Hardwear
Product 2020
Woman, Man
These UA Hovr Machina road shoes, like all Under Armor 2020 models, are connected. You benefit from some “coaching” via the application on your smartphone (which you must have on you). It is quite funny as the advice is given live via oral comments specifying that the pace is too slow, or something else!
A sensor included in the shoes makes it possible to transmit information on the distance, time, average rhythm, calories burned, elevation gain to the application via Bluetooth
Other information completes the analysis of the outing: average cadence, average length of a double stride, average length of time in contact with the ground and the average angle of foot strike. There’s no precise heart rate information (you need to add a sensor). The most it does is via the application it extrapolates data by publishing a HR distribution in a percentage between “easy” and “difficult”.
When we received this Under Armor UA Hovr Machina we were a bit reticent towards this type of connected product. Once again, this is an opportunity for a brand to have the owner’s e-mail address along with other more or less protected information (the list of pirated files in the world is endless) concerning your physical form, which can be of interest to a health insurance company, for example. This prerequisite admitted, after the traditional configuration route using a password, profile and synchronization with the MapMyRun application, you tap the shoe once on the ground to activate the sensor so that the application recognizes it (this operation is no longer necessary afterwards). These operations are fluid, bug-free, the interface is simple and beautiful. We configured everything with an iPhone X.
The Under Armor UA Hovr Machina is ready to use. Before you go running, just start the application and start your session. It can also manage the music player in your smartphone, it is practical because the menu is at the top of the application: you start the music and all you need to do is press “start the session “: Simple, basic, child’s-play.
You can activate the coach’s comments (or not). It can give you extra motivation to hear encouragement or advice. This is of course not very precise advice, which cannot replace a real follow-up (with VO2Max, HR, recovery time, nutrition, intervals, objectives and readjusted training cycles). Let’s say that using the app with these shoes can make you want to run more often. And if you don’t need all the data (the average foot strike angle!), just don’t look at it or disconnect the shoes.
It would be a shame to deprive yourself of the map with the track, time, speed and accumulation of weekly sessions. We have shoes, for the price of a top-of-the-range road running (or trail running) model that gives a lot of information that is usually provided by an outdoor watch. Does the Under Armor UA Hovr Machina replace a wrist GPS?
The answer is not for an athlete who wants specific training and benefit from precise and multiple data. The GPS watch allows you to manage other activities such as swimming, cycling, etc. The answer is yes for a runner who is not necessarily looking for performance, provided that he always runs with his smartphone.
There are a few questions about this type of product. What about the sensor’s durability that is integrated in the shoes? It is assumed that it has the shoes’ longevity, between 300 and 450 kilometers, depending on usage and the terrain type (stadium, rough road tarmac, smooth tarmac, etc.). What about recycling?
Regardless of the “connected” aspect of the Under Armor UA Hovr Machina, are they any good?
They are very snug fitting and can be considered narrow shoes, at least during the first sessions. The mesh stretches out a bit, adapts to your foot’s shape. But above all it’s the oval stretchy laces that allow you to distribute the pressure (via volume modification).
They are also very comfortable around the ankle and heel. The tongue is also well padded. These Under Armor UA Hovr Machina have significant cushioning in the heel, less under the forefoot. You lose stability in the heel sometimes with a foothold that drifts towards pronation. Overall, these shoes let you run without worrying about vibrations and shocks. It’s a good model for training, even for medium distances for someone who is not looking for performance at all costs.
Because, to race the stopwatch, you need a lightweight shoe, for example a Hoka Mach 3 at 230g. We weighed the Under Armor UA H ovr Machina, 300g size 43. They are therefore more like the 361° Spire 4.
If the spring is good when running with the Under Armor in midfoot, even forefoot, performance is not as high as a shoe designed for pure performance.
The Under Armor UA Hovr Machina are well-made, with quality materials and precise assemblies, except the area near the metal eyelet at the top of the tongue: you can see the foam padding. The laces slide easily and don’t need readjustment to ensure good foothold.
The Under Armor UA Hovr Machina, a smart shoe, gives basic information about your session as well as being able to give you some advice in real time, via your smart phone. Beyond its “techno” aspect, it is a product for comfortable running thanks to very present but consistent cushioning.
8 mm 
We used this equipment over a long period of time
These are our thoughts after intensive use:
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