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Mizuno Wave Sayonara

Daily trainer · Neutral · Road · 7.6 oz

Discontinued — we no longer see this shoe in stock. The Mizuno Wave Sayonara 2 replaced it

How it ranks

The Mizuno Wave Sayonara trails most daily trainers in our data. Looks and cushioning are its strongest sub-ratings. The rating is based on 34 runner reviews and 3 other rated shoes in the Wave Sayonara product line.

Mizuno Wave Sayonara

of 5

Bottom-tier

56
Overall
56
Appearance
65
Cushioning
59
Value
50
Comfort
50
Durability
50
Confidence

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

94 High

94

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.

  1. Our ratings
  2. Brand rating
  3. External ratings

What runners say

“The upper has tears and holes in several spaces after 6 months and ~250 miles.”
4/5 Full review 15 mpw training for a half marathon
“Wears out extremely quickly (especially shoe uppers).”
4/5 Full review 45 mpw training for a half marathon
“Great lightweight trainer with a wide toe-box region and a snug fitted upper.”
5/5 Full review 75 mpw training for a half marathon
“Lightweight, with a roomy toe box without having a huge amount of support/cushioning.”
4/5 Full review 20 mpw training for a half marathon
“Ideal balance of weight, responsiveness, and comfort to handle any type of running.”
5/5 Full review 60 mpw training for middle distance
“Shoe size runs larger than normal.”
5/5 Full review 40 mpw came from the Mizuno Wave Rider 16
“After my first run, my right IT band really started to hurt.”
2/5 Full review 30 mpw 13 miles in this shoe came from the Brooks Launch 1
“Definitely stiffer than the kinvara and not as cushioned.”
3/5 Full review 50 mpw came from the Saucony Kinvara 5
“The Sayonaras have slightly more heel support and build to them, while maintaining a light feel.”
5/5 Full review 75 mpw training for a half marathon
“Soles are great, good road feel.”
5/5 Full review 30 mpw training for a half marathon
“Light, neutral, firm. Somewhat narrow.”
4/5 Full review 40 mpw training for a half marathon
“I developed severe IT band pain.”
1/5 Full review 35 mpw training for a half marathon
“I've worn holes through the top.”
5/5 Full review 30 mpw training for a half marathon
“What a difference these made! My feet feel much lighter.”
4/5 Full review 20 mpw training for a half marathon
“Not enough support or durability compared to Elixir.”
3/5 Full review 35 mpw training for a marathon came from the Mizuno Wave Elixir 8
“Holds up well over mileage.”
4/5 Full review 40 mpw training for a half marathon

Prefer this shoe over another

29% 5/17

Where to buy

No offers available

Affiliate links included. They never affect our ratings.

Prices updated daily. Last checked Oct 22.


Pros

  • Averaging 7.6 oz across the men's and women's builds, it is well under the 8.9 oz median for daily trainers for sale, and six reviewers notice the difference.
  • Four reviewers use it for both easy mileage and faster tempo efforts.
  • Three reviewers describe a firm ride with good road feel.

Cons

  • Reviewers rate durability 3.4 out of 5, and three report the upper tearing, one at 250 miles and six months.
  • Two reviewers find it stiffer and less cushioned than the Kinvara they came from.
  • One of thirty-four reviewers so far had IT band pain that arrived and left with the shoe.

Rating & Confidence vs. other shoes for sale

Each dot is one rated shoe for sale, placed by its rating and by how much evidence sits behind it. Shoes toward the top right are both well rated and well established.

Confidence
50 60 70 80 90 100 25 50 75 100

Better Shoes Rating

Wave Sayonara rates 56. This shoe has high confidence. See how we rate shoes.

Better Shoes Rating of prior versions of the Mizuno Wave Sayonara

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

Rating

Release year

We use the reviews of past versions to inform this shoe’s rating. See why.
  • Wave Sayonara 4

    2017 · 1 review

    71 Decent

    59 Confidence

  • Wave Sayonara 3

    2015 · 3 reviews

    64 Below average

    59 Confidence

  • Wave Sayonara 2

    2015 · 10 reviews

    58 Bottom-tier

    88 Confidence

  • Wave Sayonara This shoe

    2014 · 34 reviews

    56 Bottom-tier

    94 Confidence

Runner Ratings

34 ratings
5/5 17
4/5 12
3/5 3
2/5 1
1/5 1

Specs & fit

Sizing and ride details at a glance.

Weight
7.6 oz
Men's / women's
Men's 8.1 oz · Women's 7.1 oz
Release
2014
MSRP
$120

Runner reviews

Write a review

Showing 26–30 of 34 written reviews

4/5

Overall

Light, neutral, firm. Somewhat narrow. Holds up well over mileage.

Anonymous runner · Sep 1, 2014

40 mpw training for a half marathon

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

5/5

Overall

Anonymous runner · Sep 1, 2014

60 mpw 1,043 miles in this shoe training for middle distance

Comfort
2/5
Durability
3/5
Appearance
4/5
Value
1/5

5/5

Overall

Soles are great, good road feel. I'm a toe lifter, so i've worn holes through the top.

Anonymous runner · Aug 29, 2014

30 mpw training for a half marathon

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

4/5

Overall

Anonymous runner · Aug 29, 2014

12 mpw training for a half marathon

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

4/5

Overall

Good fit, but wears out extremely quickly (esp. shoe uppers)

Anonymous runner · Aug 29, 2014

45 mpw training for a half marathon

Comfort
4/5
Durability
2/5
Appearance
3/5
Value
3/5

Alternatives

Other shoes worth considering.

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Compared to other shoes

See how this shoe compares to others like it.

Current shoe
Choose a model
Lightest
Newest / Best overall / Best comfort
Shoe properties
Type
Daily trainer
Daily trainer
Daily trainer
Pronation
Neutral
Neutral
Neutral
Weight
7.6 oz Lightest
9.0 oz (men's)
9.9 oz
Stack
—
28/18mm
40/35mm
Drop
—
10mm
4mm
Release
2014
2017 Q3
2022 Q3 Newest
MSRP
$120
$110 Lower MSRP
$165
Best price
—
—
$95
Ratings
Overall
56 Bottom-tier
71 Decent
99 Exceptional Best overall
Comfort
50 Bottom-tier
61 Below average
99 Exceptional Best comfort
Cushioning
59 Bottom-tier
68 Below average
99 Exceptional Best cushioning
Durability
50 Bottom-tier
57 Bottom-tier
97 Exceptional Best durability
Appearance
65 Below average
70 Decent
75 Decent Best appearance
Value
50 Bottom-tier
61 Below average
77 Decent Best value rating
Specific shoe

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