HOKA’s product pages print no letters. Its US wide-width pages define Wide as 2E for men and D for women, against a standard D and B, and retailers list the X-Wide as 4E for men and 2E for women.
How much room does a width buy? HOKA’s own pages do not agree. Its UK sizing page says its wide fits are usually only a few millimetres wider, in the upper and the insole, and that most of the extra comes from more volume in the upper, which takes pressure off the top of the foot. Its US wide-width page puts the difference between a medium and a wide at a quarter of an inch, about 6 mm. New Balance, the one major brand that prints its widths in millimetres, puts 3 to 4 mm between one width and the next; our shoe width chart has its figures.
Either way, a width letter is defined across the ball of the foot. It is the right lever for a broad forefoot, a bunion, a high instep or a foot that swells through the day. It is a weak one for room at the tips of the toes, which is where a hammertoe, a crowded second toe or a big toe drifting across the others meets the shoe.
And nobody publishes it. The lab buys a men’s US 9 of each model, and neither it nor HOKA publishes what a HOKA Wide or X-Wide measures inside, at the toes or anywhere else, or what any women’s version measures. That is the measurement we most want to make ourselves, because it decides whether the letter on the box reaches your toes at all.
From the clinic. When a patient tells me HOKAs are too narrow, my first question is where. If it is the side of the big toe joint, the Wide often eases it, as long as no seam or overlay sits across the joint. If it is the tips of the toes, or a hammertoe knuckle rubbing the roof, a wider letter rarely does, and the answer is a deeper toe box or a differently shaped shoe.
Which HOKA for a bunion, a hammertoe or crowded toes
The lab takes three measurements inside the forefoot, and each one answers a different problem. Find yours, then read the column that matters in the table below.
- A bunion, a tailor’s bunion or a broad forefoot. The bump sits at the joint, so what matters is the width across the ball of the foot, and the Wide fitting is your lever; if the big toe has also drifted towards the others, the big-toe figure matters too. The Gaviota 6 and the Clifton 10 are the roomiest HOKAs there (97.2 mm, joint fourth of 34), with the Arahi 9 close behind (97.0). The Mach 7 is the narrowest of all 34 (92.5 mm): if you run in it and have a bunion, buy the Wide. See also shoes for bunions and shoes for a tailor’s bunion.
- A Morton’s neuroma. The nerve is pinched between the metatarsal heads, on the same line, so the same rule applies: room at the widest point, and a Wide before a bigger size. See shoes for Morton’s neuroma.
- Hammertoes, claw toes, a thick or lifted nail, or corns on top of the toes. These press up into the roof, so depth matters more than width. Two HOKAs have among the deepest toe boxes of the 34: the Bondi 9 (29.6 mm, second deepest) and the Mach 7 (29.1 mm, joint third), and the Arahi 9 is close (28.9). The Transport 2 is the shallowest of the eight, 25.3 mm, against a median of about 27 mm. See shoes for hammertoes.
- Crowded toes, or a big toe drifting across the others. This is the big-toe figure, and only the Gaviota 6 is well clear of the pack. If 76.7 mm is not enough, no current HOKA we cover will be, and what a Wide adds at the toes is unpublished: the three Altras on our toe box width chart measure 82.2 to 83.6 mm, 5.5 to 6.9 mm more.
One trap is worth naming. The Bondi 9 looks like the roomiest HOKA because it stands on one of the broadest forefoot platforms of the 35 shoes we review (123.2 mm, fourth widest). Its upper is a different matter: at the widest point of the forefoot it measures 94.1 mm, narrower than most of the 34. A wide sole is not a wide upper. For a bunion, start the Bondi at its Wide.
Do HOKA or Brooks have a wider toe box?
Neither, as a brand. Of the 34 shoes we review that the lab has measured, HOKA’s seven run from 70.2 to 76.7 mm at the big toe and Brooks’ seven from 68.3 to 73.9 mm. The middle HOKA, the Mach 7 at 72.9 mm, is 1.6 mm roomier than the middle Brooks, the Ghost Max 4 at 71.3, not much more than the 1 mm we treat as noise between two single pairs. The roomiest Brooks, the Glycerin 23 (73.9 mm), is roomier than six of those seven HOKAs, though by a millimetre or less against three of them; the Gaviota 6 beats every Brooks by at least 2.8 mm. Choose the model, not the logo. Brooks also sells a Narrow on the Ghost and the Adrenaline; HOKA lists no Narrow. Our Hoka vs Brooks comparison sets the two brands side by side on everything else, and the Brooks toe box page has the Brooks side. Across the 202 road shoes in our running shoe ranking, ASICS averages a shade more room at the big toe than either brand, and Altra about 10 mm more than all three.
All eight, measured three ways
The same shoes on the three measurements the lab takes inside the forefoot, with each one’s place among the 34 shoes we review that it has measured this way; first is the widest or the deepest.
| Shoe | At the big toe | At the widest point | Toe box height | Fittings HOKA sells |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOKA Gaviota 6 | 76.7 mm (4th) | 97.2 mm (joint 4th) | 28.2 mm (joint 7th) | Regular, Wide, X-Wide |
| HOKA Arahi 8 | 73.6 mm (12th) | 95.3 mm (joint 14th) | 27.6 mm (11th) | Regular, Wide, X-Wide |
| HOKA Clifton 10 | 73.1 mm (14th) | 97.2 mm (joint 4th) | 27.3 mm (15th) | Regular, Wide, X-Wide |
| HOKA Mach 7 | 72.9 mm (15th) | 92.5 mm (34th) | 29.1 mm (joint 3rd) | Regular, Wide |
| HOKA Bondi 9 | 72.5 mm (joint 19th) | 94.1 mm (joint 27th) | 29.6 mm (2nd) | Regular, Wide, X-Wide |
| HOKA Clifton 11 | 70.9 mm (27th) | 94.7 mm (21st) | 27.4 mm (14th) | Regular, Wide, X-Wide |
| HOKA Arahi 9 (new)* | 70.5 mm (not ranked*) | 97.0 mm (not ranked*) | 28.9 mm (not ranked*) | Regular, Wide, X-Wide |
| HOKA Transport 2 | 70.2 mm (31st) | 94.3 mm (joint 25th) | 25.3 mm (28th) | Regular, Wide |
RunRepeat laboratory figures, one pair of each shoe in a men’s US 9, read 28 September 2026. The big-toe width and the height are taken 28.3 mm back from the tip of the shoe; the widest point lies between the first and fifth metatarsal joints. *The Arahi 9 is not yet in our review library; added to the 34, it would be 31st at the big toe, sixth at the widest point and fifth for height. Fittings are HOKA’s own listing. Read a 1 mm difference as noise.
The HOKA with no figure yet
The lab did cut open the HOKA Bondi SR, HOKA’s leather work shoe, but under its older method, which it says cannot be compared with the current one, so it has no figure here. It is sold in Regular and Wide only, with no X-Wide. HOKA models we do not review are not here, and older versions appear only in the version table above: a new version gets its own figure rather than its predecessor’s, because fit is exactly what changes between versions.
Questions patients ask
Do HOKAs run narrow?
Most do not; most are average. Four of the seven HOKAs in our 34-shoe lab set measure within a millimetre of its median at the big toe. The Clifton 11, the new Arahi 9 and the Transport 2 run on the narrow side there, and the Mach 7 is the narrowest of the 34 across the ball of the foot. The Gaviota 6 runs roomy.
Which HOKA has the widest toe box?
Of the current HOKAs we cover, the Gaviota 6: 76.7 mm at the big toe, fourth of the 34 shoes in our lab set and the widest outside Altra, and joint fourth at the widest point (97.2 mm). Of the twelve HOKAs we hold lab toe-box figures for, only its predecessor, the Gaviota 5, measured wider (77.2 mm). The Arahi 8 is next at the big toe (73.6 mm).
Are HOKAs good for bunions?
Some are, in the right width. A bunion sits at the big toe joint, so what matters is the width across the ball of the foot, and the Wide fitting is the lever. The Gaviota 6 and Clifton 10 are the roomiest HOKAs there (97.2 mm, joint fourth of 34), with the Arahi 9 close behind (97.0 mm). The Mach 7 is the narrowest of the 34 (92.5 mm), so buy it in Wide. A soft upper with no seam or overlay over the joint matters as much as the millimetres.
What is the difference between HOKA Regular, Wide and X-Wide?
HOKA’s US pages define Wide as 2E for men and D for women, against a standard D and B; retailers list X-Wide, sold on the Clifton, Bondi, Arahi and Gaviota, as 4E for men and 2E for women. HOKA says its wide fits are usually a few millimetres wider, in the upper and the insole, and that most of the extra is upper volume over the top of the foot. Nobody publishes what a HOKA Wide measures at the toes.
Should I size up in HOKA if my feet are wide?
Not for width. A half size up buys length and only a little width, spread along the whole shoe, and it moves the widest part of the shoe forward of the widest part of your foot. If the problem is width, buy the Wide in your usual length.
Is the Clifton 11 narrower than the Clifton 10?
Yes, on the lab’s figures: 2.2 mm narrower at the big toe (70.9 against 73.1 mm) and 2.5 mm narrower at the widest point (94.7 against 97.2), with the same depth over the toes.
Is the Arahi 9 wider than the Arahi 8?
At the ball of the foot, yes: 97.0 against 95.3 mm. At the big toe, no: 70.5 against 73.6 mm, 3.1 mm narrower, with a toe box 1.3 mm taller. Better for a bunion, worse for crowded toes.
Did HOKA make its toe boxes wider?
Some versions, not others. On the lab’s figures the Clifton 10 measured 4.2 mm wider at the big toe than the Clifton 9, and the Bondi 9 3.3 mm wider than the Bondi 8, but the Clifton 11 and the Arahi 9 came out 2.2 and 3.1 mm narrower than the shoes they replaced. Check the version, not the name.
Which HOKA is best for wide feet?
For a foot that is wide all over, the Gaviota 6 in Wide or X-Wide: the roomiest HOKA at the toes, joint roomiest at the ball, on the widest heel base of the 35 shoes we review. For a neutral shoe, the Clifton 10 is roomier than the Clifton 11 that replaced it, if you can still find it. Avoid the Mach 7 in its regular width: it is the narrowest of the 34 across the ball of the foot.
Related charts and guides
The figures for the 34 lab-measured shoes we review are on our toe box width chart, and what each width letter buys is on the shoe width chart. For shoes chosen around room, see wide toe box shoes, shoes for wide feet , running shoes for wide feet and 202 running shoes ranked by room at the big toe; for HOKA in particular, the best HOKAs for walking.
Sources
- RunRepeat, testing methodology: shoes bought in a men’s US 9; toe box width taken 28.3 mm from the tip of a gel mould of the inside of the shoe, the widest point between the first and fifth metatarsal joints, and toe box height at the same 28.3 mm. Read October 2026.
- RunRepeat, laboratory reviews of the HOKA Gaviota 6, Arahi 8, Clifton 10, Clifton 11, Mach 7, Bondi 9 and Transport 2, read 28 September 2026, and of the Arahi 9, dated 18 September 2026 and read again 6 October 2026.
- HOKA, sizing information and size charts (UK), on what its wide fits add. Read October 2026.
- HOKA, men’s and women’s wide-width shoes (US), on its width letters. Read October 2026.
- Retailer listings of HOKA’s X-Wide, for its letter codes (for example, PR Run & Walk’s women’s Bondi 9 Extra Wide, 2E). Read October 2026.
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