Changes

The Mizuno Wave Universe‏‎ Universe is one of the lightest running shoes available, and it's surprisingly comfortable. The Universe is a great minimalist shoe, and I use it to provide strength training for my feet and ankle muscles. It's rare that I find a shoe in which there's so little I'd change. As long as you accept it for an ultra-lightweight minimalist shoe, it's wonderful. Of course, being a minimalist shoe it lacks the cushioning that would improve your [[Running Economy]], so it's slower than you might expect. When I want to go faster, I'd rather put on the [[Asics Gel Hyper Speed]]. Some runners have had problems with the upper of the Wave Universe tearing, so be extra careful of getting the right fit. The lack of outsole in the rear of the shoe means it doesn't last long unless you're a forefoot runner that never touches down with your heel. I've rated it as "Highly Recommended." {{H:WhatToLookForInShoes}}

* {{H:cushioning}}. The Wave Universe‏‎ Universe only has 9-12mm of quite firm foam, so it provides only the most minimal level of cushioning. This level of cushioning is not enough to provide the full improvement in [[Running Economy]] you'd get with a more cushioned shoe. * {{H:drop}}. The Wave Universe‏‎ Universe is only a 3mm of drop, which is not ideal, but does not make a noticeable difference to my foot strike. With a shoe this thin, the main issue with the drop is that I'd like the same level of cushioning at both ends of the shoe.

* {{H:flexibility}}. The Wave Universe‏‎ Universe is even more flexible than you'd expect given its thinness.* {{H:outsole}}. There are patches of outsole made of a high grip, durable material. As you can see from the pictures, these patches are well placed on the forefoot, but the rear patch will only help someone who has an extreme heal heel strike. In practice the rear of the foot wears even faster than you'd expect due to the cutout (seen as a black oval in the images). * {{H:shape}}. The shoe shape of the shoe Wave Universe is closer to the human foot than many designs, and I didn't need to to [[Shoe DissectionModifications| cut open the toe box for comfort]].{{H:TryCuttingShoes}}

* {{H:heelcounter}}. There's a tiny tab in the rear of the shoe that's kind of like a heel counter[[Heel Counter]], but even more pointless than most. I realize that it probably only adds a tiny bit of weight, but the shoe would be better without it.

==Wave Universe‏‎ Universe and Asics Gel Hyper Speed==Comparing the Wave Universe‏‎ Universe and the [[Asics Gel Hyper Speed]], the Hyper Speed is nearly twice as heavy, but offers a lot more cushioning and the hyper speed is likely to be the faster shoe.

* Advantage Wave Universe‏‎Universe** {{H:drop}}. The Wave Universe is 3mm drop, the Hyper Speed ‎is is 6mm. ** {{H:grip}}. The Universe‏‎ Universe has more grip in the forefoot.

** {{H:cushioning}}. The Hyper Speed‏‎ Speed is a lot more softly cushioned.

** {{H:longevity}}. The Hyper Speed‏‎ Speed lasts longer.

==Mizuno Wave Universe‏‎ Universe and Merrell Trail Glove==The Universe and the [[Merrell Trail Glove]] are both minimalist shoes, but they approach minimalism in different ways. The Wave Universe is extremely light weight, and less than half the weight of the Trail Glove. However, the Trail Glove will last far, far longer than the Wave Universe. {| class="wikitable" |- valign="top"|[[File:Mizuno-Wave-Universe-5-top.jpg|none|thumb|150px|Mizuno Wave Universe 5 top]]|[[File:Mizuno-Wave-Universe-5-bottom.jpg|none|thumb|150px|Mizuno Wave Universe 5 bottom]]|[[File:Mizuno-Wave-Universe-5-inside.jpg|none|thumb|150px|Mizuno Wave Universe 5 inside]]|[[File:Mizuno-Wave-Universe-5-outside.jpg|none|thumb|150px|Mizuno Wave Universe 5 outside]]|- valign="top"|[[File:Merrell-Trail-Glove-3-top.jpg|none|thumb|150px|Merrell Trail Glove 3 top]] |[[File:Merrell-Trail-Glove-3-bottom.jpg|none|thumb|150px|Merrell Trail Glove 3 bottom]] |[[File:Merrell-Trail-Glove-3-inside.jpg|none|thumb|150px|Merrell Trail Glove 3 inside]] |[[File:Merrell-Trail-Glove-3-outside.jpg|none|thumb|150px|Merrell Trail Glove 3 outside]] |}==Wave Universe and Altra One2 One==Comparing the Wave Universe‏‎ Universe and the [[Altra One2| Altra One²]], the Altra wins on cushioning and comfort, but the Wave Universe‏‎ Universe is a lot lighter. The two are not direct competition, but if you want something lighter than your current shoes, the Altra is well worth considering.

* Advantage Wave Universe‏‎Universe

** {{H:longevity}}. The Wave Universe‏‎ Universe lasts longer.* Advantage [[Altra One2| Altra One2One]]

|[[File:Altra-One2The One 2.5-top.jpgJPG|none|thumb|150px200px|Altra One2 The One 2.5 top]] |[[File:Altra-One2The One 2.5-bottom.jpgJPG|none|thumb|150px200px|Altra One2 The One 2.5 bottom]] |[[File:Altra-One2The One 2.5-inside.jpgJPG|none|thumb|150px200px|Altra One2 The One 2.5 inside]] |[[File:Altra-One2The One 2.5-outside.jpgJPG|none|thumb|150px200px|Altra One2 The One 2.5 outside]]