Hi,
I currently wear Mizuno Wave Elixir shoes. I love them. But, they are worn out within 2.5 months, and I am not putting a lot of km on them. Probably around 250km. Is that normal? Are there shoes that will last longer? I am a poor university student and I can’t keep putting out $150 every 2.5 months.
Thanks!!
$150 a pair?!?!?!?!?! WHAT?!?!?!? Try $70 a pair at most at any online retailer, worst case.
Regarding actual durability, I just switched from Wave Mavericks to Elixirs and only have about 30 miles on mine. I was getting maybe 400km or so on the Mavericks, I’d be pretty disappointed if I only got 250km on the Elixirs before they died. Hell, that’s less than a month of running for me these days!
I used to wear Mizzies exclusively but have since moved over the Asics to train (I still race in Wave Legends). I found that my Mizunos did not last as long as my Asics trainers. They lasted longer (in terms of total mileage I was able to put on them) when I rotated them with another pair. The good news is you can usually find them online at a good price.
I’ve never run in Mizunos but I can tell you from my log what I’ve got out of my last few pairs of shoes before they started to fall apart.
Pearl Izumi vital 320 km
Peal Vital (2’nd pair after getting the first pair warranteed for splitting apart so quickly) 350 km
Nike Air Triax 550 km
Asics GT 2090 1050 km
Asics GT 2100 700 km
Right now I’m running in Gt 2110’s and racing in the Asics DS Trainer which is a fantastic shoe but the sole seems to be wearing out pretty quickly. The DS trainers have about 300 km on them.
Shoes are way too expensive here in Canada… I paid $185 for my DS trainers and then found them across the border in Buffalo at a mall for $89…
I’ve been wearing Mizuno’s for about the past 3 years and yes they do wear out faster than most brands but 250K is way to fast. Mine last 250-300 miles; however, I recently switched over the Saucony and coundn’t be happier.
Dave in VA
Yeah, I think my Mizuno’s tend to wear out sooner than some of my other shoes. I’ve swiched to Brooks more because I couldn’t stand that rock catcher in the heel than the durability issue.
I can easily get 500K + out of my Mizuno Wave Riders. Esp. once I go off-road with them.
250k is too little. Maybe you need more support or cushioning, maybe try to find a different shoe? I’m trying the AdiStar Cushion (I’m a supinator) to see if I can get something that will last longer on road runs.
Also: get off the roads and hit the trails.
And: make sure you have 2 pairs of shoes on the go. Buy a new pair half-way thru the life of the first pair, and alternate them on your runs. Helps a great deal in stretching your shoes’ life span.
(PS: I pay $150CAD for my wave riders, so your $ isn’t that crazy)
Ap
lots of factors including care and handling will affect durability.
i have a pair of Mizuno Supersonics (flats) from…gotta be 7 years ago anyway…which have more than a couple thousand miles on them and i still use them ocasionally.
I wear mizuno almost exclusively, despite their tendancy to wear sooner than other brands. The fit & feel are worth it to me.
The Elixer (and I would assume the Precision as well) are performance trainers, made with less cushioning material & lighter (less durable) outsoles, and durability is the first thing to go with this design. If you like the mizuno feel and need a touch of stability, move up to the Inspire model, or if neutral is doable for you, go to the Rider or Creation for your everyday trainers. You’ll get 350 miles out of those models for sure.
I use the Riders & Creations for my weekend LSD & midweek midrange run & the Elixer for my tempo/speed/hill days. I expect around 200 miles out of my Elixers, as I used to get that kind of distance out of my Mavericks.
(And try www.roadrunnersports.com for a better price on these. I’m currently in Windsor Ontario & almost fell over when I saw Riders listed at $150cdn PLUS 15% tax. So much for cashing in on the exchange rate.)
Not just Mizuno…
Saucony, Asics… I’ve gotten about 6 weeks each out of my last 4 pairs of shoes. In fact, after the last pair of Sacony’s went TU (Trigon 4 Guide – the WRONG shoe for me, thank you to the prime Seattle store on Greenlake), I went back to the Asics Gel-1110’s they replaced, because they had more cushioning LEFT in them than the ones I replaced them with. 6 weeks on.
I used to have a lot of Nike’s back in the day, and I always went for the urethane midsoles because they lasted longer (Columbia, Vortex). A little heavier, but who CARES??? They’re TRAINING shoes! If I want light, I’ll wear the flats. But can you find a urethane midsole now? NOOO! Brooks came out with their new proprietary MoGo magical bouncy stuff, but they’re only putting it in motion control shoes…
I wear Creations exclusively and don’t find that they wear out any faster than other sneakers. I get at least 300 miles out of a pair. That said, I weigh 105 lbs, so I may have a slight advantage. I love them because I can go sockless in them right out of the box.
I accidently bought a pair of elixrs (not made for me thats for sure) when I got them home and went on the tradmill for 5 min whaen I was off the support was gone.
I am going to try the alchemys, I’ve heard good things.
i wear mizu creation 7s for most of my mileage…they fit perfecty and have given me at least 550km. i also wear adistar comp once a week for bricks, & racing…highly recommended if you can live with the colour. i dont know much about elixers but i agree with another poster - you should get a second opinion on fit, pronantion, etc cos 250km is way low IMO. also, do you have a running coach? could be technique related…
cheers
I think an important thing to remember is that the Elixir is a performance shoe/light weight trainer. For most, it is not enough support and cushioning for daily training. Since it is designed to be light weight and low to the ground, it is made of less material. This means it will wear out faster. Try the Inspire by Mizuno. It is a mid weight trainer more along the lines of the 2110, Adrenaline… It still has some medial support but is made of more material and should hold up to daily training.
Did anyone ask if you are using the shoes exclusively for running?
I run in Mizuno Creations (Training), Precisions (Racing 10k+) & Phantoms (Racing less than 10k). All have outlasted any other brand I’ve owned.