Mizuno Wave Hayate review

I recently received a pair of Mizuno's Wave Hayate trail running shoes courtesy of Mizuno and #FitFluential for a test and review of the shoes.  Mizuno also offers another new style called the Wave Kazan.  Full disclosure - these shoes were sent to me in exchange for this blog review and this post is sponsored.

For a quick background, I've run in the Mizuno Waver Rider 15 and 16 and had some great success with them.  I even ran my fastest marathon in the Wave Rider 15 so I was really interested in trying out Mizuno's new trail shoes.  Here's what I received:

Mizuno Wave Hayate

X-lug outsole

The Wave Hayate uses the Wave Technology to cradle and stabilize the heel at landing while promoting a smooth transition.  One thing I like about the Mizuno's is this fit.  I really like my heel locked into the shoe, a firm grip on the midfoot and room in the toebox for my toes to splay.  While I didn't feel the toe box was overly wide, I didn't have any issues either.

The midfoot X-groove enhances the adaptability of the sole segment by allowing the heel and forefoot to move independently.  The X-Stud also helps to provide grip on uneven terrain.  I can feel it when running on the trail especially as you go up and down hills as it digs into the trail and keeps you stable.

The Hayate is only 8.8 oz(men's).  These things are super light!  According to Mizuno, the shoe is an all-terrain shoe that allows you to glide smoothly over any type of terrain.  Given this, I was really looking to test these out in a number of different terrains.  I happen to get them when I was heading to Northern Michigan for the week so I had plenty of opportunity to test these since there are tons of trails to run.  I ran with the shoes on asphalt, grass from a golf course I ran, a wooden bridge and numerous types of trails.  I took these on hilly, rooty, muddy, sandy, pine needle covered, technical trails.  The trails I run here have super variety.  I gave them a good workout and got myself one in the process.  The shoes did a great job on everything I threw at them.

Technical with Sand/pine needles

Wooden bridge

Golf course - I ran over 9 holes on it.

In regards to how they performed, I'll go through each type of terrain:

I loved the feel of the Wave Hayate on the trail with the pine needles.  The needles give a soft landing yet the feel of the shoe is such that you still have the feel of the trail.  There is not a large amount of cushion on the Wave Hayate.  If you have run with Mizuno's road shoes in the past, you will like the feel of these as well.  Just enough cushion to keep your feet protected.  The shoes fit true to size.

Pine needles

The outsole has a nice tread on them to help grip the trail yet it was not too large and felt comfortable under technical terrain.  I think many runners still want that lightweight shoe yet allows them to feel the terrain while protecting their feet.  I felt the shoe had enough protection to guard against sharp sticks and rocks and my foot didn't feel like it was getting bruised on the trail as some lighter trails shoes can do to your feet.

Rooty, technical

Given the x-lug outsole grips in all directions, yet was not overly large, it was not a issue also running on asphalt or cement when needed.  Of course, I would not recommend these for always running on these surfaces but the shoes handled the surface just fine so if you were running to a trail from your home and had to run smaller distances on cement, these would fit the bill.

Asphalt

I also liked that Mizuno had a slightly lower drop of 9mm on these.  It gave them a fast feel on any surface.

Golf course/grass

Another feature I really liked on the shoes was the breathability of the shoes.  As you can see below, the upper on the forefoot had large holes in them which helped your feet stay cool.  While I didn't get the shoes overly wet, the small time they were wet, I felt they dried out quick enough.  I also liked the tongue on the shoe as it was not a huge padded tongue but enough to protect the top of your feet.

Keeping your feet cool with nice size holes in the forefoot

Mizuno is making a commitment to trail and is using their winning design principles from their Ascend 8 to their new trail shoe line-up.  You get the best of both worlds with a lightweight shoe, protection from the trail, and stability required for a good trail running experience.

Personally, these would be shoes that I could see myself running and/or racing up to a half marathon distance.  While I like the feel the Wave Hayate gives me on the trail, for distances longer, I need a bit more cushion.  These will fit in great for training on some of my shorter runs mid week as I gear up for my 50k in October.

Overall these are a great option for those looking for a fast and very light shoe on the trail.  If I could change one thing on these, it would be the color.  I can't say I'm that hot on this color but then as I wear them more, the mud should take care of that.

Check out the Mizuno Wave Hayate today.

Have a great day and.....Keep Running!!!!

Disclosure:  I received these trail shoes through the Fit Fluential and Mizuno Campaign in exchange for this review.  All opinions are my own and I was not required to give any particular opinion other than an honest one. This post is sponsored.