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40Race Shoe FinderEst. 2023 · London

Head to head

ASICS Magic Speed 5vs
HOKA Skyward X

Magic Speed 5

£130

Typical street price · £150 RRP

38mm — road legal
Skyward X

£190

Typical street price · £225 RRP

■ 48mm — over limit

Choose the Magic Speed 5 if…

  • Your race is run under World Athletics rules — this one is legal at 38mm and the Skyward X is not.
  • You want the bigger return: 2–3.1% economy gain against 1.6–2.8%, and that gap widens the longer you are out there.
  • You want the lighter shoe: 218g against 314g, a 96g difference you will feel late in a race.
  • You want a conventional fit rather than a narrow or wide last.
  • Money matters: it is selling around £130 against £190, and the time difference between them is smaller than the price difference suggests.
  • You are racing 10K or Half marathon — built for it, where the Skyward X is not.

Choose the Skyward X if…

  • You want more shoe underneath you late on: 48mm against 38mm, which is protection over a long race rather than speed over a short one.
  • You have a broad foot, or your toes spread as a long race goes on.
  • You want more races out of one pair: about 700km of competitive life against 500km.
  • You are racing Ultra / 50K+ — built for it, where the Magic Speed 5 is not.
  • You would rather buy on measured numbers: this shoe's specs are manufacturer-confirmed, the Magic Speed 5's are estimated.

What does this
mean for you?

Every figure below is recalculated from your race and your current time. The gap between two shoes is not fixed — it grows with how long you are on your feet.

Over marathon from 3:45:00

Time back
Magic Speed 5: 83s–158sSkyward X: 56s–138s
Cost per second saved
Magic Speed 5: £0.14Skyward X: £0.18

Ranges, not promises. Both figures are against a standard trainer, and the honest answer for most runners is that the difference between two shoes of this class is smaller than the difference a month of decent training makes.

Every number.

010203040503831
Magic Speed 5
010203040504843
Skyward X

What you pay

Street price
Magic Speed 5£130■
Skyward X£190

What the shoe is actually selling for across the shops we read, not its RRP.

RRP
Magic Speed 5£150
Skyward X£225

List price. Almost nobody pays it for a race shoe.

Cost per race
Magic Speed 5£16■
Skyward X£17

Street price divided by the races the foam stays fast for.

Cost per second saved
Magic Speed 5£0.14■
Skyward X£0.18

The whole-life question: what each second of race time costs you.

What it does

Estimated saving
Magic Speed 583s–158s■
Skyward X56s–138s

Against a standard trainer, over the distance and time set above.

Economy gain
Magic Speed 52–3.1%■
Skyward X1.6–2.8%
Built for
Magic Speed 510K · Half · Marathon
Skyward XMarathon · Ultra
Best use case
Magic Speed 5The best entry point to carbon. Real plate, real super foam, durable enough to train in, and about half the price of the flagships.
Skyward XA cushioned plated trainer built for comfort over long, slow miles rather than speed.

How it is built

Weight
Magic Speed 5218 g■
Skyward X314 g

Manufacturer figure at men's US 9.

Stack (heel)
Magic Speed 538 mm
Skyward X48 mm
Stack (forefoot)
Magic Speed 531 mm
Skyward X43 mm
Drop
Magic Speed 57 mm
Skyward X5 mm
Foam
Magic Speed 5FF Blast Turbo
Skyward XPEBA over EVA
Plate
Magic Speed 5carbon fibre
Skyward Xcarbon fibre

Rules and fit

Road legal
Magic Speed 5Yes (38 mm)■
Skyward XNo (48 mm)

World Athletics caps road racing shoes at 40 mm of stack.

Fit
Magic Speed 5standard
Skyward Xwide
Stability
Magic Speed 5stable
Skyward Xstable

Neither is better in the abstract — it depends on your stride.

Race life
Magic Speed 5~500 km
Skyward X~700 km■

How long the foam stays fast, not how long the shoe survives.

Data confidence
Magic Speed 5estimated
Skyward Xverified■

■ marks the better figure where one is genuinely better. Fit, foam, drop and stability carry no mark — they depend on your foot and your stride, not on which shoe is superior.

In your size.

Where to buy

Your UK size

Best price today — some sizes£119at Startfitness — £31 under RRP

9 retailer checks failed on the last run, so their prices are missing rather than wrong.

Prices are captured when the site is built and stamped with the time of that check. We never rank a retailer by what it pays us; where a link earns a commission it is marked sponsored and the price you pay is unchanged.

Where to buy

Your UK size

Best price today — some sizes£185at Alexandra Sports — £40 under RRP

9 retailer checks failed on the last run, so their prices are missing rather than wrong.

Prices are captured when the site is built and stamped with the time of that check. We never rank a retailer by what it pays us; where a link earns a commission it is marked sponsored and the price you pay is unchanged.