Mizuno Wave Sayonara

Name: Mizuno Wave Sayonara
Brand: Mizuno
Rating: 4.3 (34 reviews)

Daily trainer · Neutral · Road · 8.1 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 rests on 34 runner reviews and 3 other rated shoes in the Wave Sayonara product line.

Bottom-tier

54/100

Overall

Bottom-tier 54

Appearance

Below average 65

Cushioning

Bottom-tier 57

Value

Bottom-tier 50

Comfort

Bottom-tier 50

Durability

Bottom-tier 50

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

93/100

High 93

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

“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

“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

“Ideal balance of weight, responsiveness, and comfort to handle any type of running.”

5/5 Full review 60 mpw training for middle distance

“Soles are great, good road feel.”

5/5 Full review 30 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 Sep 14.

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 on 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.

Wave Sayonara rates 54. This shoe has high certainty. 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

40 60 80 100

54 2014 52 2015 60 2015 62 2017

Release year

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

Wave Sayonara 4

2017 · 1 review

62 Below average

27 Confidence
Wave Sayonara 3

2015 · 3 reviews

60 Below average

47 Confidence
Wave Sayonara 2

2015 · 10 reviews

52 Bottom-tier

90 Confidence
Wave Sayonara This shoe

2014 · 34 reviews

54 Bottom-tier

93 Confidence

Reader Ratings

34 ratings

5/5 17

4/5 12

3/5 3

2/5 1

1/5 1

See written reviews Write a review

Specs & fit

Sizing and ride details at a glance.

Weight: 8.1 oz
Release: 2014
MSRP: $120

Runner reviews

Write a review

Reader review

4/5

Overall

Was looking for something more lightweight than the Asics I was using before - what a difference these made! My feet feel much lighter

Anonymous runner · Aug 29, 2014

20 mpw training for a half marathon

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

Reader review

4/5

Overall

It's a good lightweight shoe with a normal heel drop. Probably the best lightweight shoe I've tried.

Anonymous runner · Aug 28, 2014

40 mpw training for a marathon

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

Reader review

5/5

Overall

Great light weight trainer with a wide "toe-box" region and a snug fitted upper. Used to only train in Kinevara's for the last couple years then got sick of how rigid they became after only a few weeks of use. The Sayonara's have slightly more heal support and build to them, while maintaining a light feel. Ideal for long tempos and general mileage around 70-80 mpw. No plan on switching to a new shoe anytime soon.

Anonymous runner · Aug 27, 2014

75 mpw training for a half marathon

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

Reader review

4/5

Overall

Lightweight and pretty neutral with solid cushioning. Feels great, but the upper has tears and holes in several spaces after 6 months and ~250 miles. Since the upper is reinforced I don't think it's compromised yet, but this is still a small disappointment.

Anonymous runner · Aug 27, 2014

15 mpw training for a half marathon