The Wave Universe is Mizuno’s principal contribution to the minimalist movement. The words “minimalist movement” refer to those shoes developed in response to the rising awareness of the benefits of running barefoot. Those benefits include ground feel (the body’s awareness of its position relative its surroundings due to the sense of feel.), light weight and a low heel (encouraging a forefoot landing.)

I have tried several of Mizuno’s running shoes.

Mizuno Wave Musha The Wave Musha is lightweight, 7.8 ounces, has a decidedly small heel to toe drop, and light support against over pronation. I’d bought them years Air Jordan 8s ago, before I became mindful of the harmful impacts of heel strike running. Once I had started employing a forefoot landing, I found that the Wave Musha performed quite well. Mizuno truly doesn’t advertise their Wave Musha as a minimalist shoe, however, when compared with shoes that others promote, the Wave Musha is extremely minimalistic indeed.

Mizuno Wave Ronin Next I tried Mizuno’s Wave Ronin. The Wave Ronin is incredibly similar to the Wave Musha except it weighs less (7 ounces.) and has no anti pronation control. The Air Jordan CDP anti pronation control in the Musha isn’t obvious so, I Air Jordan 6 Rings could barely feel the difference between the two running shoes.

These two shoes are quite well built. The uppers still looked brand Air Jordan 18s new when the soles finally wore out. Once I had decided to try minimalist running shoes, I opted for Mizuno Wave Universe, since I like my other Mizuno Shoes so much.

Mizuno Wave Universe If the Wave Musha and the Wave Ronin are minimalistic, then the Wave Universe is an additional category altogether. Their soles are incredibly thin and flexible, and they Air Jordan 3s only weigh 3.8 ounces. Running in these shoes is similar to running in your bedroom slippers. They give protection from the ground you’d like to have while wearing minimalist running shoes and remarkably little else.

The soles of these shoes are thin, so that you continue to have some ground feel. Unlike the Wave Musha and the Wave Ronin, the Wave Universe does not have a heel. The out sole merely extends covering the heel, so it does not have any heel to toe drop. The latest model is available in any color you want, as long as that color is red.

I don’t believe you’ll go wrong with Mizuno Wave Universe if you desire a genuinely minimalist substitute for running barefoot. I believe that running in these shoes are about as close to running without shoes as you can get while still wearing shoes.