Mizuno Wave Inspire 16 vs 15 Comparison Running Shoe Review

Josh reviews the Mizuno Wave Inspire 16 running shoe and reveals the modern tweaks that put it a step above earlier generations. It stays true to what Inspire fans loved about the previous model, providing a lightweight running sensation coupled with a 12mm heel-to-toe drop to protect heel strikers on impact.

Alike with the Wave Inspire 15, it features a supportive Wave plate cradled between U4ic and U4icX cushioning for responsiveness and shock absorption.

Mizuno take on a more minimalist and seamless route in their upper construction for an distraction-free ride, while providing a deep heel counter for structure, security and support.

Check out the review with full transcript below.

Hey guys, Josh from Sportitude here and it’s shoe review time. It’s going to be on the new Mizuno Wave Inspire 16.

What we’ve got here is a very similar model to the Wave Inspire 15. However, the execution and change from Mizuno has come in the upper. It’s true to the Japanese engineering philosophy ‘less is more’, which is exactly what they’ve done with this shoe.

We’re going to talk about the foot type that’s able to run inside this shoe and then compare the changes from the Inspire 15 to the Inspire 16. There’s not a lot of changes, so it’s not going to be a very long review, because all the changes are in the upper. Without further ado, let’s get stuck in.

Foot Type

Let’s talk about the foot type that should be considering the Wave Inspire 16. Holding a foot model in front of me, you can see the arches are ever so slightly splayed out.

We’ve got a runner that as they go through midstance, they ever so slightly rotate to the medial side. They need a little bit of assistance as they go through midstance to take stress off that plantar fascia, ankle, shin, knee and hips.

The way that Mizuno have executed this arch support is a bit different from other brands that we’ll get talking to about today. Like all my shoe reviews, we’re going to talk about every aspect of this shoe from the outsole, midsole and upper and compare it to the Wave Inspire 15.

Outsole

I’ll hold up the Wave Inspire 15 up and true to my word, the outsole is exactly the same. There has been no change in the outsole whatsoever.

They’ve used the same materials, they’ve placed all the crash pads in the same areas and obviously have used the same rubber through the forefoot as well. No change in the outsole.

Midsole

What we have in the midsole as well is no change. They’ve used the U4icX and U4ic cushioning system at the back of this shoe.

U4icX is laid just underneath the Wave plate, which is that first purchase with the ground to offer a little more cushioning. It also has a U4ic midsole top layer. U4ic is a slightly more responsive foam than the U4icX. Therefore, it keeps it light and responsive as you go through midstance to toe-off.

Let’s talk about the midsole and what Mizuno do and have been doing for a number of years. They use a thermoplastic Wave plate that splits the two cushioning systems, as I just touched on which is the U4ic and the U4icX.

On the medial side they’ve built up that Wave plate to provide a little mid support assistance for that heel striker who hits the ground underneath the heel, coming through to midstane. Instead of using dual density foam or GuideRails which is what Brooks is doing now, Mizuno have used the Wave plate technology for a number of years and boy does it work.

For a lot of Mizuno Inspire runners, more often than not it’s such an easy update for them. They walk in and grab the same shoe, same size, same width off the shelf and away they go. We do like to make sure the shoe itself is doing all the right things for those runners when they do come in store of course, but it’s pretty consistent year in and year out so kudos to Mizuno for that.

Upper

As I touched on at the start of this review, the change is in the upper. We aren’t talking polar opposites in regard to change. They haven’t gone for a knitted design in this specific model, but they do make a knit that we’ll review soon. For this one they’ve got a really nice jacquard mesh design.

As you can see through the forefoot on the old Inspire 15, they had a synthetic guard that was stitched in through the forefoot. That was to protect the end of your toes when you’re running, either when you’re going downhill or transitioning through your gait cycle on toe-off. It was to minimise the impact on your toe in the end from causing a bit of friction and irritation.

We don’t need that anymore because it adds weight and adds another stitching environment. We don’t want that in running shoes.

A lot of shoes are going down this seamless upper path and that is what Mizuno have done. You can see in the new Mizuno Wave Inspire 16 there’s no more stitched overlays through the forefoot. You don’t want the potential for any irritation to come through the end of your toes.

I’m not saying that was the case for the 15. However, when you’re talking about stitching or putting two different contrasting materials on the end, as you go through mid to toe-off you run the risk of your foot having to feel and play with both; the synthetic and the mesh lining. It’s too much of a contrast and it can feel unusual.

They execute the upper very nicely through the forefoot in the new Mizuno Wave Inspire 16. One thing I do like and it’s probably more of a cosmetic thing, is the execution of the Runbird logo. You can see on the lateral side that it’s almost like a 3D badged on design instead of again, stitching it on like they’ve done previously. Just a subtle change, but a really nice execution.

As we come through to the heel counter at the back, what we’ve got is a very deep heel counter. It’s easily one of the deepest in this category of running shoe, mid to high mileage. The reason I say it’s deeper is because when your foot sits in the Mizuno Wave Inspire 16, you know it’s in. It is deep.

You get plenty of structure and support around the back of the heel. Therefore, when your foot hits the ground you’re getting all the support from the ground up with the midsole and outsole configuration.

The execution on the internal heel counter gives you a great hold at the back of the shoe. You still feel nice and stable, nice and secure in this shoe which is what it’s all about.

As you come through to midstance, there are supportive overlays wrapping the base of the heel point of contact through to the medial side of your midstance phase, and on the lateral side it’s the same thing as well.

It’s a controlled construction without stitching on that logo. Throughout the forefoot, it’s all about breathability, space and flexibility through toe-off.

Widths

The great thing about Mizuno and a lot of the good running brands out there is they make widths. The women’s comes in a B and D and the men’s comes in a D and a 2E.

B is standard for ladies’, D is a little bit wider. D is standard for men’s and 2E is a fraction wider. Of course, with widths there’s different colours on offer as well which you can see on the Mizuno Wave Inspire 16 landing page.

The shoe is very light. There’s not a lot of weight in the Wave Inspire and that’s been the case for a number of years. It’s a nice, light high mileage shoe and it’s built on a 12mm offset. That is the maximum amount of heel-to-toe drop you’ll see in a lot of running shoes out there.

This is engineered for a heel striker. The idea being when the heel comes down first point of contact with the ground, we’re not going to put as much stress and strain on the lower Achilles and calf insertion.

Therefore, when you’re going through to midstance, the plantar fascia on the insertion point at the back of the shoe is going to be relatively supported, which is purely through that tweak in the heel-to-toe offset.

I’m not saying it’s not going to make a lot of runners out there say, “That’s too much heel-to-toe gradient for me personally”. Of course, there are a lot of runners that can run with a 0mm, 4mm, 6mm, 8mm or 10mm heel-to-toe offset.

What you need to know is that every running shoe is different and every runner is different. Therefore, having a variety of heel-to-toe offsets, different arch support systems, weights and cushioning allows us to precisely fit the right shoe to the right person for their requirements at that point of time.

You don’t need to run in a 12mm shoe for the rest of your days or some people may. For someone who’s just getting into running or is experiencing some discomfort in their lower Achilles and calf and are potentially talking heel inserts from their podiatrists, maybe we’d get you into a 12mm offset in a shoe like this to take off the stress and load.

There you have it guys, that is the Mizuno Wave Inspire 16. A fantastic shoe. It’s a great update and very consistent to where it was last year, but what they’ve done is made a great shoe even better with a little bit of execution in the upper.

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Happy running, we’ll see you soon.