Stack, Drop & Weight
Today, we will compare the Hoka Rincon 4, which has just come out, and the latest model of the Hoka Mach 6. So, first of all, we will talk about the stack height and the weight. So mine is a 46eu or a size 12us and comes in at 258g on our scale in the Rincon 4, and in the Mach 6, they come in slightly heavier at 283g. There are 37mm on the rearfoot of Mach 6 and 32mm on the forefoot, giving a 5mm drop. Slightly lower, with 36mm on the rearfoot on the Rincon 4 and 31mm on the forefoot, giving you a 5mm drop as well.
Upper and Fit
So then, in terms of the upper, despite Hoka and moving away from the more tapered fit in some of its other models, we have a very tapered fit both on the Mach 6 and on the Rincon. So it felt really snug on our foot, a little bit tight, so I’d say either choose a wide version if it’s available or size half up if you have a wide foot or that you naturally find the Hoka’s quite tight. There’s a slightly different upper on each, so you got a double technical jacquered mesh on the Rincon 4. On the Mach 6, you’ve got a creel jacquered knit, which I find a little bit more comfortable and a little bit more snug than what you’d find on the Rincon 4.
In terms of the tongues, they’re slightly different as well. You’ve got a really thin tongue on the Mach 6 that’s gusseted, so it doesn’t move from side to side, while on the Rincon 4, you’ve got a more padded tongue that’s not gusseted so it can move from side to side. The lockdown on our runs, we found out it stayed pretty centred cause you got the laces passing through the tongue, but it didn’t have quite a good lockdown as what we found on the Mach 6, which is really snug, really soft-like fit. Both of them were quite breathable. If anything, I’d say the Mach 6 was a little bit more breathable than the Rincon.
Midsole & Performance
Then we’ve had a lot of changes in the Rincon 4, an updated midsole, an updated outer, so on the outer sole, they’ve placed some rubberised Eva, which they say is to increase the traction and the durability. We know there were lots of issues with the Rincon 3, so they’ve added that extra in there, and the Mach 6 has a little bit of extra rubberised padding on the outside as well. However, the big difference occurs in the midsole itself, so you’ve got a standard EVA foam that you get in most Hoka shoes within the Rincon 4, whereas in Mach 6, you’ve got supercritical foam. so, it’s super bouncy, super resilient, especially we found when you increase the tempo increase the pace you get a lot of bounce a lot of feedback.
They both have an aggressive forefoot rocker and a nice heel counter, so we found that the Heel-to-Toe transition and the propulsion phase were really, really nice. However, there is a lot more bounce and a lot better feel when you increase pace with the Mach 6.
Conclusion
Overall, I’d say there’s not a significant difference in terms of the fit and the feeling on the top in terms of breathability. There is a slight difference in the tongue and the jacquard mesh, but there is a huge difference in the feel underneath the foot on the midsole. So, there is a lot more uptempo, a lot more bounce, and resilience from the Mach 6. I say the Rincon 4 is completely different from the Rincon 3, so check out our full review of the Rincon 4.
The Rincon 4 is a little bit more like the Mach 6 than the Rincon 3 but a bit more like an entry-level uptempo shoe. Meanwhile, the Mach 6 is more of a premium uptempo shoe. So, if you’re looking for something that’s slightly cheaper or you want to get an introduction to a more performance-based shoe, then you might look at the Rincon 4, but honestly, given the price, it’s only slightly more expensive to get the Mach 6.
We have more articles on stability shoes from Asics and Hoka or if you’d like to learn more about our favourite daily trainer check out our review of the Novablast 4 and our comparison of the Clifton 9 with the Mach 6.
