The super shoe weight war just got a new leader, but is it any good?

Mizuno announced the Hyperwarp 96 this week, a carbon-plated racer that weighs 96 grams (3.4 oz). That’s the equivalent weight of two eggs, and one gram under the Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 which has been the benchmark for featherweight racing since it launched earlier this year. The name isn’t subtle and its the biggest selling point but one gram is one gram. The real question is whether Mizuno found that weight savings without giving anything back in performance, and that’s where this shoe starts to be different.

What’s New

Mizuno already makes a very light racer in the Hyperwarp Pure, which has earned a following for anyone running 5K and 10K races. But the Pure gets there partly by running lower to the ground than most super shoes.

The Hyperwarp 96 doesn’t take that shortcut. It sits at 39mm in the heel and 36mm in the forefoot for a 3mm drop. If you know anything about thickness, that is 1mm short of the 40mm max to be considered a legal race shoe. And these are the exact same numbers as the Pro Evo 3.

Mizuno got there with a new foam, Enerzy XP+, built to balance low weight with cushioning and energy return. The brand also cut away any part of the midsole that wasn’t helping the runner. Add an ultra-thin resin-based outsole for grip, and you’ve got a shoe that’s been stripped to the studs.

A Full Carbon Plate

Here’s where Mizuno went a different direction than the competition. Other featherweight racers have ditched the full-length plate to save grams. The Pro Evo 3 uses a carbon rim instead, and the Asics Metaspeed Ray uses a forefoot-only plate.

The Hyperwarp 96 keeps a full-length 3D carbon plate, with a section cut out under the heel. That tells us Mizuno prioritized the propulsion and stiffness of a traditional plate and still hit 96 grams. It also means there’s room to go lighter down the road if they ever rethink the plate.

Key Specs

• Weight: 96g / 3.4oz
• Stack height: 39mm heel / 36mm forefoot
• Drop: 3mm
• Foam: Mizuno Enerzy XP+
• Plate: Full-length 3D carbon plate with heel cutout
• Upper: Laceless, spray-on, two-zone
• Price: ~£400 (US TBC, est. ~$450)
• Availability: December 2026

No Laces

The most eye-catching feature is the spray-on, laceless upper technology. It’s built in two zones, denser at the bottom for lockdown and lighter up top. If it reminds you of On’s LightSpray tech, you’re not alone. It looks very similar but we haven’t touched it so maybe it is different.

And this is where we’d urge caution, weight matters but spray-on uppers are light and clean, but there’s no dialing in the fit. If you have wide feet or high arches, what you get out of the box is what you’re racing in. Before you spend a massive amount on a super shoe, make sure you know it fits.

Price and Availability

The Hyperwarp 96 doesn’t hit shelves until December and UK pricing is set around £400, and while US pricing hasn’t been confirmed, early estimates land around $450.

That undercuts the $500 Pro Evo 3, but it’s still more expensive than nearly every other super shoe on the market. This is a hyper shoe, priced like one.

Our Thoughts

We love that Mizuno keeps swinging. The Wave Rebellion Pro was polarizing, the Hyperwarp Pure is a legit short-distance weapon, and the 96 looks like the brand’s most serious marathon statement yet.

If you don’t think about Mizuno, maybe you will now. And that’s what they want.

But weight is a spec, not a result. We don’t know yet how Enerzy XP+ holds up over 26.2 miles, how durable a stripped-down, thin-outsole shoe is at this price, or how that no-lace upper fits real feet. Berlin will give us our first look at these on race day and I’m sure we’ll see a lot of discussion pop up on social media about them.

For now, the Hyperwarp 96 is the lightest full-stack super shoe we’ve seen.

Whether it’s the fastest is a different conversation.