Stairs, Switchbacks, and 40mm of Foam: Taking HOKA's Cushion Kings Up Alishan
Photo: Ski, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Everyone who runs in Taiwan eventually gets the same recommendation: go to Taroko Gorge. And yes, Taroko is stunning. But after a long weekend lacing up three of HOKA's most popular cushioned shoes in Alishan — the mountain town perched above Chiayi where tea grows on cliffs and the old forest railway creaks through thousand-year-old cypress — I'm here to make the case that Alishan is the better running destination, and the perfect stress test for everything HOKA makes.
Why Alishan Is the Ultimate Cushion Exam
Alishan sits at roughly 7,000 feet, and the town is stitched together by stone staircases, wooden boardwalks, and paved switchback roads that climb through tea plantations and misty cedar forest. Think of the steepest sections of the Appalachians — say, the Great Smoky Mountains' approach trails — then multiply the stairs by a factor of ten and add humidity.
This is exactly the kind of terrain where cushioning theory meets reality. On flat roads, the differences between HOKA's max-cushion models feel subtle. On a 2,000-stair descent with your quills screaming, they become impossible to ignore.
The Contenders
HOKA Bondi 9 — The plusher-is-better candidate. I wore it on the main stair circuit around the Alishan sisters ponds and the giant tree trail loops.
HOKA Clifton 10 — The do-everything daily trainer. My pick for the long paved climb from the railway station up through the tea fields.
HOKA Challenger 7 — The hybrid. Slightly grippier outsole, a touch less foam. It handled the wet boardwalk sections and the gravel forest roads.
Uphill: Foam Is Fuel, Until It Isn't
On the climb, the Bondi was the shoe I didn't know I needed. The thick stack essentially turned each stair into a platform rather than a calf workout. By kilometer eight of continuous steps, my calves felt fresh in a way I've only experienced on a good day in a pair of maximal road shoes on flat ground.
The Clifton was noticeably livelier — less pillow, more pop. If you're running Alishan for a workout rather than a death march, this is the shoe. The Challenger split the difference but felt the least special on pure stairs.
Downhill: Where the Stack Earns Its Keep
Downhill is where Alishan breaks people. The stone steps are uneven, often damp from mountain mist, and endlessly repetitive. The Bondi's soft foam got a little squishy and less precise here — I felt my foot shifting inside the shoe on angled steps. The Challenger, with its firmer ride and grippier rubber, was the clear winner on the way down. It inspired confidence on wet wood and mossy stone in a way the pure road models just couldn't.
The Clifton sat comfortably in the middle: stable enough, cushioned enough, never quite the best at anything but never the worst.
The Verdict for US Runners
If your Alishan-style adventure involves big vertical and mixed terrain, bring the Challenger. If you're there for the stairs and the sunrise — and you will be there for the sunrise, the famous sea of clouds view draws crowds before 5 a.m. — the Bondi is your friend. The Clifton remains the pick if you're only bringing one pair and want to run everything.
A practical note: Alishan's trails are popular with tourists, so run early. The forest railway itself is a working train line, not a running path, but the trail network radiating from the town is extensive, well-marked, and shockingly empty before 7 a.m.
Taroko gets the headlines, but Alishan is where I'd point any American runner who wants big vert, bigger stairs, and a genuine test of whether their cushioning investment actually means anything when the ground turns hostile. Pack the Challenger, bring a light shell for the mist, and book your sunrise alarm. The mountain will handle the rest.
