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40Race Shoe FinderEst. 2023 · London

Head to head

Mizuno Wave Rebellion Pro 4vs
Nike Vaporfly 4

Wave Rebellion Pro 4

£125

Typical street price · £220 RRP

39mm — road legal
Vaporfly 4

£120

Typical street price · £255 RRP

35mm — road legal

Choose the Wave Rebellion Pro 4 if…

  • You want more shoe underneath you late on: 39mm against 35mm, which is protection over a long race rather than speed over a short one.
  • You race off a strong, repeatable stride and want the more aggressive ride rather than the safer one.
  • You have a narrow foot and want to be locked in.

Choose the Vaporfly 4 if…

  • You want the bigger return: 3.2–4.4% economy gain against 2.9–4%, and that gap widens the longer you are out there.
  • You want something more forgiving. This is the steadier platform — useful if your form goes late, or if you are on your feet longer.
  • You want a conventional fit rather than a narrow or wide last.
  • You are racing 5K or 10K — built for it, where the Wave Rebellion Pro 4 is not.
  • You would rather buy on measured numbers: this shoe's specs are manufacturer-confirmed, the Wave Rebellion Pro 4's are estimated.

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
Wave Rebellion Pro 4: 145s–219sVaporfly 4: 165s–246s
Cost per second saved
Wave Rebellion Pro 4: £0.17Vaporfly 4: £0.15

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.

010203040503933
Wave Rebellion Pro 4
010203040503529
Vaporfly 4

What you pay

Street price
Wave Rebellion Pro 4£125
Vaporfly 4£120■

What the shoe is actually selling for across the shops we read, not its RRP.

RRP
Wave Rebellion Pro 4£220
Vaporfly 4£255

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

Cost per race
Wave Rebellion Pro 4£30■
Vaporfly 4£32

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

Cost per second saved
Wave Rebellion Pro 4£0.17
Vaporfly 4£0.15■

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

What it does

Estimated saving
Wave Rebellion Pro 4145s–219s
Vaporfly 4165s–246s■

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

Economy gain
Wave Rebellion Pro 42.9–4%
Vaporfly 43.2–4.4%■
Built for
Wave Rebellion Pro 4Half · Marathon
Vaporfly 45K · 10K · Half · Marathon
Best use case
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.
Vaporfly 4The most versatile super shoe on sale. Light enough for a 5K, cushioned enough for a marathon, and the fourth generation fixed the upper problems that made the VF3 divisive.

How it is built

Weight
Wave Rebellion Pro 4185 g
Vaporfly 4184 g■

Manufacturer figure at men's US 9.

Stack (heel)
Wave Rebellion Pro 439 mm
Vaporfly 435 mm
Stack (forefoot)
Wave Rebellion Pro 433 mm
Vaporfly 429 mm
Drop
Wave Rebellion Pro 46 mm
Vaporfly 46 mm
Foam
Wave Rebellion Pro 4Enerzy Lite+
Vaporfly 4ZoomX
Plate
Wave Rebellion Pro 4carbon fibre
Vaporfly 4carbon fibre

Rules and fit

Road legal
Wave Rebellion Pro 4Yes (39 mm)
Vaporfly 4Yes (35 mm)

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

Fit
Wave Rebellion Pro 4narrow
Vaporfly 4standard
Stability
Wave Rebellion Pro 4demanding
Vaporfly 4balanced

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

Race life
Wave Rebellion Pro 4~260 km■
Vaporfly 4~240 km

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

Data confidence
Wave Rebellion Pro 4estimated
Vaporfly 4verified■

■ 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

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.

Where to buy

Your UK size

Best price today — some sizes£110.25at Runlimited — £144.74 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.