Mizuno Wave Inspire 8

John Turner 2
Reviewed: 29 April 2013

A reliable, comfortable and practical racer/trainer

I've been running for about 56 years and had three (1 x 6 and 2 x 8) pairs of 'Inspires'. They've proved to be the most reliable, comfortable and practical racer/trainers I've ever had. I use them for both road and off-road in all but the harshest conditions. I was sceptical about the wave plate at first but found this a more sophisticated (ie preventative rather than reactive) and comfortable form of pronation support that the integrated enhanced foam wedge used by other manufacturers.

For this type of shoe, none

Shoe technology may change and sometimes improve. However, until genuinely better and more suitable shoes are found, these will keep me running without problems.

Lee Muncaster
Reviewed: 09 April 2013

Excellent for broad feet

Fit, comfort

I have always had big problems finding trainers that fit. I have very broad feet, very flat arches (maybe collapsed on the left). I'm also somewhat overweight for running and have had long term Achilles problems in the past. Mizunos are the only shoes I could find that fit me with any kind of comfort. I still get blisters quite easily where my flat arch rubs, but they are great for runners with wide feet. I also tried Wave Nirvana, but whenever I got injured, it was wearing those, so I tend to avoid them- something about the back of the shoe didn't seem to agree with my achilles.

WetWeek
Reviewed: 17 June 2012

Brilliant!

Heel cushioning. Fast and smooth transition. Upper fit is snug yet comfy. No heel slippage. Discrete but effective stability. Feels faster and less shoe than competitors with similar stability.

Utterly perplexed at the RW review - sounds like a different shoe!
Flex controllers can sometimes be felt through the forefoot midsole, creating sore spots on the ball of the foot. Needs more insulation over the flex controllers, or delete them from the next model. IMO they're uneccesary

Takes the best elements of Inspire 6 and the few good ones from Inspire 7 and combines them in a shoe superior to both. For the stability provided, the Inspire 8 feels light, lively and well cushioned in the heel. My foot strike varies from heel to midfoot and the Inspire 8 caters for both equally well.

I have over 400km on mine and the cushioning is still as-new and the sole looks approx half-worn.

Almost a faultless running shoe.

Marion Hughes
Reviewed: 05 June 2012

Excellent!

Ezcellent fit, cushioning and support.

None.

Hve always used mizuno Wave Inspire shoes though I gave the Wave Inspire 7s a miss because of the poor write ups. These shoes have put a real spring in my step! I am delighted with my purchase.

Tim Mavers-Chance
Reviewed: 01 April 2012

Excellent Shoe

Get the support of the Wave inspire 6 and the cushioning of the wave inspire 7. Put them together and you've got the wave inspire 8. I tried on 4 other stability shoes at runners retreat in Marlow along with these and nothing compared. The proof of the pudding is in the eating so get your local runners shop who do a video gait analysis of you while you like runners retreat do and try them out if you don't believe me!

Might be expensive for some people.

Super value for money and a country mile better than it's closest rivals.