We took the Mizuno Sky Prime for 20 miles right out of the box, here's how it felt

Introduction to the Mizuno Sky Prime

JOJO: Mizuno throws me back… but not that far. Just back to my first marathon in 2023, the TCS Amsterdam Marathon, where Mizuno was the main sponsor and footwear partner. I know, I’m very late to the brand, but I'll blame my shoe-loyalty ties from the first three years I got back into running. So, three years later, I’m finally running in my first Mizuno shoe. Since I'm new to these legacy brands, I can offer a few quick fun facts. Care for a history lesson?

Mizuno is a Japanese-founded sports equipment and sportswear company that got its start in baseball before expanding into golf and skiing. It was founded 120 years ago, in 1906. Over the years, it has ventured into the rugby, American football, tennis, and volleyball spaces. And apparently, at one point, aircraft?

In 1983, Mizuno took flight into the running shoe space and penned its current logo with its first RunBird shoe line. The mark on the shoe is meant to represent “an orbit of a planet,” and was named RunBird for its shape.

From there, Mizuno kept innovating in running, with Cat Plus in 1996 for better forefoot performance and the first Wave Rider in 1997, which combined cushioning and stability. The Wave Rider line went on to become the brand’s signature series — we're at version 30 now, unreal.

In 2020, Mizuno developed Mizuno Enerzy, a high-resilience foam that delivered the most rebound in the brand’s history. It is now a key material across its lineup, and it’s a key feature of the Sky Prime.

And lastly, if you’ve read some of my other reviews, you know that when I see “eco-friendly,” I have to look into it. The Sky Prime uses eco-friendly materials, which I believe could be a combination: 1) Pebax Rnew, a bio-sourced resin usually made with castor oil, within its wave plate and 2) recycled polyester for its laces and collar. Kudos!

CHAD: Back in the mid-1960s, lysergic acid diethylamide, aka LSD, became all the rage. In the psychedelics world, it was the top. But here we are in the 2020s, and the trend I'm starting to see every brand and runner jump on involves what I’m calling LSC, the long slow cruiser. The newest entry into that market is the Mizuno Sky Prime, a high-stack offering with dual-density midsole foam designed for comfort during long, easy efforts.

Featuring a 47mm/41mm (6mm drop) stack height, the Sky Prime’s dual density includes standard Enerzy NXT EVA foam as the bottom layer for stability and support, with an upper shelf underfoot of Enerzy NXT Plus, a new compound that is nitrogen-infused, designed to be lighter and more responsive. Also included is a soft mesh upper with an integrated tongue system and a minimal, yet reasonably tacky outsole.

RYAN: Like Jojo, I have also run the TCS Amsterdam Marathon. I thought it was a great race, and its partnership with Mizuno made perfect sense to me. After all, the storied Japanese company calls Rotterdam its European home, so why not sponsor a race right next door?

Anyway, my time in Amsterdam wasn't actually a gateway to the brand; instead, I was there with Mizuno to launch its Wave Rebellion Pro 3. Since then, I've run in just about every shoe Mizuno has launched, and I think I'd consider myself pretty close to an expert on the topic.

So, of course, I jumped on the chance to run in the Sky Prime when it was offered to us. It seemed like an interesting, plateless alternative to the Neo Vista line that I've loved so much over the years. And, if I could find a reliable trainer for long miles without a plate, I figured I'd be happy as a clam.

Then, the Sky Prime arrived, and I laced it up for an immediate 10 miles out the door. Let's talk about how it went.

What we like about the Mizuno Sky Prime

JOJO: Out of the box and into a half marathon on a Wednesday after work. To be honest, I was dreading that run. I’d just gotten back Monday from almost a month out of the country, where I’d been rotating the same pairs of road and trail shoes. Not exactly ideal prep for 13.1 miles in a brand-new pair. And yet, the run felt incredible — smooooth like butter.

I held a steady pace, and my legs felt strong thanks to the cushioned ride. Huge credit to the Enerzy foam and the Foam Wave clip for striking a nice balance. The foam had enough rebound to keep me cruising through the later miles without feeling like I was stomping along, while the clip kept the ride stable and controlled from start to finish.

The upper was breathable and well-ventilated, which surprised me given how heavy the shoe felt. This is definitely the heaviest shoe I’ve run in comfortably (for context, my first max cushion shoe was the Hoka Bondi 8, and I returned it). Another pro: I never had to readjust the shoe or retie the laces once, and this is a common issue for me with my lacebite history.

CHAD: The first thing I noticed when I pulled the Sky Prime out of its box is that this shoe just screams comfort. The mesh upper is malleable and breathable (sort of like the Neo Vista and Neo Zen) while having good structure to it. This helps keep the foot locked down and over the surprisingly wide platform underneath, something which over the course of a long effort is much appreciated.

On the road, the Sky Prime continues to impress, being a shining example in the LSC category. The first run I took this shoe on was a 20-mile long run in my ramp-up to the NYC Marathon. Probably a dumb idea, right? Twenty miles in a brand new pair of shoes during a marathon block? Idiot! Well, like Lee Corso says on ESPN College GameDay, “Not so fast, my friend.” 

I was using the Sky Prime for exactly what it was built for, and it delivered. Miles 18, 19, and 20 of the run felt just as comfortable as the early miles, and my legs appreciated the softness and comfort of the upper layer of Enerzy NXT Plus with the stability and support of the Enerzy NXT.

The Sky Prime provides the exact feel that I look for in an LSC: a smooth, consistent ride that is easy on the legs. I’ll also give them props for the tongue system, because it is heavily integrated into the upper and very thin, but the material somehow protects well against lace bite, something I often suffer from on longer efforts.

RYAN: For the most part, I think I can echo my fellow reviewers with the things I liked. This, like the Gel-Slowcush, is a born-and-bred slow cruiser. I think I hit an 8:30 mile with the shoe on my foot, and that's as fast as I wanted to go. As someone who chronically takes easy days too hard, the Sky Prime is a shoe I needed. It forced me into low gear and didn't let me leave.

I'll also say that the shoe is incredibly stable thanks to its dual-clip midsole, and the upper is surprisingly breathable for how thick it is. There's really no shortage of cushioning, well, anywhere, with a plush heel collar and well-reinforced laces.

I don't mind the simple white, red, and blue colorway, either. It feels very wearable for casual days, though I kind of miss the funky camo designs that Mizuno launched with for a few years there.

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What we don't like about the Mizuno Sky Prime

JOJO: Though the ride felt balanced, the tapered toe box created some uncomfortable pressure on the top of my foot early on. After the first three miles, though, the upper molded nicely around my foot, and it was smooth sailing from there.

It’s also a heavy shoe, and it doesn’t offer the same pace versatility as other max cushion shoes in its price range. And if I had to nitpick, I would love to see more colorways. There are only two options right now, but since it's a new line, it makes sense that Mizuno is keeping it simple.

CHAD: I knocked Mizuno with the release of the most recent Wave Rider because I felt the colorway design was a bit low-brow; the red-white-and-blue is a bit played out. However, they are back again with the same colorway in the Sky Prime. With Mizuno’s logo and some of the impressive designs they've done in the past, I’d like to see them go out on a limb a bit more.

Also, the shoe is a bit heavy. A US M9 comes in at 10.7 oz., which, given the stack height and wide platform, is sort of understandable. However, in a day and age when Asics can put out a shoe like the Superblast 3 (8.5 oz for a US M10) and New Balance with the SC Rebel v1 (7.5 oz for a US M9.5), all for similar height and use cases (and cost), that could limit the appeal of the Sky Prime to the masses.

And that cost is the other elephant in the room. It seems crazy to say, but it seems like the market is being flooded with shoes in the $200-220 range. I’m not sure I could see myself paying $200 for a shoe that is designed for one thing and one thing only, which is long, slow cruising. For that price, I want some versatility (which I get from the shoes mentioned above).

RYAN: My first run in the Sky Prime ended at a birthday 5k for a friend's two-year-old, which marked the first time anyone saw me in the shoe. As expected, I was met with a ton of questions. My answer to how I felt about it was simply, "It's too much shoe."

That really sums up my entire experience in the Sky Prime: It's too much. It's too broad, it's too heavy, and it's too limited. I wouldn't recommend throwing strides at the end of an easy run in this shoe. You'll feel like you're battling the midsole, and I don't think you're going to win.

Also, at $200, this shoe is way too expensive. It's in the same lane as the Asics Gel-Slowcush in terms of being slow and limited, but I don't think Mizuno has the same influence to where people will pick it up anyway.

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Final thoughts on the Mizuno Sky Prime

JOJO: The Mizuno Sky Prime is a well-built max cushion cruiser. The quality is obvious from the first run, and it feels like a shoe that can easily go 400+ miles. Expect a short break-in period as the toebox settles if you don’t have narrow feet.

However, it is hard not to compare this shoe to one of my favorite shoes of all time, the Mount to Coast C1, a heavier max cushion super trainer that can handle easy miles yet still push to fast tempo efforts. The Sky Prime doesn’t have the range, but if easy miles and recovery days in a quality shoe is what you’re looking for, this is the shoe for you.

CHAD: At the end of the day, the Mizuno Sky Prime is a great shoe and exactly what I look for in the LSC category. It is comfortable and stable on the run underfoot with a soft and breathable yet secure upper. It made every mile of a 20-mile run feel good, and my legs weren’t absolutely trashed later that day or the next. 

From a performance standpoint, it excelled. It is just coming into a very crowded market with a price tag that normally is associated with shoes that are more versatile. That is the one thing that may make this a hard sell for some.

RYAN: The Mizuno Sky Prime is big, protective, and smooth. It's also a confusing proposition in late 2026. I'm not sure how we jumped from $200 super trainers to $200 recovery shoes, but I don't think it works for me. I'd lump this shoe in the same category as the Asics Gel-Slowcush in that it does its job really well; it just doesn't fit into my rotation.

Instead, I'd much rather rock the Asics Superblast 3 at a slower pace or take the Adidas Hyperboost Edge out for just about any run in my weekly schedule. If I'm spending $200, I want a whole lot of flexibility out of my shoe.

You can pick up the Mizuno Sky Prime for $200 at Mizuno using the buttons below.

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