Mizuno Hyperwarp Pure Review

The Mizuno Hyperwarp Pure is for you if...

You are ready to level up your 5k-10k races

You are seeking an ultralight racing shoe with a lower profile

You're looking to push the pace at the front of the pack

What is the Mizuno Hyperwarp Pure made for?

With a collection of three exciting super shoes released in tandem, Mizuno is not pulling any punches with the Hyperwarp line. They made sure that there is a racer for every runner--the Hyperwarp Pure for crushing shorter-distance PRs, the Hyperwarp Elite for high performance on marathon day, and the Hyperwarp Pro for a friendly blend of steady performance and comfort. 

The Enerzy XP midsoles on all three have similar feels—combining impact-absorbing comfort with taut, stable, highly responsive performance. All feature a light, airy mesh upper with a breathable design, and a base footprint with a naturally stable feel. Sticky G3 rubber is strategically placed in the outsole for impressive grip on the road. As far as differences go, it’s all going to come down to the details.

The Hyperwarp Pure is the lightest and most stripped down of the three shoes, made for crushing shorter distances at top speed. The 100% PEBA compound in the Hyperwarp Pure makes it slightly, subtly softer and bouncier than the Hyperwarp Elite and Pro. It has a traditional race day fit, a nimble, low-to-the-ground feel, and a snappy carbon plate to propel you forward. This lethal recipe is made to take racing and speed workouts up to the next level, letting you move without any restrictions.

These shoes really dazzled us. The Pure really delivers on the speedy experience that it promises, and kept us coming back for more. There is, however, a bit to be said about finding the perfect fit when it comes to sizing. Read on as we unpack our thoughts!

Comfort

Fast shoes are known to prioritize light weight instead of loading up on comfort. With that in mind, we found that this shoe feels good and took care of us when and where we needed it. Underfoot, the Enerzy XP foam feels compliant, propulsive, and comfortable, even through the occasionally longer training run (10+ miles). The plate and foam combination work well together to provide as much comfort as you can hope for in a super racing shoe. Although we could feel the carbon fiber plate in how snappy the shoe was, the midsole never felt hard or punishing. As far as protection goes, the shoe punches above its weight.

The woven upper material is blissfully light, airy, thin, and supple, with just a little bit of stretch. There is a nice touch of thin padding in the heel collar that feels secure and soft without being plush. We were able to get a comfortably snug lockdown in the upper, although in some cases this took some adjustments to achieve, as a result of sizing issues that we will expand on more in the Fit section.

It’s worth noting that this shoe has a rather low drop for its kind (3.5 mm). If a lower drop is something you’re not used to in a racing shoe, this may result in minor calf muscle soreness the day after a quality long run or a track workout. For us, this was a very negligible issue.

Performance

In nearly all aspects, the performance of the Pure is a 10/10. This shoe is fast, lively, and particularly came to life when we hit those top speeds. They’re incredibly lightweight, and the stack height made us feel connected to the ground and nimble. It gave us low, stable landings, wonderfully propulsive toe-offs, and just enough of a rocker to let us roll through strides without braking. We’re also very impressed with the grip of this G3 rubber in all conditions, including a rainy workout where we went recklessly rounding corners, and splashing through puddles, without consequence.

These shoes felt so good, they had us changing up our workout plans so we could dive into speed runs again and again. If we had to nit-pick for any changes, we might wish for a faint hint more drop, something like 5 or 6 mm, just to give the shoes a slightly more engaging tilt. But make no mistake, these shoes will make you move.

If you’re looking for a shoe that encourages bursts of speed through a peppy cadence, then the Hyperwarp Pure is a winner—it’s one of the absolute best 5k-10k shoes out there, geared for attacking PRs on race day. If you want a cruiser for long workouts with heavy endurance emphasis, the Hyperwarp Elites and Pros will be better options with more substance underfoot for taking on those extra miles.

Fit

The sizing and fit is where we had a mixed experience. Keeping in mind that a race-day fit traditionally errs on the snug side, we reached a consensus that the Pure runs a little shorter than our usual sizing. The degree to which this impacted our experience varied per person, but for the majority of us, this resulted in needing to go up to the next available size.

If you have a narrow foot and prefer a snug racing fit, you may not experience any noticeable issues in your usual size. If you are in between sizes, prefer a little more room for your toes, or are generally trying to avoid feeling too cramped, it’s worth considering going up at least a half size.

For those of us that did size up, there were some varying caveats amongst users, such as minor bunching of the upper, some moderate looseness in the heel, and strangely long laces. However, these trade-offs were either negligible to the overall feel, or were resolvable with some lacing adjustments (such as a runner’s loop), and we were all still able to achieve effective lockdowns by the time things were said and done. The tongue is very thin and flexible, but we didn’t have any issues with lacebite or hotspots.