Mizuno Wave Rider 17

Name: Mizuno Wave Rider 17
Brand: Mizuno
Rating: 4.2 (49 reviews)

Daily trainer · Neutral · Road · 8.6 oz · 13mm drop · 31/18mm stack

Discontinued — we no longer see this shoe in stock. The Mizuno Wave Rider 18 replaced it

How it ranks

The Mizuno Wave Rider 17 trails most daily trainers in our data. Cushioning and looks are its strongest sub-ratings. Comfort scores well below its other sub-ratings. The rating rests on 49 runner reviews and 15 other rated shoes in the Wave Rider product line.

Bottom-tier

56/100

Overall

Bottom-tier 56

Cushioning

Decent 79

Appearance

Below average 67

Durability

Bottom-tier 58

Value

Bottom-tier 58

Comfort

Bottom-tier 54

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

97/100

Very high 97

What runners say

“Could consistently get 600-700 miles per pair. Now only getting 350-400 before feeling like I have to buy a new pair”

2/5 Full review 65 mpw training for a marathon

“Even number models tend to have a mesh upper that greatly decreases the life of the shoe, as well as makes the shoe fit large”

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

“Could really feel the terrain; running on rockier/rugged trails didn't make for the smoothest ride”

4/5 Full review 40 mpw training for a half marathon

“Put about 1100 miles on first pair, and plan on putting a similar amount on current pair”

5/5 Full review 75 mpw training for a half marathon came from the ASICS GEL-Speedstar 5

“Recently changed the foot plate and the sole material causing it to be less durable”

2/5 Full review 65 mpw training for a marathon

“Shoe has gotten denser with cushioning, but maintained a light weight feel”

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

“Nice firm ride. Around 600 miles before breakdown”

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

“After about two and a half months the outside of the shoe is starting to break down a little bit”

4/5 Full review 40 mpw training for a half marathon

“Shoe is definitely on the narrower side with an overall snug fit”

4/5 Full review 40 mpw training for a half marathon

“Outsole material wears out quickly”

4/5 Full review 40 mpw training for a half marathon

Prefer this shoe over another

31% 11/36

Where to buy

No offers available

Affiliate links included. They never affect our ratings.

Prices updated daily. Last checked Sep 14.

Pros

Comfort averages 4.3 out of 5 across forty-nine reviews.
Averaging 8.0 oz across the men's and women's builds, it is lighter than the 8.9 oz median for daily trainers on sale, and several reviewers call it light.
Three reviewers describe a firm ride with noticeable ground feel.

Cons

Durability averages 3.8 out of 5, and many reviewers report the outsole or the upper breaking down early, one getting 350 to 400 miles where earlier versions gave 600 to 700.
Several longtime buyers of the line prefer the Wave Rider 16.
Six of the forty-eight reviewers who answered report an injury while running in it.

Wave Rider 17 rates 56. This shoe has very high certainty. See how we rate shoes.

Better Shoes Rating of prior versions of the Mizuno Wave Rider

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

Rating

40 60 80 100

60 2011 66 56 2013 85 62 2015 92 74 2017 97 90 2019 68 71 2021 75 81 2023 97 81 2025 74

Release year

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

Wave Rider 30

2026 · 0 reviews

74 Decent

49 Confidence
Wave Rider 29

2025 · 2 reviews

81 Good

75 Confidence
Wave Rider 28

2024 · 6 reviews

97 Excellent

89 Confidence
Wave Rider 27

2023 · 17 reviews

81 Good

85 Confidence
Wave Rider 26

2022 · 21 reviews

75 Decent

88 Confidence
Wave Rider 25

2021 · 2 reviews

71 Decent

72 Confidence
Wave Rider 24

2020 · 4 reviews

68 Below average

48 Confidence
Wave Rider 23

2019 · 7 reviews

90 Good

86 Confidence
Wave Rider 22

2018 · 18 reviews

97 Exceptional

95 Confidence
Wave Rider 21

2017 · 25 reviews

74 Decent

91 Confidence
Wave Rider 20

2016 · 16 reviews

92 Very good

91 Confidence
Wave Rider 19

2015 · 12 reviews

62 Below average

88 Confidence
Wave Rider 18

2014 · 36 reviews

85 Good

95 Confidence
Wave Rider 17 This shoe

2013 · 49 reviews

56 Bottom-tier

97 Confidence
Wave Rider 16

2012 · 42 reviews

66 Below average

93 Confidence
Wave Rider 15

2011 · 4 reviews

60 Bottom-tier

85 Confidence

Reader Ratings

49 ratings

5/5 19

4/5 23

3/5 6

2/5 1

1/5 0

See written reviews Write a review

Specs & fit

Sizing and ride details at a glance.

Weight: 8.6 oz
Release: 2013
MSRP: $115
Stack Height: 31mm heel - 18mm toe
Drop Height: 13mm

Runner reviews

Write a review

Reader review

4/5

Overall

Anonymous runner · Sep 9, 2014

50 mpw training for a marathon

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

Reader review

3/5

Overall

Changes in model ruined the shoe again

BeefyJ · Sep 9, 2014

50 mpw 869 miles in this shoe training for a half marathon

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

Reader review

4/5

Overall

Seems like a great shoe (I've replaced a pair of wave riders ~ every 12-16 weeks since the Wave Rider 14s and on up to the 17s). What facilitated me switching to Mizunos in the first place was a nasty case of PF (Saucony and Brooks)...Once I switched to the Mizuno, it went away( with the 14s)...No issue with the 14,15 or 16, but now I switch to my second pair of 17s (the PF started on the first pair of 17s) and wham. Training has remained roughly the same and I'm considering switching back to Brooks (Neutral) to experiment.

lmfranklin4 · Sep 2, 2014

50 mpw training for a marathon

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

Reader review

3/5

Overall

This version is lighter than the 16. There's more ground feel. The shoe breaks down quickly. I find the heel counter very stiff. Not a huge fan of this update. They should have kept the precision and gone bigger and beefier with the wave rider. The precision had what this shoe is looking for.

oab · Sep 2, 2014

60 mpw training for a half marathon