Hoka Clifton 9 and Shokz OpenRun Pro: Tested at a London 10K

Introduction

Race days are the best way to judge running gear, because the conditions are real: crowded starts, twisty routes, and pace you cannot fully control. We took two products through a central London 10K for exactly that reason: the new Hoka Clifton 9, a cushioned daily trainer that is not officially launched yet, and the Shokz OpenRun Pro, an open-ear headphone design that promises fuller sound without blocking the world around you.

The Test: A Central London 10K

The event was a relaxed, beginner-friendly winter 10K with a big-event atmosphere but no real pressure to race hard. One of us arrived via a long coach journey after cancelled trains and ended up starting the race still carrying a backpack, which made for a far from ideal test setup but a memorable one.

The course itself is twisty, with plenty of turning and weaving around runners of mixed paces. That makes it a useful environment for judging how stable and controlled a daily trainer feels, and how well open-ear headphones hold up in a moderately loud crowd.

Hoka Clifton 9: What Has Changed

The Clifton 9 stays at roughly the same price as the Clifton 8 but is lighter, and it swaps the previous mesh upper for a knitted one. The midsole remains EVA-based, but there is a clear difference in feel: the foam now reads as soft rather than firm, without straying far from the familiar Clifton character.

The softer midsole was the standout change. Previous Cliftons felt firm for a shoe with such a big midsole, and that firmness put some runners off. The new foam feels noticeably more forgiving while keeping the shoe planted. On a twisty course, it felt stable and controlled at easy paces, and cornering was comfortable even without pushing hard.

The knitted upper is more accommodating than before and suits the easy miles this shoe is built for. Just do not expect a racing shoe: neither of us would choose it for a hard 10K. It is a cushioned daily trainer, and at easy pace it felt great. It also sets up well for comparisons against shoes like the New Balance 1080 and the Brooks Glycerin range over the coming weeks.

Shokz OpenRun Pro: Sound Without Isolation

The OpenRun Pro uses an open-ear design with small speakers that sit inside the ears rather than resting on bone, which is the key difference from traditional bone conduction headphones. The promise is deeper, richer bass than you would normally associate with open-ear designs, plus solid battery life and a distinctive ear-hook form factor.

In the race environment, the sound held up well. With a moderately loud course and people around, the audio sounded good and delivered a fuller, more powerful quality than typical bone conduction headphones. The trade-off is situational: in genuinely loud environments, the sound is easily drowned out and loses that fuller character.

The design itself is the weak point. Unlike very lightweight bone conduction sets that seem to disappear, the ear-hook design is always noticeable. You are constantly aware they are on, which is not ideal for sports headphones.

Should You Buy Either One?

The Clifton 9 is an easy recommendation if you want a cushioned daily trainer for easy and steady miles and do not need a race-day weapon. The midsole improvement is real, and it keeps everything that made the Clifton recognizable while fixing the firmness complaint.

The OpenRun Pro makes sense if you want music during runs or races while staying fully aware of your surroundings, and you mainly run in quieter to moderately loud environments. If you run mostly in very noisy places, or you want headphones that vanish on your head, think carefully before choosing the ear-hook open-ear approach.

Conclusion

Both products did their jobs well in a real race setting. The Hoka Clifton 9 is a genuine step up from the Clifton 8 with a softer, more inviting midsole and a better upper, aimed squarely at daily training rather than racing. The Shokz OpenRun Pro delivers on its promise of fuller open-ear sound, with the caveat that its design is always noticeable and loud environments will overwhelm it.