Under Armour’s HOVR run collection has always been one of the top shoe options for serious runners. But it probably doesn’t get more serious than the new HOVR Machina, a range of shoes that focuses on supporting high performance and long distance.
This top-of-the-line range gives you the best of both worlds: the softness of a distance shoes with the speed of a racing flat.
Like all other shoes in the HOVR collection, it also has the ability to connect with the MapMyRun application using Bluetooth, to track and analyse your running metrics in order to offer personalised form coaching tips as you run.
To find out more about how the HOVR Machina stands out from the rest for long-distance running, I took them out for a (a few) jog(s) to experience it for myself.
Under Armour HOVR Machina review
First, I have to declare that I’m no long-distance runner. These days, with a kid and a demanding job to take care of, the best I can manage with the amount of free-time I have, is probably at around 3 kilometres. Even at my peak (before the baby), I had only 12 kilometres. In other words, this may not be the most accurate review if you’re a regular marathon runner, because I’ve only taken these shoes on three-kilometre runs. But you can get a good sense of whether these shoes are worth investing in, if you’re looking to amp up your regular running distance from short-distance to long-distance. Note that I also didn’t try out the MapMyRun application.
The first thing that I noticed about the Under Armour HOVR Machina was how light they felt on the feet.
At 241 grams (for women’s shoes), it isn’t the lightest in the HOVR range, but its design makes it feel very light; this is thanks to its 360-degree of soft Under Armour HOVR surrounded by mesh Energy Web, which creates a zero-gravity feel.
These attributes may not feel very significant at first, but once I got further into the run, it’s evident that the “lightness” and the “springy” steps that these shoes put on my feet had helped me to feel less tired than I usually do, and thus, able to perform better. In fact, while I usually find myself begin to slow down after around 500 metres, with the HOVR Machina, the fatigue only began to kick in at close to the one-kilometre mark.
After the run, the feet feel less tired than usual, probably attributed to how these shoes were designed for high impact and are shaped for anatomical flex in the forefoot.
Overall, I find that the Under Armour HOVR Machina made my run smoother. I think continuous training with it is likely to increase the speed of my run, which means I can potentially go on for longer distances then. Of course, the great aesthetic of these shoes certainly doesn’t hurt!
Under Armour HOVR Machina retails at SGD229 and is available at Under Armour Bugis Junction, Orchard Central, VivoCity, Tampines One, and Funan.
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