I have about 40 miles on my new Mizuno Waver 8’s and I can’t say enough good things about this shoe. I owned the pervious two editions of the Wave Rider so I was already a big fan but Mizuno really hit a home run with their latest edition. If you have a neutral stride, I would strongly recommend trying this shoe. The mesh upper is super comfortable and extremely breathable. Cushioning is outstanding in both the heal and forefoot. Perhaps the most impressive feature is the shoes weight, I think it’s about 11oz for a size 9 which is very light for a shoe that’s not considered a “lightweight” trainer. Over the past two years I’ve become a huge fan of Mizuno running shoes and think they are some of the finest on the market. MSRP is $90 but I got mine from Holabird Sports for $70.
Gotta agree with you Dave. I wasn’t a huge fan of the older waver riders, not that they weren’t good shoes they just transitioned heel to toe real funny on me. Sold a hell of a lot of them to other people though. The Creations (waverider on steroids) always worked well for me but the Riders just didn’t quite sync, until now. The new Rider 8s are really really nice. They extended the wave plate farther into the midfoot and almost the forfoot area and now the the heel to toe roll is super smooth. The new rearfoot composite wave and broken up heel strike area that looks pretty similar to Asic’s IGS system work perfectly to give you a smooth heel strike. Nice meshy upper, higher arch than normal and Intercool system to keep your feet even cooler. Weight is low and they look pretty good too.
I really liked the older Riders for the 1st few weeks I had them, same thing with the creations. I had bad achilles problems with both shoes though, bad. It was if the cushioning in the rear of the shoe was gone in under 100 miles.I am a neutral runner and only about 145 lbs. I do great in NB 833’s, Brooks Glycerin and other similar shoes. I got a whole winter of training out of the Brooks this year w/no problems and I race in the 833’s. Do you think the new Wave Rider shoes are a big enough improvment for me to try them?
hmm, if you were blowing through the Mizunos and the have a narrow enough foot to fit the Glycerin’s I’d stick with the Brooks or maybe an Asics Nimbus, Saucony Triumph 2, stuff like that. The Mizunos are great but they don’t have the best lifespan. I tell people that all the time when they buy them, I tell them they are amazing shoes, great cushioning, nice and light and I look foward to seeing them soon for another pair because they don’t last very long. Glycerin’s are much more durable than the Riders or Creations. That being said you should check out the Riders if you don’t mind replacing them a little quicker, they are very nice shoes.
Well, I have to say that I’ve been using the Wave Riders for quite a few iterations, and have found them just as durable as anything else I’ve used - Asics Nimbus, Brooks Glycerin come to mind - I seem to get the usual 400 miles before I start feeling the cushioning is shot, which I don’t think is too bad. I’m quite easy on my shoes, always have been, the rubber never wears to any great extent, so they always look better than they feel at that point. Just my .02c. I’ll pick up a pair of the new ones tomorrow. Inteestingly, I’ve found the sizing varies a bit between each new model, I think I’ve used 9, 9 1/2 and 10 at various times.
Is that why I have over 20 pairs of em from only 3 years? Huh…though I really really like the phantom - and now just do all my running in the phantom. Yes, they do wear rapidly - but I thought that was cause they are pretty much racing flats.
Just bought 2 pairs of Wave Rider 7s as I liked the pair I bought last year and they were on sale. My previous pair was used for about 500 miles, maybe a bit less. Couldn’t tell whether the cushioning was dead - how do you determine this, is it by feel only?
Also, was still planning to use my older pair for short runs, eg 10K/45mins…is that OK or really a bad idea?
I haven’t been running seriously for very long, so am looking for help!
Just got my Wave Rider 8’s and they seem to be a drastic improvement over the WR 7’s.
Its heating up quickly here in the Southern US (about 80 degrees today) and the new mesh uppers on this version allow for ventilation better than the previous version. If you live in the Southeast ultra humid climate, you know what its like on long runs when your feet get soaking wet from sweat. A good breathable shoe is critical in this climate.
I tried Holabirdsports.com for the first time as recommended by you guys on this forum and I’m very impressed. I just orderd them Friday and they arrived this afternoon (Monday) by US Mail using standard $5 shipping from Holabird. Roadrunnersports: Be afriad, be very afriad…
By the way, Roadrunner recommended sizing up a full US size. (Holabird didn’t really hae a sizing recommendation chart.) I sized up only a half size and there is plenty of room in the fit.
Seems like they will be an excellent training shoe and I may even run Gulfcoast half IM in these.
I just got a pair of Wave Precision Vs over the weekend. I have to tie them to something to keep them from floating. Its the best cushioning in a light shoe I’ve ever bought.
Has anyone used lightwieght shoes like this as high mileage trainers? Any downside?