Mizuno Wave Paradox

Name: Mizuno Wave Paradox
Brand: Mizuno
Rating: 4.3 (10 reviews)

Daily trainer · Stability · Road · 8.6 oz · 11mm drop · 29/18mm stack

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

How it ranks

The Mizuno Wave Paradox ranks below most daily trainers in our data. Cushioning and looks are its strongest sub-ratings. Value scores well below its other sub-ratings. The rating rests on 10 runner reviews and 1 other rated shoe in the Wave Paradox product line. Another 2 reviews would set the confidence on this shoe's own reviews.

Below average

68/100

Overall

Below average 68

Cushioning

Decent 79

Appearance

Decent 74

Durability

Below average 69

Comfort

Below average 67

Value

Below average 62

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 will score low when we have few ratings or when runners disagree.

See the product line's history

Confidence

71/100

Moderate 71

What runners say

“The foam on the sole quickly gets tattered and shows wear in the first few runs.”

4/5 Full review 50 mpw training for a half marathon

“Feels very hard both in the midsole and the heel, which gets annoying.”

3/5 Full review 30 mpw training for a half marathon

“Not as responsive as I'd like for tempos/speed work but a great daily trainer.”

5/5 Full review 65 mpw training for a marathon came from the Mizuno Wave Inspire 11

“Smooth ride, however the shoe is very stiff.”

3/5 Full review 30 mpw training for a half marathon

“The feel felt familiar as soon as I laced them up, and that's all it took.”

4/5 Full review 50 mpw training for a half marathon

“Relatively light and flexible for a stability shoe compared to the shoes it replaced.”

4/5 Full review 20 mpw

“Got 450 miles out of them before they died.”

4/5 Full review 80 mpw training for a half marathon

“Logged roughly 250+ miles and intend to purchase a new pair in the very near future.”

4/5 Full review 50 mpw training for a half marathon

“Light for a stability shoe.”

3/5 Full review 30 mpw training for a half marathon

“Much sturdier than previous running shoes.”

5/5 Full review 10 mpw came from the Saucony Hurricane 16

Prefer this shoe over another

57% 4/7

Where to buy

No offers available

Affiliate links included. They never affect our ratings.

Prices updated daily. Last checked Sep 14.

Pros

Two reviewers call it light and flexible for a stability shoe, though one finds it a little heavy.
One reviewer calls it a good high-mileage daily trainer, and one got 450 miles from a pair.
Two reviewers came to it from the Mizuno Wave Nirvana, and one found the feel familiar straight away.

Cons

One reviewer found the exposed foam on the sole tattering in the first few runs, with plastic showing underneath.
Two reviewers find it firm and stiff, and one wants more response for tempo and speed work.

Wave Paradox rates 68. This shoe has moderate certainty. See how we rate shoes.

Better Shoes Rating of prior versions of the Mizuno Wave Paradox

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

Rating

40 60 80 100

68 2014 74 2015

Release year

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

Wave Paradox 2

2015 · 1 review

74 Decent

11 Confidence
Wave Paradox This shoe

2014 · 10 reviews

68 Below average

71 Confidence

Reader Ratings

10 ratings

5/5 4

4/5 5

3/5 1

2/5 0

1/5 0

See written reviews Write a review

Specs & fit

Sizing and ride details at a glance.

Weight: 8.6 oz
Release: 2014
MSRP: $135
Stack Height: 29mm heel - 18mm toe
Drop Height: 11mm

Runner reviews

Write a review

Reader review

4/5

Overall

This is the shoe that replaced the Wave Nirvana, which is an idea I didn't like. In my experience, when a company introduces a new shoe to replace a previous model the newer shoe always leaves much to be desired. However once I tried the Paradox, I was hooked. The feel felt familiar as soon as I laced them up, and that's all it took. I bought them and left the store. Since purchasing them in early May, I've logged roughly 250+ miles on them and intend to purchase a new pair in the very near future. ALMOST everything about this shoe reminds me of the Nirvana save the sole durability. All the foam that is exposed on the sole quickly gets tattered and begins to show ware in the first few runs. At this point, I'm seeing plastic underneath the foam. But aside from that, these are great!

Anonymous runner · Aug 31, 2014

50 mpw training for a half marathon

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

Reader review

4/5

Overall

Good trainer for an injury prone college student that overpronantes.

Anonymous runner · Aug 29, 2014

40 mpw training for a half marathon

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

Reader review

5/5

Overall

Anonymous runner · Aug 28, 2014

15 mpw training for a half marathon

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

Reader review

4/5

Overall

got 450 miles out of them before they died. took a few runs to get used to (switched from inspire 9s to these because i hated the inspire 10s) i tend to prefer lighter trainers but need some support.

Anonymous runner · Aug 27, 2014

80 mpw training for a half marathon