Gear Review: Mizuno Wave Sayonara and GIVEAWAY!

Up until now, Mizuno has offered two performance trainers: the neutral Wave Precision and mild stability Wave Elixir. However, with everyday trainers getting lighter and lighter, there was increasing overlap between the 9.9oz Wave Rider and 9.6oz Wave Precision (I'm not sure whether Mizuno felt the 10.1oz Wave Inspire was encroaching on the 8.8oz Wave Elixir or if they just wanted to streamline their line). So instead of slimming down its current performance trainers, Mizuno went back to the drawing board, seeking to create a new neutral performance trainer that still had enough inherent stability as to not disappoint Elixir fans. The new shoe is the Wave Sayonara, a lightweight shoe with a clever name that gives a nod to the old Wave Goodbye racing flat of the early 2000s (interestingly enough, today's Wave Sayonara performance trainer is lighter than yesterday's 8.7oz Wave Goodbye racing flat).

The Mizuno Wave Sayonara is Mizuno's neutral performance trainer. It weighs in a 8.1oz for a men's size 9 and 7.1 for a women's size 8, and it has a stack height of 24/14 for a heel-toe drop of 10mm. Running Warehouse describes the Wave Sayonara as such:

The Sayonara is a moderate feature, moderate neutral shoe designed for training and racing.
CUSHIONING

• Mizuno Wave consists of an elastic, thermal plastic wave running from the heel to the midfoot, creating an incredibly springy and well-cushioned ride.

MIDSOLE

• U4ic is a lightweight midsole that provides optimal shock absorption, durability and a resilient ride.
• Smooth Ride is a gender specific network of grooves that minimizes the rapid acceleration and deceleration of the foot to create a smooth heel to toe ride.

UPPER

• AIRmesh covers the entire upper and provides breathability to keep the foot cool.
• Printed Overlays on the medial and lateral sides help hold the foot in place.
• OrthoLite Sockliner is anti-microbial and moisture wicking for a healthy foot environment.
• Dynamotion Fit creates optimal fit with stretch material in the forefoot and a collar construction that prevents the heel collar from buckling under load.

OUTSOLE

• G3 Sole consists of a lightweight rubber dot pattern in the forefoot for increased grip and flexibility.

While I have not worn the Wave Elixir, I have quite a few miles on the Wave Precision, and can say that the Wave Sayonara is a big improvement. The biggest and most welcome change is the improved balance of the shoe. The Precision always felt slightly back-heavy. Not so with the Sayonara, which is much better balanced fore-aft. This makes it feel much more natural during swing-phase than its predecessor. 

Seamless upper of the Mizuno Wave Sayonara

The Wave Sayonara continues the Mizuno tradition of having a great upper. The upper is seamless and is comfortable both with and without socks. One thing to note though, is that the toebox is very low-volume and shallow. This may be due to the fact that the Sayonara does not have very much toe spring compared to many of its competitors. This gives the toebox an odd feeling when you put on the shoe, but thankfully goes away once you start running. What doesn't go away, however, is the narrowness of the forefoot. The fit is similar to that of the Wave Rider and Saucony Kinvara, in that it's a bit snug through the metatarsal heads, and I sometimes find myself wishing the Sayonara had the roominess of the Precision's forefoot. I had to do some lacing-magic to get the Sayonara to fit me, but this lacing did seem to relieve the problem.

Lacing magic to widen the forefoot of the Mizuno Wave Sayonara

The Wave Sayonara ditches the AP+ midsole foam that was used in the Wave Precision in favor of U4ic. Marketing-speak for sure, so how does it feel? For a shoe of its weight, the Wave Sayonara has a surprising amount of forefoot cushion, nearly as much as was present in the noticeably heavier Precision. However, the heel is much firmer...not quite in Wave Ronin firm territory, but definitely firmer than the Precision. This makes for a smooth ride (albeit a less forgiving ride than with some softer shoes) for forefoot strikers, midfoot strikers, and mild heelstrikers, but severe heelstrikers may find it a bit jarring. Additionally, the entire shoe feels surprisingly low-slung and close to the ground compared to the Precision.

Mizuno Wave Sayonara has a good amount of flexibility through the forefoot

Plenty of torsional flexibility in the Mizuno Wave Sayonara

The Wave Sayonara is a very flexible shoe, with a nice, smooth flex through the forefoot and a good amount of torsional flexibility. The wave plate is thin and far enough back that it doesn't seem to get in the way of your foot moving how it wants. As mentioned before, the Wave Sayonara does not have the sprung toe that is found on many other performance trainers. I usually prefer my shoes to have a slightly sprung toe, because I think it makes for a smoother transition, but the Sayonara's forefoot was flexible enough that it wasn't an issue for me. On the other hand, I know there are plenty of forefoot and midfoot strikers who prefer their shoes without a sprung toe, so they'll be happy here. The Wave Sayonara also has a firm heel counter to add a little bit of rearfoot support.

Firm heel counter of Mizuno Wave Sayonara

The Wave Sayonara has a full-contact outsole, in that there is continuous rubber on the ground linking the front and rear of the shoe. This is something that's also seen in shoes like the Brooks Launch, and gives it a super smooth ride. It seemed a little strange to me to put the connecting rubber on the medial rather than lateral side (or having it on both sides), but it rides great, so whatever. Mizuno also says that this feature also gives the Sayonara more inherent stability than the Elixir. Since I haven't worn the Elixir, this is impossible for me to compare (I am told that the stability is there if you need it, and if you don't, it doesn't get in the way, so take that for what it's worth), though I do have to say that the Sayonara feels pretty neutral to me, or at least more neutral than the mild stability shoes I've worn, like the Brooks Racer ST 5 and Brooks PureCadence 2.

Full-contact outsole on the Mizuno Wave Sayonara (yellow is flush with the ground).  You can also see the horseshoe-shaped heel surrounding the exposed purple Wave plate.

The Wave Sayonara retains the horseshoe shaped heel with the indention for the "Mizuno rock" (aka the rock that gets stuck where the wave plate is exposed). C'mon Mizuno, the Universe doesn't have that, cover it up! Please? Minor gripe, and Mizuno wearers are probably used to it, but it still annoys me when rocks get stuck in my shoes.

In addition to being a solid performance trainer, the Wave Sayonara seems like it also has the potential to be a perfect marathon shoe (or heck, even half-marathon shoe) for runners who don't quite want to go racing flat, but want something significantly faster and lighter than their trainers. Just make sure you use it for speedworkouts before race day (the Sayonara very clearly has speedwork in its blood, so you're good there). At 8.1oz, it's as light as many flats were just a few years ago, and it has a fast feeling to it without losing the protectiveness of a trainer. Everyone who knows me knows that I love the Brooks Launch, but for fast days, the Sayonara feels faster. It's not nearly as forgiving as the Launch, so the Launch is still my #1 easy day and recovery day shoe. However, the Sayonara has a faster response and transition, and the Sayonara is over an ounce lighter, so I'd probably choose it over the Launch for faster running.

While the color of the shoes in my pictures is a bit...uh...girl-power bubblegum Barbie ponies, thankfully Mizuno also offers a white version of this shoe for women that looks pretty good, and both the blue and the white men's versions are boss. And I'm sure there are plenty of people like hot pink shoes. For now though, I'll definitely not be looking at my feet when I run. Not that I do anyway, I guess...

The Wave Sayonara is a big improvement over the Wave Precision, and I've been enjoying it quite a bit. It has a smooth ride, fast transition, and good response, and has a more natural-feeling balance than its predecessor. I don't think that Precision fans will be disappointed with the replacement, and I think that Mizuno has the potential to convert runners to the Runbird with this shoe. The one stumbling block that I foresee is getting runners into them in the first place, since at $120, they're $20 more than the Saucony Kinvara and $30 more than the Brooks Launch, both of which directly compete with the Sayonara. For what its worth, the Sayonara seems to be more durable than both the Launch and Kinvara (at least from what I'm seeing so far), so it may (or may not) even out in the end, but that's sometimes a tough sell at the register. Regardless, given the chance, I feel the Sayonara is a solid entry in the performance trainer market for runners seeking a fast-feeling, responsive neutral shoe, and can also potentially work as a marathon racer for people who want a light and fast shoe yet still crave the protection of a trainer.

The Mizuno Wave Sayonara retails for $120 and is available on Mizuno's website (or will be after 7/5/13), as well as at running stores that carry Mizuno products. It seems to fit true to size, though I have heard of some people sizing down half a size due to its not having a sprung toe (my recommendation would be to try them on first, and if that's absolutely not an option, I would say try true to size due to the low-volume toebox). If you have a wide forefoot, you may want to try this shoe on first, since it does run narrow through the metatarsal heads (the bony part of your foot just proximal to your toes).

And now the part that you've all been waiting for, the giveaway! Mizuno is generously offering to give away a pair of Wave Sayonara to one of my readers! Contest ends on Wednesday 7/10/13 at midnight Eastern time, and is open to United States residents. To enter, use the form below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway



Full disclosure: The Mizuno Wave Sayonara was provided free of charge by Mizuno in exchange for a review. The opinions contained in this review are mine and based on my experience, and do not reflect the opinions of Mizuno or anyone else.