Mizuno Neo Vista 2 Review

The Mizuno Neo Vista 2 is for you if...

You’re looking to add a highly cushioned, bouncy feel to your long runs

You’re seeking a shoe that emphasises comfort and protection for your high mileage

You have a higher instep, and appreciate a looser, roomier sock fit

What is the Neo Vista 2 made for?

In 2024, Mizuno debuted their Neo Vista series of high performance supertrainers, aiming to be the brand’s go-to, high-stack offerings with the ability to handle everything from a distance runner’s tempo workouts to long run days.

The Neo Vista 1 met the billing, bursting onto the scene and providing an inherently stable, smooth ride while reducing fatigue by providing a little extra energy return alongside the cushioning necessary for longer distance runs. The launch shoe was overwhelmingly successful, landing in many of our reviewers’ “Best of…” lists, although we did note that the Neo Vista 1’s upper felt snug, and some aspects of the upper’s design made it difficult for us to slide the shoe on and off around our runs. The Neo Vista 2 works to address these critiques with a newly imagined, more voluminous upper that’s been paired with a new knit, and a collective revamping of the fit of the shoe that reduces hotspots and helps to avoid slippage.

In the mid-and out-soles, the Neo Vista 2 adds a few more notable evolutions to their experience by introducing a dual-layer midsole which was intended to give this sophomore outing some additional energy return. The Neo Vista 2 also tries to give its shoe some additional responsiveness by including a fibreglass-infused nylon plate, but we found that, overall, the shoe ended up being more comfortable than fast.

So, between the new dual midsole and the tweaks to the upper’s composition, we could see the places that Mizuno tried to improve upon their already successful formula. However, in the Neo Vista 2, these adjustments led to a mixed bag of results for us. While the heart of the Neo Vista 2 remains true to the overall goal of the original model, offering high cushioning and an efficient ride for your regular mileage and longer runs, a distinct lack of pickup in this version of the shoe, and an adjusted overall fit have left us feeling a bit divided.

Comfort

We were pleased to find that the comfort that we loved with the Neo Vista 1 remains, undeniably, still intact.

The Mizuno Neo Vista 2 provided an impressively comfortable ride through each of our short, moderate, and longer runs. It is a highly cushioned shoe with a soft midsole that allowed us to sink into the shoe, while still providing enough bounce through its foam-and-plate combination to keep running enjoyable. The Neo Vista 2 still has a high sock fit, with a one piece upper and no tongue, but the addition of a new stretchiness and volume in the upper allows the Neo Vista 2 to feel softer, and makes the shoe easier to slip on and off than its predecessor. That feeling of added volume continues throughout the upper, giving us an overall roomier feel throughout the shoe. 

Performance

We found that the trade-off for the Mizuno Neo Vista 2’s expanded comfort came via a lack of pickup for our speed runs. While the dual midsoles provided sufficient stability for each of our runs, the shoe’s lack of propulsion became evident whenever we tried to accelerate past moderate speed efforts. For our long runs and regular mileage paces, the shoe performed well. It gave us good energy return and comfort, like the Neo Vista 1s taught us to expect, but the shoe began to feel sluggish as we accelerated into faster and faster speed work, and we missed some of the pop that the Neo Vista 1 offered. 

Fit

This was the category where our reviewers’ experiences deviated the most from one another.

For our reviewer with a higher instep, the Neo Vista 2 fit their feet comfortably straight out of the box. In their experience, the newly increased volume and softness of the upper combined to provide an accommodating, roomy upgrade. They reported no width or volume issues, aside from a single hotspot that appeared on the inner ankle area when the reviewer wore no-show socks during a test run.

In contrast, the fit felt a step behind for our reviewer with a lower-than-average instep height. The adjustments which were made to the shoe’s upper and collar made the fit feel looser, overall, than the Mizuno Neo Vista 1 felt, and the one-piece stretch upper lacked the versatility needed to create secure wraps around their particular foot shape.

In short, we found that when the Mizuno Neo Vista 2 fits, then it fits well. But if the initial fit isn’t quite snug enough for you, then you may be hard pressed to make the adjustments needed to create a good, locked-in feeling in this shoe.