Pic from Runningwarehouse.com |
The Wave Rider is Mizuno's
flagship model. The Mizuno Wave Rider 17 is most traditional road trainer we at
Vagabond Running Blog have reviewed. Even though we generally prefer shoes on
the more minimal end of the spectrum we were very excited when Mizuno provided
these shoes for us to review. That they have now released the 17th
iteration of this shoe spanning 16 years to meet the demand should speak
volumes for the kind of lasting success this model has had among runners. I say
all of that to reinforce how much there is to enjoy about this shoe despite the
fact that our Vagabond Runners experienced some difficulties with it.
What Jordan Liked
• Looks— Sue me. I like the
look of Mizuno shoes. The Runbird logo reminds me of roadrunner, my home
state's official state bird. Whenever I see a pair of Mizunos out on a run, I
think "There goes a fast lookin' shoe." The Wave Rider 17 has a
simple, elegant design. The upper is light and stretchy, not as light as their
new racer, the Hitogami, but lighter than I thought it would be for a
high-milage trainer. I know some folks don't like white running shoes, and I
understand. I gravitate towards louder shoes myself. But what can I say? I like
the look of this shoe.
• U4ic EVA— Pronounced
"Euphoric", the foam midsole is, in my humble opinion, the best
feature this shoe has to offer. The U4ic EVA offers a soft but resilient ride.
It is soft enough to carry a heavier runner like me, but has a distinct bounce
that makes me feel like I am getting fantastic energy return in my stride. U4ic
makes many other EVA midsoles feel like they offer little more than a soft
place to sink. It reminds me of Skechers' proprietary Resalyte EVA except with
more bounce.
Pic from Runningwarehouse.com |
• Weight— For a shoe with a
whopping 13mm drop (a cliff dive by my standards) boasting 31mm of rubber and
plastic between your heel and the ground (those ants look like even smaller
ants from that distance) the shoe remains unbelievably light at 8.6oz*. If I
may editorialize a bit, I was a bit sad to see that Mizuno did not embrace
minimalism with the same fervor that many of their competitors did a couple
years ago. They had offerings in the market beginning with the Wave Evo Levitas
(no longer available in the U.S.) and the Wave Evo Cursoris, but did not spend
much on developing a line of shoes that catered to the minimalist trend. So
what does minimalism have to do with what is, by the numbers, a decidedly
traditional trainer like the Wave Rider 17? The weight. One of the lasting
impacts of minimalism on the shoe market has been the a decrease in the weight
of traditional trainers. The original Wave Rider was 12.8 oz. and stayed in the
10 oz -11 oz. neighborhood through its first fifteen iterations. In 2012, at
the peak of minimalism, the Wave Rider 16 entered the feather weight division
at 9.9oz. It could be argued that the move towards lighter shoes was inevitable
irrespective of the minimalist trend because, all else being equal, lighter
shoes means greater efficiency. I would agree, but I strongly suspect that the
minimalist movement was a catalyst for the advent of remarkably lighter shoes.
It sped the process up a bit as demand for light weight shoes peaked. The fruit
of that demand was not Mizuno branded toe shoes, but a traditional trainer that
competes on the scale with more minimalist offerings from the likes of Brooks,
Kinvara, Nike, Newton et. al. I think it is actually a very optimistic sign of
the times that the flagship Mizuno trainer is well under 9oz.
Pic from Runningwarehouse.com |
• Fit— There's not much to
say with regard to the fit of this shoe except that it is roomy enough for
wider feet, but sturdy enough that I do not think that runners with narrow feet
would have a problem (Mizuno does offer a 2E width if you find the standard D
to be too narrow). As I mentioned above, the upper is nice and stretchy. The
grooves in the forefoot offer decent, if limited flexibility. The outsole has
plenty of blown rubber. I have no worries about this shoe lasting a few hundred
miles.
Jordan's Concerns
• Drop— As I mentioned above, the 13mm drop is pretty
steep. The steepest, in fact, that I have ever run in since I started running,
and boy I can feel it. Walking around I feel a bit like I'm walking down a
steep hill. That particular sensation can probably be explained by the novelty
of a high drop trainer. I notice while running however, that I significantly
have to adjust my stride in order to accommodate the extra 13mm. My foot
strike, like everyone's foot strike, depends a host of external factors, but
generally speaking I have a mid-foot to light heel strike. In the Wave Rider 17
I get the smoothest ride when I force myself to sharply heel strike. Between
the wave plate and the U4ic midsole I feel like the shoe carries me through
that kind of gait cycle as intended. Nevertheless, it's not a good match for my
running style. The shoe is quite high off the ground as well. So as much as I
love the U4ic EVA, I do wish there were less of it. This shoe has some of the
right ingredients to be sure, just not in the proportions that work best for
me.
• (Unnecessary?)Technology— We here at Vagabond Running
prefer simplicity to complexity in almost all areas of life, running
notwithstanding. The Wave Rider 17 does not fit that mold; firm heel
counter, wave plate, and a thick heel strap (they sure were paying a lot of
attention to the heel) all seem a little unnecessary to me. I think I would
enjoy this shoe more if there were just less of it.
Pic from Runningwarehouse.com |
• Arch Pain— The other concerns are more or less a
matter of preference, but the arch pain I experienced in this shoe is the
biggest reason it does not work for me. Perhaps as a result of the drop, wave
plate, or some combination of the two I notice that about a mile in to my runs
in the Waver Rider, my arches start to get progressively sore. I cut my first
run in them a little short because the pain became too uncomfortable. It got
better the more I ran in the shoe, but hasn't stopped being an issue. To be
honest, I don't really get excited about going for a run in them anymore, and
that's a problem. Many people have run in the Wave Rider shoes for many years
and do not experience any problems. So at the end of the day this is a mismatch
between runner and shoe and not a inherent problem with the shoe itself.
Conclusion
I can not give as hearty
of a recommendation for this shoe as I would like to give. I have not had a run
in this shoe that did not result in arch pain. The pain immediately subsides
when I take the shoe off and walk around a bit. And lest I be accused of
disliking this shoe due to a presuppositional opposition to shoe technology, I
would like to point out that there have been "high-tech" shoes that
have worked for me in the past such as the Brooks PureFlow 2 or the Newton
Energy NR. If you are already well acquainted with the Wave Rider line of shoes
and find that they work for you, then the Wave Rider 17 is a must have if
simply for the U4ic midsole and the decrease weight. If you tend to prefer a
little less shoe to a little more, then I think it would be safe to pass this
shoe up in favor of another option. Maybe the Mizuno Hitogami will be more your
style.
Tech Specs
(From Mizuno and
Runnning Warehouse)
• U4ic midsole delivers lightweight, resilient
cushioning.
• Dissolving upper fit with new DMF execution and soft,
supple mesh materials.
• SmoothRide Engineering for a brilliant run.
• Lateral Forefoot Sculpting for smooth touchdown and
transition.
• Blown rubber forefront with deep flex grooves for
optimal flexibility and cushioning.
• Weight: 8.6 oz (size 9)
• Stack Height: 31mm (Heel); 18mm (Forefoot)
• Available Widths: D=Medium, 2E=Wide
*It should be noted
that there is a discrepancy in the reported weight of the Wave Rider 17
from Mizuno and Running Warehouse respectively. Mizuno Reports 9.2
oz. Running Warehouse reports 8.6 oz. Running Warehouse performs actual scale
test before posting a weight so I feel confident in there metrics.
At this time also Salomon Schuhe Günstig had to bite the bullet and admit, Who he is so impulsive young yet.Well, not only that, there is then a burst of sound transmission in Salomon Schuhe Damen Günstig the ears.The so-called acoustic, is used when two people need to talk to some secret event method, it is clear that the next words did not want to let everyone know.Twelve years ago, it was five years old at that time. Goddess at the age of five will be visible no matter which it is too overbearing.What do you know, when people are full pursuit spend Mengqi, fairy develop a plan Salomon Schuhe Herren Günstig what you understand it or not. Zhennai .
ReplyDelete