My second pair strains my Achilles when running
588239
This is my second pair of Hokas. The first one lasted over a year and were fantastic. I consistently strained my Achilles when I would wear these and I don't understand why. Ive started using another brand of shoes regularly without issue.
1821311
I really wanted to like this shoe....I really did. I used these as my trainer (4 to 10 milers) and avgd about 30 miles/week.

Im 510 and weigh 165lbs and a natural heel striker. I run half marathons with my fastest, and most recent, being 1:32mins. I wore Saucony Kinvara 3 before purchasing the Wave Sayonara. I was looking for a shoe with more durability and a little more cushioning due to some Achilles issues I was having. This shoe fit the bill at the time.

Shoe fit a touch larger than expected. I normally wear size 11.5 in running shoes but could have gotten away with an 11 on these. They also felt like ankle weights at first, considering I was coming off the Kinvara, it was expected.

Pros
- Very durable sole....if you can get past a few rips in the upper mesh. I've lasted 650+ miles. I can push it another 50-100 miles if I really wanted to.
- Lightweight considering the type of shoe. It's only 1oz heavier than Kinvara 3 (size 11.5).
- Great forefront flexibility after break-in.
- Shoe doesnt care if you heel, midfoot or forefoot strike.
- Roomy toe box but snug around midfoot.

Cons
- Long break in period. Took about 150 miles to really break in.
- Rocks easily get stuck in bottom sole. At least it did for me for at least 200 miles. The newer it was, the more the rocks got stuck. I had to stop 3 times during my first run (5 miler) to dig out rocks.
- Laces can easily become undone. I've never had this problem on other shoes but these laces have a tendency to become undone. I double-knot them on longer runs to ensure safety.
- Collar/quarter? (portion from heel to Achilles) is really stiff compared to what I was used to. Not a huge fan.
- Though the sole is durable, the upper/side mesh is not. I currently have 4 holes in left shoe and 6 holes in right shoe. They occur above my big toe and at about the widest portions of the foot.

Summary
I was really impressed by the sole durability but its not enough for me to purchase these again.  It did me well enough but time to say Sayonara :) and find something else.
977131
Weird fit and my feet hurt! Long time Nike & combat boot wearer. Never had problems. Ever. Needed a pair of hiking shoes and bought a pair of Columbia mids. No problems until the sole wore out. Decided to get the same pair of Columbia but in the low qtrs version. Wore them for about 2 weeks and my feet started to ache. 2 weeks more and felt worse. Bought this pair of Merrels. Got healed up by going back to my trusted Nike Airs. Started wearing this new pair of Merrels but within a couple of days the pain came back and it's even worse. The pain is around the top of my foot around the ankle joint and on the inside of my heel near the arch. I'm telling you this because if you are a long time wearer of another shoe, try to stick with that brand. If you are a long time Merrel wearer, you'll probably be fine. Bottom line, beware of transitioning to a different brand or else you're gonna wind up with issues. If you do transition to a different brand, buy your shoes from a reputable brick and mortar retailer where you can be fitted properly and advised as to what sort of brand would be best for your foot structure and needs. For me, I'm going back to buying shoes the old fashion way.
806286
I run in these barefoot as I like barefoot running. The shoes were very comfortable running barefoot after a 3 week break in. Before that the toe caps hurt my big toes. They are really light and fast, with just enough padding to be safe; I run on gravel trails a little but mostly pavement with lots of steep hills.

I have run in them less than 2 months and must now buy more shoes. There is a tear in the fabric at the edge of the toe cap on the right shoe. Very poor durability for the upper! The soles are wearing really well; although not thick they are not wearing down fast. What a shame the upper it tearing a hole.

I am editing this review to add 2 stars. I am pretty sure that my right big toe with a very thick nail put the shoe under abnormal stress. And my right foot is a size or so smaller so that the big toe nail happens to line up with the edge of the toe cap.

These are, other than the tear, very nice shoes. They give a very fine balance between good protection and a barefoot running experience.
2023874
I would like to give these shoes 4/5 stars, but I can only give them 3.  This pair is rubbing on my heels.  I had a pair of the Gel-Nimbus 16, and I loved them.  They were a great shoe that logged many miles while providing great comfort.  The 17's I have now are the exact same size as the 16's that I had, but for some reason they do not seem to be the same.  I never had any rubbing or blisters with my 16's, but the 17's really start to rub my heels on both feet when on longer runs.  They are still pretty much brand new, so maybe they will be better after I wear them a few more times, but I do not remember having a break-in period at all with my 16's.
4913362
Whatever change they made ruined these shoes for me. I now have a lot of achilles strain and calf soreness.  My footfalls are now way too hard/loud and jarring.  Sad to say my search for a new shoe begins.
4825281
at first they were so comfortable that i bought a 2nd pair a different color...but within a month the cushioning starts to wear down and get harder...now my feet hurt all over when i wear them....wish i could find a good cushioned shoe that the cushioning didn't wear out so fast
3533602
A DEFECT AT THE HEEL HURTS THE ACHILLES TENDON. I now limp, I'm in pain and out $400!
These boots were fine at the store. But walking in them a few times hurt like hell. It developed a painful bump I never had before, caused me to limp and make it difficult to wear almost any shoe now.

Nothing worked : I bought Bunga pads, tried wearing 2 Bunga pads one on top the another; I bought a special pad for the achilles tendon. (I spent $100 on that and it still hurts and I can not wear those awful boots.) And I had tried to stretch the boots, unlace them... nothing works, because of the badly made joint at the back of the heel and the rigidity of the lower part of the boot.

These boots ended up  costing  me a fortune. I now limp (I have been limping for about a month now - hopefully it is temporary) I am out $400 and I AM DISAPOINTED BY MERRELL: I own 2 other boots of them which are great. I am very sorry I got the Decora Prelude boots!
1680415
I have many pairs of these shoes, but this new pair pinched my heel. I found that it has a hard part -- perhaps from glue or something. Might need cushion pads if I want to wear them.
2301560
I love New Balance.  I took a chance to buy online, trusting past experience in sizing, instead of going to a store & actually trying them on.  Result:  normally would have been OK, BUT I'm currently experiencing very painful Achilles tendinosis (much physical therapy, many augmentive items from Amazon), AND these are just a little too tight in the heel (seem to be shorter than other NB I own, making the heel portion suffer).  Very disappointed, because they are simply too uncomfortable to wear.  [I do hope to fix the Achilles problem; then these might be just right; we'll see.]  Doing further research online, I found that NB uses a series of lasts w/ slight variations w/in each size; had I known, I could have checked this last against the others I've owned.
2905628
I have found these to be relatively uncomfortable to run in, mea culpa for buying a similar pair to a prior pair of saucony's i'd had in the past. However, the biggest disappointment is that I usually get 350-400 miles running (primarily in urban settings) and after 140 miles the soles of these are completely worn out.
2753738
I really love these Sauconys.  I should probably stop wearing them because they have so many miles on them.  I should find a new pair of running shoes.  The new pair I bought are not as good as these so I am still running in them.  Worn as they are I still do not get shin splints!
2445551
This was my second pair of these shoes which I buy because neuropathy makes it uncomfortable to wear shoes for long periods. The first pair was great but the second have been rubbing my "pinky" toe raw. I have tried some silicon toe covers and those certainly helped but it still gets bad after a day of walking around in these. I have now purchased a shoe stretcher with add-ons for pushing out specific areas and hope that I'll be able to use one of those to push the area out that's rubbing my toes. It's rough inside, like maybe several seams come together right there. Why I had no problems with the first pair and so many with the second pair is beyond me.
1685954
These things caused me a pretty serious back injury where I was pretty much bed-ridden for about a week.  On my first run in them, I tweaked my lower left back because the arch support in these things is way off.  I knew it was the shoe because I put on my old pair after I recovered from my back injury, and had no problems with that run.  Then I decided to experiment and try out these ASICS again, and this time I was getting a very uneven run where my left leg was getting a lot more pressure and weight than the right leg.  It was noticeable enough to where my left leg went numb after about 1 or 2kms into the runs.  I tried this out for about 4 or 5 runs with the same numb leg result.  I then went back to my old pair of shoes for next run after I'd experimented and fully broken in the ASICS.  In my old shoes I had no problems at all with a long 12km run.  So I've concluded that the problems have to be with the shoes and the arch / instep support.  I'm 6'2" 205lb so I need something with balanced support and these just don't do the job.
782350
I loved them and wore them a lot for a while, but I think the support (cushion) wears out quickly.  If you have achilles heel tendonitis, don't wear these.
2776602
I've been happy with the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 14's for a few years now.  I run about 7 - 10 miles per week.  I ordered the GTS 16's assuming they were an upgrade to the GTS 14's (my bad for not doing the research first)  The impact forces on the heel with the GTS 16's are painful and I noticed this within the first few miles.  My recommendation is stick with the GTS 14's.  Unfortunately, I just missed the window to return the GTS 16's by two days.  The GTS 16's are definitely NOT a design improvement.  I will be going back to the GTS 14's or another brand of equivalent or better construction.
4003160
I really wanted to like these shoes but, I hate them. I am an avid runner with a severe overpronation, and I've been having trouble lately finding a new pair of running shoes that won't hurt my feet. After a 2 mile run in these shoes, I have blisters on the back of my ankles and a red mark from the tongue stabbing the front of my ankles. I stopped several times during my run to readjust the pump thinking maybe I had pumped too much or not enough. No matter what I did the result was the same.