Mizuno Wave Rebellion Pro vs Rebellion Flash Comparison Running Shoe Review

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The main difference between the Mizuno Wave Rebellion Pro and the Mizuno Wave Rebellion Flash racing shoes is that the carbon-plated Rebellion Pro is designed for the elite runner with new Enerzy Lite+ cushioning for a modern, responsive and protective ride for race day.

In contrast, the Mizuno Wave Rebellion Flash features a glass-fibre infused Wave Plate, delivers a lower stack height and the firmer feel of a traditional racing flat for intermediate to experienced runners.

Both running shoes are part of Mizuno's move towards sustainability with plant-based Wave Plates and a high content of recycled polyester in the sockliner lining.

Sportitude’s running shoe expert Ethan explains how these new running shoes evolved from the original Mizuno Wave Rebellion and provides insight on the similarities and differences to help guide your next racing shoe purchase.

Check out the review with full transcript below.

Hey guys, I’m Ethan from Sportitude Running bringing you an overview of the new race day options from Mizuno.

Normally we do a comparison review but we have a bit of a special one today. Mizuno have released two new race day options that have both been spawned from the original Mizuno Wave Rebellion, so we're going to take you through the new look race day outfit from Mizuno.

Mizuno Wave Rebellion Pro

Weight, Stack Height & Offset

The first shoe we're going to jump into is the new Mizuno Wave Rebellion Pro. For a few quick stats on this shoe, we have 220 grams in a men's size 9 and 195 grams in a women's size 8. It has a 4.5mm offset with 39mm in the heel and 34.5mm in the forefoot.

We're going to jump into some of the nitty-gritty specs and details of the technology that goes into this Mizuno running shoe.

Outsole

First things first, we're going to jump into the outsole. We have the full-length G3 outsole rubber, same as what was in the original Mizuno Wave Rebellion.

You have a bit of a cut-out and exposed foam but it's not really where you're going to be striking the running shoe so it's nothing to worry about. They’ve gone for a slightly smaller diamond configuration for the outsole compared to the horizontal design in the Mizuno Wave Rebellion which is going to give you second to none traction that we loved from the Rebellion original.

Upper

We have a mesh upper that gives you some great lockdown. The only concern I have with this running shoe is that it doesn't have a gusseted tongue which normally in a speed shoe is something I would really recommend and enjoy.

However, in this I haven't noticed it too much. I have a really good lockdown across the top of my foot and I haven't felt like I've been moving around at all. It would be interesting to see how this running shoe faired on a course with lots of technical turns, switchbacks and that kind of thing.

However, if you're doing a longer course race that is fairly out and back or with long straight periods, I think this would perform and you wouldn't really need to worry about the tongue too much. It would definitely be something to consider if you're thinking of putting this on for a short course where you're taking corners at high speed.

It’s comfortable through the heel counter and heel collar with a really great lockdown. There’s no slippage there for me either.

A few key things of note between the Mizuno Wave Rebellion Pro and the Mizuno Wave Rebellion. It still has that engineered upper and it doesn't have that gusseted tongue that we had before. There's no solid heel counter in-built into this running shoe like they had in the Mizuno Wave Rebellion. That’s probably to save a bit of weight as this is a race day option.

Midsole

Now to jump into the exciting part of the new shoe, the midsole. We have a brand new foam for Mizuno. The coloured foam on the top is their Enerzy Lite+ which gives you a nice cushioned landing, down to the white foam which is Enerzy Lite, the same foam that we had in the Mizuno Wave Rebellion.

It’s a little bit firmer to keep you firm and snappy through toe-off. At the bottom we have that big cut-out to save a bit of weight and we have that vertical Guidance Line with the bevelled lateral side to get you through to your first metatarsal for toe-off.

We also have their carbon-infused plate which coupled with those soft foams gives you a nice responsive and snappy transition through to toe-off.