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40Race Shoe FinderEst. 2023 · London

Head to head

ASICS Metaspeed Rayvs
Mizuno Wave Rebellion Pro 4

Metaspeed Ray

approx £164

Estimated street price · £250 RRP

39.5mm — on the limit
Wave Rebellion Pro 4

£125

Typical street price · £220 RRP

39mm — road legal

Choose the Metaspeed Ray if…

  • You want the bigger return: 3.7–4.9% economy gain against 2.9–4%, and that gap widens the longer you are out there.
  • You want the lighter shoe: 129g against 185g, a 56g difference you will feel late in a race.
  • You would rather buy on measured numbers: this shoe's specs are manufacturer-confirmed, the Wave Rebellion Pro 4's are estimated.

Choose the Wave Rebellion Pro 4 if…

  • Money matters: it is selling around £125 against £164, and the time difference between them is smaller than the price difference suggests.
  • You want more races out of one pair: about 260km of competitive life against 130km.

What does this
mean for you?

Every figure below is recalculated from your race and your current time. The gap between two shoes is not fixed — it grows with how long you are on your feet.

Over marathon from 3:45:00

Time back
Metaspeed Ray: 199s–280sWave Rebellion Pro 4: 145s–219s
Cost per second saved
Metaspeed Ray: £0.33Wave Rebellion Pro 4: £0.17

Ranges, not promises. Both figures are against a standard trainer, and the honest answer for most runners is that the difference between two shoes of this class is smaller than the difference a month of decent training makes.

Every number.

0102030405039.534.5
Metaspeed Ray
010203040503933
Wave Rebellion Pro 4

What you pay

Street price
Metaspeed Ray~£164
Wave Rebellion Pro 4£125■

A tilde marks an estimate: no shop we read is currently listing that shoe, so the figure is RRP less the discount comparable shoes are actually selling at.

RRP
Metaspeed Ray£250
Wave Rebellion Pro 4£220

List price. Almost nobody pays it for a race shoe.

Cost per race
Metaspeed Ray£80
Wave Rebellion Pro 4£30■

Street price divided by the races the foam stays fast for.

Cost per second saved
Metaspeed Ray£0.33
Wave Rebellion Pro 4£0.17■

The whole-life question: what each second of race time costs you.

What it does

Estimated saving
Metaspeed Ray199s–280s■
Wave Rebellion Pro 4145s–219s

Against a standard trainer, over the distance and time set above.

Economy gain
Metaspeed Ray3.7–4.9%■
Wave Rebellion Pro 42.9–4%
Built for
Metaspeed RayHalf · Marathon
Wave Rebellion Pro 4Half · Marathon
Best use case
Metaspeed RayASICS answering the Adios Pro Evo directly. At 129g it is the lightest shoe here, and it feels like almost nothing on the foot.
Wave Rebellion Pro 4The cut-away heel forces you onto your forefoot whether you meant to or not. Divisive, distinctive, and fast if it suits you.

How it is built

Weight
Metaspeed Ray129 g■
Wave Rebellion Pro 4185 g

Manufacturer figure at men's US 9.

Stack (heel)
Metaspeed Ray39.5 mm
Wave Rebellion Pro 439 mm
Stack (forefoot)
Metaspeed Ray34.5 mm
Wave Rebellion Pro 433 mm
Drop
Metaspeed Ray5 mm
Wave Rebellion Pro 46 mm
Foam
Metaspeed RayFF Leap
Wave Rebellion Pro 4Enerzy Lite+
Plate
Metaspeed Raycarbon fibre
Wave Rebellion Pro 4carbon fibre

Rules and fit

Road legal
Metaspeed RayYes (39.5 mm)
Wave Rebellion Pro 4Yes (39 mm)

World Athletics caps road racing shoes at 40 mm of stack.

Fit
Metaspeed Raynarrow
Wave Rebellion Pro 4narrow
Stability
Metaspeed Raydemanding
Wave Rebellion Pro 4demanding

Neither is better in the abstract — it depends on your stride.

Race life
Metaspeed Ray~130 km
Wave Rebellion Pro 4~260 km■

How long the foam stays fast, not how long the shoe survives.

Data confidence
Metaspeed Rayverified■
Wave Rebellion Pro 4estimated

■ marks the better figure where one is genuinely better. Fit, foam, drop and stability carry no mark — they depend on your foot and your stride, not on which shoe is superior.

In your size.

Where to buy

No retailer we can read publishes a live price for this shoe, so we cannot check your size. The links below go to each retailer’s own search, where they show the current price and what they hold.

9 retailer checks failed on the last run, so their prices are missing rather than wrong.

Prices are captured when the site is built and stamped with the time of that check. We never rank a retailer by what it pays us; where a link earns a commission it is marked sponsored and the price you pay is unchanged.

Where to buy

Your UK size

Best price today — some sizes£124.99at Sportitfirst — £95.01 under RRP

9 retailer checks failed on the last run, so their prices are missing rather than wrong.

Prices are captured when the site is built and stamped with the time of that check. We never rank a retailer by what it pays us; where a link earns a commission it is marked sponsored and the price you pay is unchanged.