Men's Mizuno Wave Ascend 6

Comments about Mens Mizuno Wave Ascend 6 Trail Running Shoe:

I needed a pair of dedicated trail shoes. I tried most brands, ASICS (which I love), Montrail, Brooks, Merrill, and Salomon.

The Brooks Cascadia 6 was close on fit, but a little too much padding on the instep and the upper felt too meshy and mushy, like it wouldn't hold my foot in place.

The ASICS GT-2160 Trail version was great, and I have the previous GT-2150 Trail. However, it really has more of a hybrid tread, so not quite road, and not quite trail. Great shoe for recreation.

The Montrail, Salomon, and Merrill didn't quite work.

The Mizuno Wave Ascend 6 felt great from the beginning. I like a little more room in the toe box, and it had plenty of room. My fear with a toe box is a little bit too much room, but I didn't feel that while running. Other than that, the ankle was snug, the upper looked well-built, and the tread appeared sturdy and was definitely a trail tread.

I ran two miles hard to try it out, both on road and trail conditions. Did not disappoint, it fit great, I felt I could go fast without thinking about the shoe, which was most important.

And finally, I think the color combo of blue and lime is pretty cool.

If you have a slightly wider foot like mine, the Mizuno should be on your list. I was surprised how much I like them.

Comments about Mens Mizuno Wave Ascend 6 Trail Running Shoe:

Shoes were purchased specifically for Arizona Trail running which contains a mix of sand and rough rocky terrain.
1. Purchased this pair for the full length aggressive tread pattern. Tread is solid from toe to heal which is great for AZ rocky trails. (Prior shoes, Brooks Adrenalin ASR 8, had segmented tread pattern that tore away from the shoe within 3 months on the same AZ rocky trails.) In three months the Mizuno tread was still in one piece with no tread to shoes separation noted. I rate the tread as PERFECT for my needs.
2. Stability was great, no real note of rolling or crushing the inside edges, able to hold trails at a light jog to a full kick, uphill or downhill.
3. Lighter weight than my prior Brooks shoes.
4. PROBLEM AND CAUSE FOR RETURN: The "rock plate" in these trail shoes starts just behind the front balls of your feet and finishes at the back of the shoe. I never once felt a rock in the section where this rock plate is located (can be clearly seen from the side). However I found out very quickly that the front of my feet took a major pounding on the rocks, so much so that I had to take several days off after just running two back to back rocky trail days (6.5 miles day one and 3.8 miles day two). The fronts of the shoes feel very thin with little to no rock cushioning. Continued to run in these shoes for a couple months, but the rock pounding was just too much. I RETURNED THE MIZUNO SHOES DUE TO PAIN IN THE FRONT OF MY FEET. (Prior shoes, Brooks Adrenaline ASR 8, were extremely comfortable with great support and cushioning and I never felt rock pressure points.)

Final wish - Combine Brooks A-ASR8 with the full length tread from the Mizuno Wave A6 and I have my perfect shoes.

The Mizuno Wave A6 is a great trail shoe IF your trails a mostly void of sharp or numerous rocks, so this shoe is not for me on these AZ trails.