Mizuno Neo Vista
The Warmup
Men: 9.4 oz
Women: 7.8 oz
Drop: 8 mm
MSRP: $180
Mileage at Time of Review: 28
Mizuno has long been known for making excellent court shoes, but in the running world, they have long lived behind the times. As other brands embraced new foams and technology in their daily trainers, Mizuno came out with some stellar racing shoes and concept shoes, but didn’t let any of those advancements trickle down into shoes for everyday running…until now. Enter the Neo Vista, Mizuno’s first super trainer.
The Breakdown
The Outsole
This is an incredibly light weight shoe, and while a popular technique to save weight is to reduce the coverage area of the outsole rubber, every portion of this outsole has rubber coverage. The rubber is not the thickest, nor is it the tackiest, but it does provide enough traction that I felt confident while running. The outsole coverage will also add to the durability and longevity of the shoe and does so without compromising weight.
The Midsole
The midsole is made with a nice cushy stack of MIzuno Enerzy NXT, and they are still referring to the plate in the midsole as a waveplate, although it doesn’t seem to have the same shape or function as the other wave plates that Mizuno uses in their shoes. T
he NXT foam is a supercritical foam that provides an excellent ride and plenty of cushion underfoot. I love what they have done with this foam formula. So far it seems to be very durable and maintain it’s feel throughout the run.
Earlier I talked about how much rubber coverage there was on the outsole, one of the reasons they are able to do that is because they cut a gigantic hole in the middle of the shoe that obviously reduces weight from the midsole and outsole materials. We’ve seen this technique in other shoes, key cutouts and this specific design is seen prominantly in the New Balance SC Trainer line. As a larger runner, one thing that I do notice in this shoe that I don’t notice the SC Trainer for example, is the cutout. I can feel it with each stride. When I step down during my run stride, I can feel that there is a hole in the midsole and just a plastic plate between my foot and the air. Other shoes with this design use a carbon plate rather than a plastic plate which could account for the fact that I feel the cutout in this shoe and not in the carbon shoes with similar design. I’m not sure that this is an issue from runners smaller than me, and in truth it doesn’t take away from the performance of the shoe, but it is a bit of an annoyance at times. I think if the cutout were narrower, even though the shoe would be a touch heavier, the cutout would be less noticeable in the stride.
When you open the box and take a look at this shoe, one of the most prominent design features is the plate seen in the midsole cutout. Unlike other plated shoes, I don’t think that this plate is set for propulsion. When you look at the materials Mizuno has put out, it describes it like the waveplates used in its other shoes, and it is set in place for added stability. The supercritical foam has a lot of energy return, but I don’t notice the extra pop you would expect from a plated super trainer. I think this shoe falls more in line with a shoe like the Asics Superblast. It is an incredible shoe to run in and has plenty of spring from the foams, but you don’t get the aggression that you would expect from a plated shoe.
The Upper
This may be one of the best uppers of the year! The knit material stretches and molds around your foot so that you don’t notice it’s there once it’s on the foot. The heel collar has enough structure that it stays in place and keeps the foot secure even though it isn’t particularly soft or cushioned. The laces feel mostly decorative through a majority of the shoe but do lend to a sense of security around the ankle once tied.
Running and Walking
The Neo Vista makes for a very versatile shoe for runners and walkers of all ability levels and paces. It is by far one of the most comfortable Mizuno shoes I’ve ever run in and I think puts Mizuno back in competition with other brands for those looking for the higher cushioned shoes, which seems to be most everyone. Initially I thought that this was going to fall into that super trainer category of shoes that can do a little bit of everything, but much like the New Balance SC Trainer or the Hoka Skyward X, I think that this shoe thrives in the long easy runs and recovery runs. The supercritical midsole provides plenty of cushion and some response, but the plate is much more structural than propulsive.
As a larger runner I do find myself wishing that the cutout of the midsole material was smaller. When I run in the Neo Vista, I can feel the gap left in the midsole to show the plate in the shoe, and while it doesn’t take away from the function of the shoe, it does take away from the experience for me. I don’t think that smaller runners will necessarily have that issue. As I get more miles on the shoe, it may turnout that the cutout creates more instability in the run, but currently I have yet to see any structural degradation related to the cutout in the midsole.
The size of the cutout and the fact that I am so aware of it while running has kept me from using this shoe on anything but the road, though as that is the primary focus of the design, I’m okay with that.
All in all I think that this is a huge leap forward for Mizuno and that the Neo Vista is an incredible shoe to run in. While I do have some notes for Mizuno to make the next version better for folks my sized, I think that for the general population it provides a shoe with a lot of versatility.
The Gym
I’m not gonna recommend this shoe for the gym. I think there is a bit too much lateral instability with the supercritical foam and cutout to make it an effective shoe to do anything other than run in from an athletic perspective.
Daily Living
This shoe is incredibly comfortable and will make a great shoe for daily living. The collapse I feel while running I don’t feel wearing the shoe for daily wear. Currently it is only available in one color each for men and women, but hopefully as the year progresses more colors will be available.