„A couple of years ago you would have never, ever talked liked this!“ My good friend Fabian is entertained as we jog down the drops of our local trail and observe a hasty morning sun struggling its way past dense fog.

We were gossiping about the hottest shoes the two of us are currently testing. The conversation turned to my up-to-date Hoka One One. For this early morning jog I took out the all-new Challenger ATR 2. The second instalment of the prominent Challenger series got a fancy little tune up.

As our route led us through towns, past vineyard alleys and through some nice set of trails the Challenger ATR 2 seemed to be the best partner for this “Door to Trail” kinda outing.

Commonly I get the perilous query about Hoka One One and their maximalist effort and style to running shoe crafting. Again, I replied in a pretty positive way as the Challenger ATR 2 acted spotless and provided just what Hoka One One is good at – Constructing a well cushioned but still agile and fast shoe.

As I used to be an enormous fan and handler of minimal running flats, my buddy Fabian is always amused when I’m talking about the profits of the Hoka One One style which seems to be pretty much the opposite of what I used for running on a daily basis.

With its nominal 4mm lugs the Challenger ATR 2 is a brilliant a trail and road running crossbreed for daily training procedures.
Nitty-gritties of a protecting neutral shoe – Offset: 5 mm, Forefoot: 24 mm, Heel: 29 mm and a weightiness of 270.00 grams. 
It looks like not too much has altered to the first model of the ATR. The up-to-the-minute type got some elegant fine-tunes on the upper.
The outsole is a pleasant mix of traction and comfort on the road. Although muck and damp trail surfaces can generate some glitches, the grip on dry trails is classy.
Even throughout quicker gatherings the Challenger ATR 2 assist very well. The trademark Metarocker midsole boosts a inordinate and dynamic midfoot and forefoot strike.
A Hoka One One key feature – The compact, buoyant but receptive midsole permits a dynamic stride without loosing dynamism to the grounds.
Constructed for harsh offroad topography, but still flexible enough for road running.
Hard to oversee – the king-size EVA Midsole which offers lightweight cushioning.
The people at Hoka One One call it “Podular Outsole Design“. On a off-road shoe like the Challenger ATR 2 it bids well needed stability while travelling past jagged terrain.
If you have previously experienced the Clifton, this model is the trail type of this Hoka One One top seller.
With this model Hoka One One produced a brilliant every day workhorse. I like the fitting and the general versatile performance of this well manufactured and quality shoe.

All pictures (c) runssel