Mizuno Wave Exceed Tour 4 Men's Shoe Review

Comfort - Score: 4.6

With plush, responsive cushioning and no break-in period, the Mizuno Wave Exceed Tour 4s earned an impressive overall comfort score from our playtesters. Troy has been playtesting for about 10 years now at TW and has been fortunate to try many, many different shoes throughout the decade. So when he says that the Wave Exceed Tour 4s are some of the most comfortable shoes he's ever played in, that's very high praise. He described, "With comfort in mind, I haven't tested many better than these shoes. They're soft, supple, contoured and have a nice plush feel underneath my feet. Ventilation was middle of the road; it was nothing special, but not bad. The arch support was medium and worked well for my foot type. The fit was good for the most part, but after wearing these shoes for a while, I discovered I may have been able to squeeze into a half size smaller."

"What a difference from the previous model!" exclaimed Jason. "The shoes fit more generously in the toe box, so my feet weren't feeling too squeezed. The underfoot cushioning seemed to be much improved as well, and provided a nice plush ride. These are definitely some of the more comfortable shoes I've tested in 2020 so far."

Mark gave the Wave Exceed Tour 4s an A+ in the comfort department. He said, "Every part of the inside of these shoes was comforting. The tongue and heel counter, along with the rest of the upper, are lined with a smooth, padded material. Underfoot, the heel and forefoot cushioning also offered the same degree of comfort as the uppers. In terms of ventilation, these shoes never came off of my feet damp or felt overheated during play. Lastly, the arch height is a typical medium, which accommodated my high arch nicely without me giving any thought to buying an aftermarket insert."

Even though Chris had an overall positive experience, he faced a couple of minor comfort issues. He said, "I liked the fit much more in the Wave Exceed Tour 4s than the previous version. I stayed in size and found both the length and width fit to be much improved. The uppers broke in quickly, and I liked the way they flexed with my feet. I found a lot of cushioning and felt a little too elevated from the court surface. On the plus side, the shoes felt like they took all of the shock out of hard landings, and I never had any aches and pains in my knees while playing in them. My feet got warm in the shoes during play, but I never felt too hot and bothered, and I wasn't in a rush to get them off after play."

Foot Support/Stability - Score: 3.9

Although the comfort levels were high in the Wave Exceed Tour 4s, some playtesters were left looking for a little more support for their on-court movement. Jason thought both the support and stability were fairly good. He said, "I didn't have any major issues with feeling confident in my movement, but I did notice a tiny bit of heel slippage. To alleviate that, I laced the shoes up utilizing the last eyelet, and that seemed to resolve the problem. I prefer a low-to-the-ground ride, and with these shoes, I felt like I was riding on top of the cushioning rather than in it. That's not necessarily a knock on it, just a preference issue."

Chris had a similar experience. He added, "To counter the slipping at the heels, I had to really crank down on the top laces to help secure the shoes around my feet and the ankle collar. I also felt a little elevated in these shoes and would have preferred to ride lower down inside them. I never had any issues rolling an ankle or feeling too unstable; I just would have rather been lower down for a faster, more connected, more confidence-inspiring ride. Support in the forefoot felt improved, and I liked the way the uppers held my feet in place. I pretty much found a nice glove-like fit from the midfoot forward."

Troy was on the playtest of the prior model and offered up a comparison, saying, "The support and stability were good, but the previous version felt a bit more stable and rigid. For as light as these shoes were on the scale, I found the support to be good. That being said, they don't have the locked down and stable feel of shoes like the Asics Gel Resolution 8. If I had to knock these shoes on the support, I would have liked a bit more security around my ankles. Maybe a slightly higher cut or an added bootie might help these shoes in a future design."

Mark felt that the Exceed Tour 4s emphasized cushioning over support and stability. He said, "I knew there would be a trade-off in terms of the Wave Exceed Tour 4's support and stability due to the high degree of comfort. These shoes do err slightly on the side of comfort rather than stability, but the sacrifice was minimal."

Overall Sole Durability - Score: 4.0

Our team found the Mizuno Wave Exceed Tour 4s to be very durable, especially considering their feather-light weight. Chris was thrilled with how well both the outsoles and toe areas withstood court abrasions. He said, "Outsole durability from the Wave Exceed Tour 4s was impressive. The shoes held up well. I found a similar amount of wear in shoes like the Asics Gel Resolution 8s and adidas Stycons. I was also impressed by how well the toe tips held up. No complaints from me here."

Mark tries to get at least 20 hours of play on each pair of test shoes, and the playtest of the Mizuno Wave Exceed Tour 4 was no different. He said, "After that amount of time spent on hard courts, I still have a ways to go before I can get through the toe cap, which is what I expect from a high-performance tennis shoe featuring an outsole warranty."

"The shoes appear to be quite durable," continued Jason. "I put about 12 hours on them, and there is hardly any noticeable tread loss. Granted, I'm not the type of player who really wears down shoes, but I was impressed nonetheless."

Troy thought the outsoles held up well, but he did start to see some signs of wear by the end of the playtest. He said, "I would say these shoes held up better than most in this weight class. I noticed a bit of balding around the toes and under the balls of my feet, but no major signs of wear. That said, I would likely wear the outsole through to the midsole within a few months, which is why I am stoked that these shoes come with an outsole durability guarantee."

Traction - Score: 4.4

Our playtesters couldn't come to a consensus on how well the Wave Exceed Tour 4s gripped the court. Mark had no complaints, saying, "All of my playing time in the Mizuno Wave Exceed Tour 4s was on hard courts, and the DuRubber outsole compound gave me a predictable combination of grip versus slip whether the courts were clean or dusty."

The modified herringbone pattern on the outsole provided Chris the ideal balance of give and grip. He said, "Getting enough grip to take that important quick first step was never an issue in the Wave Exceed Tour 4s. Impressively, I found enough grab to get going quickly, but I never felt so stuck in place that I couldn't pivot quickly. I like outsoles that offer enough give to allow an easy transition when changing directions, pivoting and sliding out of a quick stop. For me, the traction from the Wave Exceed Tour 4s offered the best of both worlds and felt pretty much perfect."

Jason agreed. He said, "They have a good blend of grip and slip, maybe slightly leaning more to the grip side. I felt like I was still able to slide a little bit when aggressively changing directions, but not as much as I would in something like the adidas Stycons."

On the other hand, Troy found the traction to offer more give than grip. He said, "Traction was good for my needs. I found these shoes to be slightly on the slick side, rather than overly sticky, which I like. There was enough grip when I needed to lock down and change directions, but I also didn’t feel like it was jarring when I came to a direct stop. The feel from the outsole was slightly softer, and it did a great job of grabbing the court surface when needed."

Weight - Score: 4.5

Another standout feature of the Mizuno Wave Exceed Tour 4s was the low weight, which had our playtesters feeling quick on their feet. Troy was surprised that Mizuno was able to lighten the Exceed Tour 4s by more than an ounce from the previous version. He said, "These shoes felt very light, and the soft, pliable feel helped me sprint around the court. There is typically minimal cushioning in the midsole of especially lightweight shoes, but that is definitely not the case here. There was plenty of underfoot cushioning while maintaining that light feel. If anything, the low weight took away from the stability of these shoes, but I didn't mind that."

"I used to consider 15 ounces the threshold for whether a tennis shoe is light or not, but with so many tennis shoes trending toward being lighter, I have changed that point of reference to 14 ounces," continued Mark. "Even so, the Mizuno Wave Exceed Tour 4 weighs considerably less than 14 ounces. Not only does it weigh in at a scant 12.4 ounces (U.S. men's 10.5), it also feels like a speed-oriented shoe, and it even boasts an outsole warranty!"

Chris agreed with the rest of the team. He said, "Outside of feeling like I was sitting up too high, I never really had to think much about the Wave Exceed Tour 4s. The shoes never felt heavy or clunky when I was running around the court. I liked the sturdy feel of the shoes, and it felt like what weight was there had been put to good use."

Jason completed the playtest by saying, "These shoes definitely felt lightweight, and I moved well in them on court. They would feel even faster if my feet sat slightly lower in them, but the lightweight feel is definitely a plus."

Overall - Score: 4.3