Like previous incarnations, the Wave Rider 14 makes a great high-milage trainer. The build quality is excellent and shoe will happily handle daily pounding. The firm sole has enough cushioning for hours of continuous use without feeling mushy or over-supportive.
The first thing that struck me when I unpacked these shoes was how well they were put together. The stitching is tight and the outer sole was cleanly attached. The open mesh weave of the upper makes for a fast-drying airy shoe. At first the apparent looseness of the weave worried me in terms of its durability but after several hundred kilometers, the weave looks none the worse for wear.
The insole is definitely a step above what’s typically found in a road shoe. It’s made of a dense foam that does a great job of conforming to your sole. The denseness of the foam does, though, mean that the insoles take longer to dry than the rest of the shoe(easily resolved by taking the insoles out of the shoe to dry). Like the rest of the shoe, after a couple of months of use, they’re in great shape and I fully expect them to last for the life of the shoe.
A small detail that I really appreciate is the durable (and thankfully thin) strip of fabric that lines the top of the toebox. I don’t know what its official purpose is but for me, it prevents my big toe from wearing through (I’ve prematurely trashed many pairs of shoes by having my big toes wear and eventually poke through the top of the toebox)
One design detail I find strange is the detached top outer eyelet. While it doesn’t bother me, I can see how the flap could catch on tights if you din’t thread the laces through the top eyelet. Another curious feature is the phrase ‘Gender Engineering’ cut into the sole at the heel of the shoe. Other than sizing and colour scheme, I haven’t found anything particularly ‘male’ about the shoes. Looking through the Mizuno website, I couldn’t find any information about this feature.
Overall, the Wave Rider 14 is a comfortable trainer that I would happily recommend to someone looking for a reliable everyday running shoe to help them put in big miles to get ready for the big race.
