On Running Cloudboom Racing Shoe Review

Josh reviews the lightweight On Running Cloudboom racing shoes – your secret weapon to unleash explosive speed and crush your personal best on race day and your next marathon.

Compatible with neutral to mildly overpronated foot types, On have shed unnecessary support to create a new generation of fast in the growing carbon-plated running shoe market.

This minimalist ride offers the performance of a full ground contact outsole - ensuring a stable connection with the road for heel strikers, midfoot runners and forefoot strikers.

CloudTec pods deliver On’s unique spin on the racing shoe world - staying true to their innovative Swiss engineering for adaptive cushioning and agility on the road.

The magic is in the midsole with Helion superfoam - the softest foam from On yet, now injected into a fast and propulsive racing flat. It works in harmony with the carbon fibre-infused Speedboard for responsiveness and a level of cushioning that’s rare within the racing shoe category.

Flow into a new era of fast with an insanely lightweight and breathable upper, engineered to reduce zones of irritation to keep you focussed and energised as you lead the pack. 

Check out the review with full transcript below.

Hey guys, Josh here from Sportitude and today we're talking all things On Running Cloudboom. This shoe is the newest racing flat from the On Running family and it’s their take on the carbon plate phenomenon which is happening right now in the road racing world.

Like all my shoes, we’ll profile the shoe, talk all things outsole, midsole and upper and maybe give you some information at home that may make this your next race day shoe. Without further ado let's get stuck in.

Runner Profile

First things first, what we're going to do with the On Cloudboom is talk about the foot type that could be considering this shoe. It's a race day shoe, therefore we're not really expecting a lot of support construction in this shoe to cater for specific stability requirements.

This shoe is designed on a neutral platform which means that if you happen to be a mild overpronator and you're looking for a race day shoe, you can consider this shoe. It’s designed for a minimalist, light and fast approach to running.

Outsole

On the outsole, the first point in contact with the ground, you can see the pod technology that On Running are renowned for over the last decade.

Hard-wearing rubber is placed in your high impact areas. On the lateral part of the heel, On have used carbon rubber to give a little bit more structure and integrity in the back.

As you come through to the forefoot, there's quite a bit of rubber on play. It's protecting one of the assets of this shoe which is the CloudTec pods. They need to give some element of protection to the midsole by using this harder wearing rubber on the bottom of the shoe.

It runs like a full ground contact shoe, therefore you get a plush purchase with the ground. Whether you're striking through the heel, midfoot or forefoot, you're going to have a really good connection with the ground at that first contact point which is fantastic. It's essentially what you want from your race day shoe.

Midsole

Let's move on to the midsole because that is where the magic happens in this shoe. On Running use two densities of foams.

Their CloudTec pods which sit underneath the Speedboard of this shoe at the closest part of the midsole to the ground is the white foam on the medial and lateral side.

You also have your carbon-infused Speedboard which splits the CloudTec pods and On Running’s Helion foam. The Helion foam is that light green coloured foam which sits on top of the carbon-infused Speedboard. It’s the softest foam they have engineered at On Running.

When I first pulled the On Cloudboom out of the box, I wasn't really expecting to have a super soft cushioned shoe because it is a racing flat. However, I was pleasantly surprised with the performance of the Helion foam. It certainly has a great combination of cushioning and that propulsive feel with that carbon-infused plate through the midsole.

Also touching on the midsole, let's talk about the stack height because it's a generous stack height for On Running. They’ve gone with a 9mm heel-to-toe drop.

What we find with racing flats out there traditionally is that the lower heel-to-toe drop was more true to the racing flat story. Over the last two to three years we've obviously seen stack heights increase with carbon plates coming into play.

It's not too dissimilar to what we're seeing with regards to the carbon plate family and other shoes in the market. I'm talking all things 8mm to 10mm offset, so sitting right in the middle at a 9mm heel-to-toe drop, the On Cloudboom isn't far off what the other guys are doing.

Upper

Let's move to the upper. Other than obviously the magic that's happening in the midsole, I really like what On have done with the upper of this shoe. It is insanely light and breathable.

On top it feels like you've got nothing on top of your foot, and I mean that. It’s very breathable and there's obviously seamless technology happening on top so you're not getting any rubbing and irritation that you wouldn’t want on race day.

Coming to the back of the shoe they have engineered the On Cloudboom with an internal heel counter. It's not the strongest internal heel counter out there but it is a racing flat so you're going to reduce the weight where you possibly can. They have kept some element of support at the back which I like in this shoe.

Width & Weight

I will call out one fact though. This shoe does run a little bit narrower than the norm. I've traditionally been anywhere between a size 9 and a 9.5 across the majority of running shoe brands.

I put myself into a size 9 of the Cloudboom and I've been a size 9 in On running for the best part of four to five years. However, I had to go to a 9.5 in this shoe simply to get a little bit more width through the forefoot. Keep that in mind when you’re looking at this shoe. You may need to run half a size up.

The last feature to talk about is the weight of this shoe because it is a racing flat and the weight is important. The men's size 9 comes in at around 225 grams, so it's not the lightest racing flat on the market.

However, I kind of liked what On have done with the midsole of this shoe and it's really targeting that runner that wants a bit of cushioning and some responsiveness underneath their foot. It's a bit heavier than some other models out there but it certainly feels, fits and runs like a racing flat.

Well done and kudos to On Running. They’re obviously a relatively new brand all things considered. They've been on the market now for about 10 or 12 years and are still finding their way.

This is their crack at the carbon plate phenomenon and I really like what they've done in their first iteration of this shoe. There you have it guys, the On Cloudboom, a great racing flat.

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If you have any questions on this shoe please contact our Sportitude shoe experts. If you've tried it and have some feedback please let us know. We love to hear about all things running shoes from you the running community out there.

Until next time stay safe, happy running and we'll see you soon. Take care. 

FEATURES

• Support: Neutral
• Upper: Mesh
• Midsole: On CloudTec, On Helion
• Offset / Drop: 9mm

Men

• Weight: 225g / 7.9oz
• Width: D (standard)

Women

• Weight: 185g / 6.5oz
• Width: B (standard)