Paradigm 8

Upper material is too rigid or toe box height is too shallow - either way my toes were not happy. Had to switch to the flow stability to see if a more flexible upper/single layer upper would work better. Love HOKA though! Bought their training and hiking shoes.

Was excited to have a replacement for my Provision. These are tighter across the foot and more rigid next to the sole. Don’t waste your money. I’m sure some like these but I’m wildly disappointed and simply don’t hit the mark.

The Paradigm 8 is/was the 3rd pair of Paradigm shoes I've bought. I wore them for 3 months. I hate them. The toe box height is sooo tight that my toes are smashed together and into the bottom of the shoe. WHY?? Paradigm 6 and 7 were amazing. This is horrible. All I wanted to do was take them off and let my toes move.

If you need a zero drop shoe that's also quite cushioned, this is it. Ideally, I would've liked mid-cushioning, but this was what my research on the HOKA styles came down to. The zero drop was most important in my choice. I walk & run about 3 miles daily, but I'm 68 years old, so I am very careful about what shoe I wear. I had plantar fasciitis pretty bad in my forties, and wore Kalso negative heel shoes for many years so the tendons could eventually heal in the stretched position, so going zero drop was not hard for me.

I have a pair of Paradigm 7's, and replaced them with a new pair of paradigm 8's. Let me say, I LOVE LOVE the paradigm 7. It was the perfect shoe. The 8's have so much heel slip, yes, I do the lace lock tie technique, that I have to lace them SUPER tight to keep my no show socks from sliding down into the shoe. And then the whole run is awful because my feet are too constricted. I don't know if the heel is wider, or the fabric liner is not as smooth as the 7's, and causing the shoe to eat my socks. Either way. . . SUPER FRUSTRATING! bring back the 7, HOKA!!!