Seventeen

The Mizuno Wave Rider 17 comes out today!

I’ve been wearing the Wave Rider since the 13th edition of the shoe, and this one by far is my favorite.

The Wave Rider is Mizuno’s flagship shoe and it’s a neutral shoe that’s lightweight but has support and cushioning for higher mileage. my jam right there.

It retails for $114.99 and comes in these two colors for women as well as the slate/cabbage combo, my favorite of the three, but I don’t have. Christmas list…

You can see the men’s colors here, I dig the white and red color combo.

So what’s the difference between the 16 and the 17?

The 17 is lighter. It’s now 7.4 ounces for women and 8.8 for men, nearly an ounce lighter. When you’re talking about such small measurements, that’s a pretty big drop.

The breakdown:

The U4ic midsole (instead of the standard foam) makes the shoe lighter but still delivers great cushioning. The blown rubber outsole (instead of carbon) makes it more flexible but gives great traction. And the lateral forefoot sculpting was designed to make it a supersmooth touchdown. The upper was completely redesigned, removing excessive stitching and overlays making it lighter (this is what I noticed first.)

It also has an upgraded sock liner, but I use custom inserts so that doesn’t matter quite as much to me.

Besides noticing less stitching and material, the second thing I noticed was the cushioning around the ankle. The first time I took the 17s for a spin, that’s what stood out to me the most. The shoe just felt more comfortable.

You can see the extra fluff that was removed.

I wore the pink 17 pair for my last marathon a couple weeks ago and now my problem is I don’t want to wear my 16s at all

You can get the Wave Rider 17 online or a lot of specialty run stores already have them as well.

Are you a Mizuno wearer? What brand/style do you run in?