Company – Minuno
Product Review – Mizuno Men’s Wave Hitogami Racing flat ($79.99 – $99.95)
Website – http://www.mizunousa.com/running/mens/running-shoes/neutral/wave-hitogami 
Like them on Facebook
Follow them on Twitter

Since I started my running journey I always wanted to try a pair of Minuno running shoes. However, since I quickly picked up a sponsorship from a local running shoe company I never had a chance. A few months ago I decided to drop my sponsorship and I began to look for another running shoe I had not tried. Remembering Minuno, and wanting to try them I reached out to the company to see if they would be willing to send me a pair to review. Minuno was gracious enough to send me a pair of their Hitogami’s.

Who is Mizuno?

Minuno is a worldwide company that’s been around since the early 1900’s. They make sports clothing and are most known in the running world for their “Wave” technology. The “Wave” came from their engineers that studied the way nature deals with impact forces. They studied sound waves to tidal waves, and found that waveforms spread and dissipate energy incredibly quickly. Inspired by the way nature handles and spreads energy efficiently, they created the world’s first and most effective mechanical midsole – the Minuno “Wave”. The Minuno “Wave disperses impact forces away from foot, has progressive tunable support is lightweight, compact, responsive and doesn’t break down over time”.

The Hitogami’s

Like with all Running shoe companies that have their faithful followers, Minuno has theirs. In-fact most of the people I’ve met that run in Minuno love them, and when I say love them – they love them! For me however, I won’t be one of those faithful at least for the Hitogami’s. When I reached out the company to see if they would send me a pair to review we went back and forth trying to decide what shoe I should review. We landed on the Hitogami’s based on the company’s suggestion. What I found interesting was I let them know that I ran in zero drop shoes and wasn’t big on running with more than a 4mm drop. The Hitogami’s are an 8mm drop and from the moment I put them on I could tell. I felt like I was wearing high heels since I hadn’t ran in anything higher than 4mm drop in about two years, so the shoe did take some getting used to.

The shoe is super light and could be used as a racing flat for those runners that run with a high heel-to-toe drop. The uppers are made up of a highly breathable material that draws away the sweat and helps leave your feet feeling dry. The sole is made up of hard EVA and rubber; you can see their “Wave” from the mid-foot reaching out to the heel. I love the color palette; the white, black, and yellow just go. I wouldn’t think these colors would match do, but they do. Unlike the Newton’s I reviewed I felt that the toe box was tight and didn’t allow my foot to disperse on contact. When looking at the shoe the toe box looks to be wide; however, I found that my foot was quite tight in both shoes.
Despite being lite I didn’t feel that these shoes performed well. For me the 8mm drop was just too much. I felt myself heel striking (or close to it) and scuffing a lot while I tried to mid-foot strike. Running in these shoes didn’t feel natural to me. I felt as though I was constantly struggling to keep my form in check and wished that they were a 0 to a 4mm drop.

Conclusion

Likes

• Weight
• Comfort
• Style very breathable
• Price

Dislikes

• Tight toe-box
• Ride
• Heel stack
• Durability

Overall

I must admit I don’t really like giving unfavorable reviews, but this shoe is just not for me. The heel stack, tight toe-box, and ride of the shoe was too much for me. However, if you are looking for a transition shoe this shoe would be an excellent choice. As the Ginger Runner points out I wish the heel stack was a bit more lower.

[embedyt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12gv7k2xiSk[/embedyt]