While most shoe companies are chasing the minimalist craze and removing the bottoms of their shoes, Mizuno is going against the trend by doing away with the middle.
There’s a big hole right where the cushioning should be on Mizuno’s Wave Prophecy road shoe. In lieu of the usual EVA foam midsole — usually the first part of running shoes to break down — Mizuno has substituted the Wave Infinity Plate, a system of the company’s own design that consists of two TPU plates connected at ten points along the shoe by rubber baffles. In addition to potentially lasting longer than traditional soles, the plate is meant to provide better cushioning and a more responsive stride for a variety of different running styles. And for $200 a pair, these shoes had certainly better knock one’s socks off.
