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SHOE REVIEW: Mizuno Wave Rebellion

The Wave Rebellion will renew your faith in your own ability

The Mizuno wave Rebellion is a lightweight and versatile performance trainer that can do a little bit of everything. The shoe features Mizuno’s brand new midsole foam, Enerzy Lite, as well as a glass fibre performance plate that offers responsiveness for fast workouts. The Wave Rebellion is a new neutral model from Mizuno, stringing from the family of the Wave Rider, providing a light, firm and snappy ride for speedwork or long tempo runs.

Category: Neutral
Drop: 8mm
Weight: 250 g (men’s 9)
Available: Now
MSRP: $240

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Photo: Matt Stetson

The midsole

The increase in responsiveness comes from the new materials featured in the midsole, and the new shape of the plate. The glass fibre wave plate runs through the midsole from the heel, extending all the way to the forefoot. This gives runners a vigorous feeling at push-off, especially for those who are midfoot strikers. When running downhill, the shoe has a pronounced bounce accompanying each footstrike.

Photo: Matt Stetson

A snappier and lighter version of the Wave Rider

The glass fibre plate is morphed inside a new foam called Enerzy Lite, which has 22 per cent more cushioning than traditional Enerzy foam, and is lighter than Mizuno’s original EVA-based material. The Rebellion is also 35 per cent more responsive than the Wave Rider, with superior grip and far less weight. Another highlighted feature of the shoe is the enhanced grippy outsole. The G3-sole design provides added durability in key contact points and enhances traction where it is needed most.

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The verdict

As a forefoot striker, I found the Rebellion hard but very grippy on the roads and wet surfaces. This shoe is a lot more responsive than the Wave Rider 25 and has a similar feel to the Saucony Endorphin Speed. The Enerzy foam is durable enough to cushion the sole of your foot over the half or full marathon distance. In my opinion, the perfect distance for this shoe would be anything between 10 and 21 kilometres.

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