On CloudSurfer Running Shoes [Review]

Described by Swiss company On Running as being comfortable at high speeds, On Running’s latest iteration of the popular CloudSurfer shoes consist of engineered mesh that is set to deliver the perfect balance of breathability and hold.

Now into its fourth edition this season, the CloudSurfer is a neutral performance road running shoe, that gives you a soft landing and a firm push-off.

And it is also reasonably light at 265 grams for the Women’s US 7 size, and has a 6mm drop.

Trying Out The On CloudSurfers

I had my first experience of the latest On CloudSurfer shoes last month at a shoe trial event that was organised by On, and this event had consisted of a short 3km road run around the Vivocity and Sentosa areas.

And subsequently, since attending the trial event, I have taken these shoes out on several more occasions, with the shortest run clocking in at a speedy 5km and the longest one being 21km. To date, I’ve done more than 110km in the shoes in total.

And so far, I have found the shoes to be very pleasant to run with, regardless of whether I am running fast or slow.

After all, according to On Running, the CloudSurfer shoes are versatile enough to be used for anything – from a speedy 5km race all the way to the Marathon.

Shoes Are Bouncy

At the start, when I first put on the shoes, I thought the soles felt significantly more bouncy than the On Cloud shoes that I have been using for some time now.

This is probably thanks to the double layers of EVA foam that works together with the company’s Swiss-engineered SpeedBoard™ for an evolved ride that is supposed to be fully cushioned, yet responsive.

Additionally, I think that the presence of On Running’s signature CloudTec® cushioning had also contributed to this feeling, too.

Plush And Comfortable

That said though, I felt that the On CloudSurfer shoes feel very plush and comfortable to wear.

There is a cushioned collar around the ankle and my feet feel as though they are encased within a light and soft cocoon.

My comfort levels were also enhanced by the second-layer sock construction inside the shoe, too. This hugs the feet tightly and helps to prevent the formation of painful blisters and calluses.

The tongue is also very soft and slim and I can barely feel it with the shoes on my feet, regardless of whether I am wearing normal length socks or no-show ankle socks.

My only gripe with the On CloudSurfer shoes though, was that the laces were very long.

Pleasant To Run With

Running with the shoes is also a very pleasant experience.

For the shoe trial, we started out at slow jogging pace of about 7 mins and 30 seconds per kilometre; at such a speed, I was able to feel the presence of the ‘clouds’ under my feet more significantly than I had remembered in my older On Cloud shoes.

And this had somewhat given me the feeling that I was running on uneven, bumpy pavement.

But this sensation, however, somewhat dissipated after the first few hundred metres of running – after my feet had got used to the CloudSurfer shoes.

And for my subsequent runs, this sensation was not as pronounced, as the first time round.

The ‘Clouds’ At Work

On Running’s ‘clouds’ are actually designed by using a system of hollowed tubes. As the shoe hits the ground, the tubes cushion the contact to provide a cushioned landing.

Then as the foot pushes off, the tubes tighten to give a firmer push. Their sole-focused approach takes away a lot of the negatives attached to well-cushioned shoes.

While it may be possible for things such as stones to be occasionally caught in between the ‘cloud’ tubings and upset your running rhythm, I did not have this problem because my runs using the CloudSurfer shoes were done on paved road surfaces at parks across Singapore.

Also, during my runs, I realised that ‘clouds’ for the CloudSurfer are more apparent when running at slower paces though – as I found out when I went out for subsequent runs with the shoes.

When I was going at faster speeds, I could feel as though the ‘clouds’ were reinvigorating me with energy and pushing me along as I run.

This sensation had seemed especially pronounced during the final couple hundred metres of a 5km run, when I was sprinting at an almost-impossible 3 minutes and 49 seconds per kilometre pace.

I honestly don’t think that I’ve ever done a sprint finish at that pace, before!

So I think these shoes would definitely be great for running races – where I would want to have the energy to finish strong.

But besides the presence of the ‘clouds’ it was probably also due to the external injected TPU heel counter which keeps the weight of the shoes to a minimum, while keeping the heel in place – to allow me to speed up while the shoes still remained comfortable and snug and holding my feet firmly in position.

However, regardless of whether I was going faster or slower, having these ‘clouds’ under my feet had been very comfortable and something that I had found rather enjoyable to run in.

In fact, I would say this sensation had been even more so, even compared to the older On Cloud shoes that I have been using.

This is because I found the CloudSurfers make the feeling of running seem very natural and casual, with the shoes providing me with a gentle, natural rolling motion under my feet.

The amount of shock absorption from the CloudSurfer also appears to be more so than other On shoes I have tried, with the propulsion off the ground being more pronounced too.

This is a sensation that may seem quite subtle at first when your legs are still fresh, but I was really able to appreciate the comfort and the ‘clouds’ working their magic in absorbing shock and energy return in the second half of the 21km run I did with the shoes – when my legs were starting to get tired.

So I would definitely love to continue to use these On CloudSurfer shoes during my long training sessions as well as when I race my next full marathon – to see how the presence of the ‘clouds’ would affect me, then.

As well, particularly with the 2018 iteration of the On CloudSurfer shoes, I had noted that the ‘clouds’ felt more robust as compared to previous On Running shoes that I’ve used, and so far, after more than 100km of accumulated running, they have not lost their spring, which is a good thing.

Shoes Are Highly Breathable

With the surface of the shoes being made from a highly breathable mesh, this also makes them suitable for running in tropical and humid Singapore where I live, as my feet tend to sweat and perspire a lot during my runs.

So as such, the mesh keeps my feet feeling dry and cool during my runs in the hot weather.

Conclusion

As a whole I would definitely say that the On CloudSurfer shoes live up to their billing of ‘comfort meets speed’ and as a marathoner, I can definitely foresee myself using these for both speedy 5km runs, as well as long training runs and my road marathon races.