Mizuno Wave Inspire 8

Name: Mizuno Wave Inspire 8
Brand: Mizuno
Rating: 4.4 (5 reviews)

Daily trainer · Stability · Road

Discontinued — we no longer see this shoe in stock. The Mizuno Wave Inspire 12 replaced it

How it ranks

The Mizuno Wave Inspire 8’s rating is an early estimate. We’ve collected 5 runner reviews so far, with brand history also informing the score.

Below average

Overall

Below average 67

Value

Decent 76

Cushioning

Decent 74

Durability

Decent 73

Appearance

Below average 64

Comfort

Below average 63

Confidence

How settled the rating is against every other rated shoe. A shoe can rate high on confidence with relatively few reviews of its own when its product line has a long record and external ratings from retailer sites agree. Confidence is low when we have few ratings or when runners disagree.

See the product line's history

Confidence

80 Moderate

Moderate 80

Based on

The bars show roughly how much each source contributes to this shoe’s rating. Their influence depends on how many reviews we’ve collected, how many earlier versions are in the product line, and the external ratings available.

Brand rating
Our ratings
External ratings

What runners say

“Lasted me thousands of miles and with very minimal injury issues”

5/5 Full review 90 mpw training for middle distance

“Flexibility like a Nike Free but also some good cushioning for the forefoot/midfoot strikers”

5/5 Full review 50 mpw training for middle distance came from the ASICS GEL-Kayano 17

“Switched to this shoe from the Brooks Adrenaline after getting tired of running through shoes too quickly”

5/5 Full review 90 mpw training for middle distance

“Great shoe for daily runs and allows you to also run fast during interval training”

5/5 Full review 50 mpw training for middle distance came from the ASICS GEL-Kayano 17

“Lighter shoe that has support”

5/5 Full review 25 mpw training for a half marathon

“Comfortable, supportive, cushioned”

5/5 Full review 25 mpw training for a half marathon

Prefer this shoe over another

40% 2/5

Where to buy

No offers available

Affiliate links included. They never affect our ratings.

Prices updated daily. Last checked Oct 22.

Pros

One reviewer at about 215 pounds finds it a lighter shoe that still has support.
One reviewer who switched from the Brooks Adrenaline says a pair lasted thousands of miles.
One reviewer finds it flexible like a Nike Free with good forefoot cushioning, and uses it for daily runs and intervals.

Cons

Durability is its lowest-rated dimension at 3.8 out of 5.
One reviewer stopped running in it after regularly getting niggles and discomfort, and moved to a less corrective shoe.

Wave Inspire 8 rates 67. This shoe has moderate confidence. See how we rate shoes.

Better Shoes Rating of prior versions of the Mizuno Wave Inspire

Each dot is one version of the Wave Inspire, placed by its rating and release year. The gold dot is this shoe.

Rating

40 60 80 100

67 2014 72 51 2013 58 73 2016 62 72 2018 83 72 2019 65 84 2022 77 86 2024 85 71 2025 71

Release year

We use the reviews of past versions to inform this shoe’s rating. See why.

Inspire

Release year unknown · 2 reviews

71 Decent

78 Confidence
Wave Inspire 22

2025 · 2 reviews

71 Decent

76 Confidence
Wave Inspire 21

2025 · 1 review

85 Good

71 Confidence
Wave Inspire 20

2024 · 0 reviews

86 Good

77 Confidence
Wave Inspire 19

2023 · 8 reviews

77 Decent

85 Confidence
Wave Inspire 18

2022 · 5 reviews

84 Good

82 Confidence
Wave Inspire 17

2021 · 1 review

65 Below average

71 Confidence
Wave Inspire 16

2019 · 1 review

72 Decent

83 Confidence
Wave Inspire 15

2019 · 7 reviews

83 Good

81 Confidence
Wave Inspire 14

2018 · 6 reviews

72 Decent

88 Confidence
Wave Inspire 13

2016 · 7 reviews

62 Below average

85 Confidence
Wave Inspire 12

2016 · 4 reviews

73 Decent

81 Confidence
Wave Inspire 11

2014 · 7 reviews

58 Bottom-tier

90 Confidence
Wave Inspire 10

2013 · 44 reviews

51 Bottom-tier

96 Confidence
Wave Inspire 9

2012 · 19 reviews

72 Decent

92 Confidence
Wave Inspire 8 This shoe

2014 · 5 reviews

67 Below average

80 Confidence

Runner Ratings

5 ratings

5/5 3

4/5 1

3/5 1

2/5 0

1/5 0

See written reviews Write a review

Specs & fit

Sizing and ride details at a glance.

Release: 2014

Runner reviews

Write a review

Greatest Shoe Ever In My Opinion

5/5

Overall

This shoe has flexibility like a Nike Free but also some good cushioning for the forefoot/midfoot strikers. Great shoe for daily runs and allows you to also run fast during interval training. Of the 20-ish shoes that I have bought over the years, this shoe is my personal favorite (I've ran in shoes like Nike Zoom Oddysey, Brooks Ravenna/Adrenaline, Asics Gel Kayano, and none of them can compare to this shoe).

Anonymous runner · Feb 13, 2018

50 mpw training for middle distance came from the ASICS GEL-Kayano 17

Comfort: 4/5
Cushioning: 5/5
Durability: 4/5
Appearance: 5/5
Value: 5/5

3/5

Overall

Was regularly getting niggles and discomfort so changed shoe to a less corrective shoe

CPGrun · Mar 22, 2015

55 mpw

Comfort: 3/5
Durability: 3/5
Appearance: 4/5
Value: 4/5

4/5

Overall

Anonymous runner · Sep 2, 2014

30 mpw training for a half marathon

Comfort: 4/5
Durability: 3/5
Appearance: 4/5
Value: 4/5

5/5

Overall

This is a lighter shoe that has support. I'm about 215 ounds and we don't all need heavy, motion control shoes. The Wave Inspire series (original through 8 so far) has been wonderful. No injuries, comfortable, supportive, cushioned. Awesome shoes.

Anonymous runner · Aug 28, 2014

25 mpw training for a half marathon

Comfort: 5/5
Durability: 4/5
Appearance: 4/5
Value: 5/5

5/5

Overall

I switched to this shoe from the Brooks Adrenaline after getting tired of running through shoes too quickly; the Mizuno Inspire, however, lasted me thousands of miles and with very minimal injury issues.

billscrib · Aug 27, 2014

90 mpw training for middle distance