After I consider the Mizuno model, I believe highway sneakers or attire and gear for ball sports activities, however the Mizuno Wave Mujin 9 ($150) is a worthy path working shoe for its traction alone. I actually appreciated the agency and speedy experience of the assorted renditions of Mizuno Wave Riders after I ran roads within the late Nineties via 2012. As soon as I converted to primarily trails, my most popular shoe manufacturers modified as nicely. However this winter, I had my first expertise with this true path shoe from Mizuno, and the Wave Mujin 9 impressed.
The Mizuno Wave Mujin 9 is a impartial 10-millimeter drop shoe with 28-mm stack peak within the forefoot and 38-mm stack within the heel and a reasonably common weight of 12 ounces (340 grams) for the lads’s measurement 9. The experience is on the agency aspect of cushioned, and the well-lugged sole supplies glorious safety from pointy rocks. Whereas this shoe actually excels in traction and underfoot safety, particularly for snowy and muddy situations, I’m undecided it’s really a long-distance shoe. Runs as much as 20 kilometers felt high-quality for my toes and legs, however past 25k, the firmness appeared to actual a toll.
The aggressive tread and considerably weather-resistant higher makes it much like sneakers just like the Salomon Speedcross, Saucony Peregrine, or maybe the Brooks Cascadia. I’ve discovered the higher to be just a little wider and extra accommodating than the Speedcross, the drop greater (extra snug for me) than the Peregrine, and the shoe extra nimble-feeling than the Cascadia. The traction is almost comparable with the Speedcross — which I’ve actually put to the take a look at this winter — however with extra quantity via the higher. It could enchantment to these for whom the Speedcross is simply too comfortable. The shoe additionally works nicely, with out pinch factors, when paired with microspikes from numerous manufacturers — which is a plus for when toothy traction is required.
The Mizuno Wave Mujin 9 is billed as a real path working shoe for the impartial runner, and this version is the lightest model but. Mizuno additionally notes the shoe’s eco-friendly focus, with 90% recycled materials. It is available in each girls’s and males’s match, and for this evaluation, I examined the ladies’s shoe in a measurement 9.5. That is on par with my sizing in La Sportiva, Brooks, and New Stability, and a measurement larger than I put on in Salomon (8.5).
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The Mizuno Wave Mujin 9. All images: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
Mizuno Wave Mujin 9 Higher
The Mizuno Wave Mujin 9 higher is constructed from an engineered mesh that resists water and particles so nicely that I needed to double verify to see if it had an additional weather-proof facet. The breathability is sufficient for the winter working I’ve been doing, however I haven’t been capable of take a look at it above 65 levels due to the kind of winter we’ve had. The water resistance is so efficient, nevertheless, that if I actually soak the shoe — hey, loopy winter path situations and flowing streams and water-covered trails in Arizona Rim Nation — it takes a number of days for them to actually dry, even with the assistance of newspapers stuffed inside. On the flip aspect, two-plus hour runs on Colorado packed snow trails with occasional postholes nonetheless lead to dry sneakers inside 24 hours.
The higher has a extra accommodating shoe-like match in comparison with the soccer-boot fashion of different aggressive traction sneakers just like the Salomon Speedcross, so folks with higher-volume toes might discover this to be a extra snug choice. Accommodating doesn’t imply sloppy, nevertheless. Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) overlays alongside the medial and lateral elements of the higher present light-weight help and construction via a lot of the higher. The forefoot is nicely protected with the skinny overlying rand, such that the occasional toe stub is a non-issue. Additional foot safety is supplied by the stiff, substantial heel cup and well-padded ankle collar, which retains my foot snugly on the shoe platform even with aspect slopes or the wild, wonky frozen prints and ruts which are all too frequent in winter working. The heel might nearly really feel overbuilt in case your trails are easy and tranquil, however I recognize the construction as I sort out the rocky, extremely variable trails or the snowy and icy ones, relying on location and situations.
The partially gusseted tongue is padded simply sufficient to guard the highest of the foot from the vast, flat laces, which keep tied so long as you give your double knot an extra-strength pull. A small lace storage sits atop the tongue close to the ankle, which I by no means really feel the necessity to use. Webbing loops on the tongue and behind the heel help with pulling the shoe on and off and make it straightforward to hook the sneakers to the surface of your gear bag with a carabiner after a sloppy run.
A lateral view of the Mizuno Wave Mujin 9.
Mizuno Wave Mujin 9 Midsole
Mizuno employs their proprietary “Mizuno Enerzy” foam within the midsole on the Mizuno Wave Mujin 9, which is touted a being lighter and extra cushioned than prior variations. Whereas this shoe does really feel extra cushioned than the present Mizuno Wave Rider highway shoe, and I really feel it’s a bit extra cushioned than the Salomon Speedcross over shorter runs, it nonetheless has a comparatively agency really feel in comparison with the Brooks Cascadia or the entire vary of extra cushioned path sneakers on the market. And acknowledged above, the resilience appears to fade, and the cushioning will get flat quickly after 25k and my toes and legs actually begin to really feel the pounding. It bounces again by the following day, however it undoubtedly wouldn’t be a path marathon or ultramarathon shoe for me.
Although there is no such thing as a point out of a rock plate, the 2 layers of Wave midsole expertise, coupled with the outsole, present glorious rock safety. I’ve had zero points with rock bruises and even discomfort from rocks, branches, or different pointy incursions.
A medial view of the Mizuno Wave Mujin 9.
Mizuno Wave Mujin 9 Outsole
As a substitute of the extra frequent Vibram or brand-specific outsole compound, Mizuno makes use of Michelin rubber within the outsole of the Mizuno Wave Mujin 9 to create the 4-millimeter lugs of various shapes, heights, and patterns to nice success. With not less than 200 miles on them, the outsole has no apparent put on and sticks very nicely to tough granite, moist rocks and roots, snow, gravel, dust, and hardpack “wintery combine,” whereas nonetheless sloughing off most mud and moist dust exceptionally nicely. It’s one of many two outsoles I’ve most popular for my “true winter situations” working this season and but the lug sample nonetheless lends itself nicely to easy and cozy strides if a number of miles of dry dust are inserted within the midst of a extra technical, snowy, or sloppy run. I discovered the heel-toe transition very snug for my slow- to moderate-speed runs, which is all I do when the situations require sneakers with important traction anyway. I additionally examined them on a number of energy hikes with lengthy climbs in dry situations, the place they labored fantastically as nicely. All in all, it is a terrific outsole, which actually provides to the worth and efficiency of the shoe.
The outsole of the Mizuno Wave Mujin 9.
Mizuno Wave Mujin 9 Total Impressions
I’ve been actually happy with the Mizuno Wave Mujin 9 and its efficiency as an aggressive-traction, shorter-distance path working shoe. In my expertise, the outsole rivals the perfect manufacturers and sneakers I’ve had an opportunity to run in, and the extra accommodating form and match of the higher might permit a greater variety of toes to be snug and safe. Nevertheless, for a real long-distance or extremely shoe, it falls quick with the drop off in midsole cushioning consolation and resilience past 25k. That is the one disappointing facet of the shoe for me, and it undoubtedly limits the usability when you’re attempting to restrict the variety of path sneakers in your assortment. I’d like to see Mizuno enhance the midsole for the following launch to carry it as much as the extent of a real long-distance path shoe.
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A prime view of the Mizuno Wave Mujin 9.
