ON CLOUDMONSTER REVIEW

Different to anything you might have tried before, On have gone all out to deliver us their ultimate cushioned long-distance running shoe. Featuring their biggest CloudTec ever, this trainer promises serious cushioning and energy return. So, what’s it like to run in? Join us for our On Cloudmonster Review, we’ll let you know if you should run in them, or run away.

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Disclaimer – I purchased this these shoes with my own money and have not been paid by anyone to make this review. This is my honest, independent opinion.

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These shoes look amazing, I’m no fashionista, but I love the look of these. And the Acai (purple) is a real stand-out colour. On have quite a loyal following of fans, aside from the legions of runners who love them, many people purchase them to wear them as casual shoes. The styling and colour range make them a popular choice for day to day use.

But for us runners, the performance has to match the looks. If we are to give them a big tick, they will have to survive the RMWA test treatment.

On have positioned these running shoes as highly cushioned, long-distance road shoes. I’ve recently tested quite a few max-cushion shoes such as the Saucony Triumph, Hoka Bondi, Brooks Glycerin, and a trainer with surprisingly great cushioning, the Saucony Endorphin Speed 2. I wanted to see how the Cloudmonster’s compare, take a look at those reviews as well.

So let’s get started. As always, I won’t hold back, if something isn’t right, you’ll soon know about it. By the end of this On Cloudmonster review, you’ll know if these shoes should be on your shopping list, or scratched off.

Who is On-Running?

On is a relative newcomer in the running shoe space. It all started in Zürich, Switzerland in 2010. Professional athlete and three-time world duathlon champion, Olivier Bernhard and two friends, began a mission to develop the perfect running shoe.

Fully designed and engineered in Switzerland, the unique On running shoe concept was perfected, and then released for sale.

Twelve years later, On shoes are available across the world in over 55 countries. With head office in Zürich, On have opened offices in the USA, China, Japan, Australia, and Brazil.

The unique On CloudTec design is instantly recognisable, and defines this brand. What looks like hollow tubes (clouds) under the shoe, CloudTec works to absorb the impact of the foot striking the ground, and provide an energetic rebound.

This concept has proven to be incredibly successful for the brand, and they have carved out a sizeable chunk of the market as a result.

In 2019, tennis great Roger Federer invested in On, and became part of the team. Working closely with the development team, On released The Roger Pro tennis shoe in 2021.

The On success story continues, the company now has an impressive portfolio of running shoe models for all applications, and a large range of sports apparel.

On Cloudmonster – What Is It?

As I mentioned before, the Cloudmonster is On’s all out attempt at a soft-landing, max-rebound road-running trainer.

In much the same way as the ultra-cushioned Hoka Bondi, the stack height is quite substantial, predominantly to accommodate the extra cushioning desired. In the case of the Cloudmonster, this extra height is mainly apparent in the CloudTec clouds, which are quite chunky. However, there is also some inherent weight saving in this design, due to the hollow design of the clouds.

On tell us that the Cloudmonster is a ‘monster’ of a ride on the road, with extremely soft landings and maximum rebound. To achieve this, they have incorporated their biggest CloudTec elements yet, together with what they call an ultra-powerful Speedboard. The Speedboard is essentially a thermoplastic plate sitting between the CloudTec midsole and the upper. The idea is to capture the energy from the compressing clouds as you land, and releasing that energy as propulsion forward via the Speedboard as you propel forward.

We’ll tell you how successful this combination of technology is a little later. But first, let’s take a look at the specs.

Who Is The On Cloudmonster For?

If you are looking for a shoe that can provide you with the cushioning you require for longer runs, but also want a shoe for daily training, you will find the Cloudmonster may work for you.

The CloudTec pods work a little differently to the more traditional foam midsole shoes you may be used to, and feel quite unique. I actually like the way they feel, if you prefer to use highly cushioned shoes for longer runs as I do, these trainers were designed for you.

Even though the Cloudmonster’s aren’t as lightweight as many other trainers, they will still work successfully as a daily trainer for most workouts, except perhaps speed work.

Recreational runners may also want to give these shoes a try.

Unboxing The On Cloudmonster.

Standard fare here regarding packaging, simple cardboard box, tissue paper protective wrap around the shoes, and no plastic. Everything is recyclable.

Many manufacturers are shipping their shoes with spare laces of a different colour these days, no such luck here, no extras included.

First Impressions.

Out of the box and onto the feet for a quick walk around to get an impression of how they feel and fit.

For max-cushion shoes, these felt reasonably light. At 262g for a men’s size 8, On have done a good job keeping the weight down for such a chunky shoe. For comparison, in the same size, the Hoka Bondi 7 is 290g, however the Saucony Endorphin Speed 2 is only 208g with slightly less cushioning.

My initial impression is that the walls of the shoes feel quite firm in the hind foot area around the heel and below the ankles. The upper of the shoe is quite stiff here, with minimal padding. With my feet sitting fairly low in the shoe, the shape of the heel notch saw the collar lining just touching my ankles.

The tongue has zero padding and is simply a thin, flat design with no stretch. This did not feel particularly comfortable.

Walking in the shoes revealed the copious cushioning, they felt plush without being squishy, but not as soft as I expected. I did, however, appreciate the plushness extending to the balls of my feet. This, combined with the rocker geometry and the speedboard, gave a nice feeling of springing forward with each step.

So far so good, but what are they like to run in?

First Run In The On Cloudmonster.

The first run testing out new trainers is always exciting, and full of expectation. I was particularly keen to test out the CloudTec design, having never ran in On’s before. I have tried on On’s before at my local sports store, but I always found them a little hard and flat.

My first run test in the Cloudmonster’s was a short recovery run of 7k. This gave me a good chance to evaluate the performance, fit, and comfort of these new shoes.

This run was mainly on city streets and concrete paths, these unforgiving surfaces are perfect for testing out how the cushioning acquits itself.

What did I find out on this first run?

• The more chunky CloudTec design on the Cloudmonster’s definitely resulted in plenty of cushioning. They felt soft under the feet, but my initial thoughts when walking in the shoe were confirmed, they are not as soft as I expected. This is not a criticism, I am quite a lightweight person, I’m sure the clouds would compress a little more for normal weight people.
• Transitioning from heel strike to toe off was quite energetic. The Speedboard and the rocker geometry worked well to provide a lively feeling of being propelled forward.
• Grip was excellent on these hard surfaces. The outsole rubber on the bottom of the clouds provided plenty of traction, and foot placement felt assured. Wet weather testing not done yet.
• The design of the clouds provided excellent lateral stability, I could not detect any squishy sideways movement upon striking the ground. After a few hundred kilometres in the Endorphin Speed 2’s, I can feel some movement in the midsole upon heel strike.
• Accommodation of the feet is comfortably spacious yet secure. This is not a particularly wide shoe, runners with a wide foot should definitely try before you buy.
• As expected, the thin tongue was not comfortable, nor conducive to tightly lacing up the shoes. Slight pain across the upper instep under the laces meant I had to stop and loosen these off a little, particularly on the RHS, oddly.
• All the components of the shoe from the back of the quarter panel to the heel felt quite stiff, not as compliant as most other shoes I have tested. Not a problem on this short run, however, I am a little concerned how this will feel on a longer run.

These shoes felt good to run in, and performed well in this initial test. Now it’s time to test them on a long run.

Second Run In The On Cloudmonster.

Second run in the Cloudmonster’s was a long run. 22 kilometres over various surfaces including, concrete paths, grass, bush trails, and gravel tracks.

These shoes feel a little different to run in initially, due to the CloudTec design, however, you quickly become accustomed to this and run in your normal style. There is nothing about these shoes that feels odd, or forces you to change your gait or style. Good news for anyone thinking of switching to On’s.

Cushioning was consistent throughout the entire run. I did not detect any compression or flattening out of the midsole or insole components. As stated previously, these shoes are not overly soft, this long run confirmed that impression. Whilst I appreciated how the CloudTec pods worked to soften the impact of the foot striking the ground, they are not as pillow soft as some other max-cushion shoes.

Fit around the toes, forefoot and midfoot was comfortable. There was no cramping or tightness. However, I did begin to experience pain developing across the upper bridge of my foot, under where the laces tie up, halfway through the run. I was forced to stop and loosen off the laces on a couple of occasions, to the point where they were barely tied at all. Subsequently, I have found that tying up the shoes very loosely or not lacing through the upper eyelets at all is the only way to avoid this pain developing. I have never experienced this problem in any other running shoe.

Mentioned previously was the firmness of the walls of the shoe around the hind foot and collar area. I was worried these stiff areas might cause some rubbing or chafing due to their tautness and minimal padding on a long run. None of these concerns eventuated. In fact, there was no rubbing, chafing, or any other blister causing touchpoints anywhere. Even with the collar notch points touching my ankles, no uncomfortable rubbing was experienced.

Grip on all surfaces was good, I did not experience any slipping or skidding, even on fine gravel. All surfaces were dry. The outsole was wide enough to provide stability. Foot placement when stair climbing, for example, was still confident. However, due to the CloudTec design and midsole thickness, there is not much ‘feel’ of the ground.

By the end of the run, I felt reasonably fresh, I did not experience any sense of fatigue or tiredness caused by the shoes. Except for the slightly painful instep, particularly on the RHS, this was a successful long-distance test for these shoes.

Design Elements Of The On Cloudmonster.

Let’s now have a look at how each component of the shoe stacks up.

The Upper.

Consisting of a dual layer construction, the upper is both comfortable and breathable.

Protecting the feet from the coarse outer layer is a protective sock liner, this provides a soft foot enveloping skin inside the shoe.

The outer mesh layer is constructed from recycled materials. This feels like a robust material, and has no stretch or give, which maintains the integrity of shape and fit across the feet.

The upper is not waterproof.

Lacing And Tongue.

As mentioned before, the tongue is a simple thin layer of mesh material. Once again, there is no stretch or give to this, and zero padding. To me, this is an uncomfortable compromise, given that it is not possible to tie up the shoe tightly without eventually feeling pain across the instep.

The breathability of the tongue is also largely negated by the large sizing label glued to the inside.

I loved the green and purple design of the laces, they compliment the purple of the shoes beautifully. The laces are attached to the shoe via loops and not eyelets. I found this setup made adjusting the laces when putting on and taking off the shoes a simple and quick operation.

Toe Box.

The Cloudmonster is a mid-width shoe, there is no wide version available. As such, this shoe should accommodate most feet. However, people with wide feet may need to look elsewhere.

As previously noted in my running tests of these shoes, I found plenty of room inside the toe box for my feet. There was no hint of cramping or tightness. Even towards the end of a long run, when feet can splay a little, there was still plenty of room.

Supported by bolstered mudguards and a protective rubber toe tip, the toe box does not compress down across the toes and always maintains its supportive structure.

Heel And Collar.

Functional with minimal padding best describes the collar. This setup works well however, and I was able to run in these shoes straight out of the box with no run-in period required. There were no touchpoints that could potentially cause blisters.

Locating the heel securely into the shoe is a stiff heel counter. As I mentioned previously, the foot sits down low into the shoe which keeps the foot well anchored, I did not experience any movement of the heel during testing.

Insole.

Thin with very minimal cushioning, the insole virtually sits on top of the hard Speedboard.

I didn’t have any problem with the design of the insole, it is comfortable, although it is not particularly grippy.

As always, we recommend wearing proper running socks with plenty of protective padding, these, together with the insole, and sock liner will provide you with a comfortable ride.

Midsole.

On’s Swiss engineered Helion superfoam is designed to be lightweight, temperature resistant, durable, and provide the midsole with plush cushioning. They appeared to have nailed the brief here.

This Helion foam is light and springy without being too soft. On have managed to endow the shoe with just enough firmness to maintain effective control as you impact the ground, there is no hint of squishy movement in this part of the gait cycle.

Shock from ground impact is suitably mitigated by the combination of the CloudTec design and the Helion foam.

There are softer foams out there, some are simply too soft in my opinion. On seem to have found an effective trade-off between cushioning, control, and energy return, whilst erring on the slightly firmer side.

Outsole.

Rubber pads are attached on the bottom of the clouds and in other high abrasion areas such as the heel, these provide plenty of grip on most surfaces. However, they are reasonably smooth and do not contain any aggressive lugs for loose surface grip. Deep flex grooves between the clouds help with loose surface grip, but this shoe was primarily designed as a road trainer.

One small issue of the CloudTec design, highlighted by many people, is the tendency of small stones and sticks to become lodged in the cloud holes or gap between the speedboard and the outsole in the midfoot region. I haven’t experienced this yet, a potential small inconvenience rather than a problem.

When we finally got a rainy day, I took the Cloudmonster’s out for a wet weather test. I’m pleased to report that there was no excessive slipping. Sudden stops and direction changes did not produce any excessive loss of traction, the grip was good, better than a smooth outsole shoe such as the aforementioned Endorphin Speeds. Extra care still needs to be taken in wet or icy conditions.

Quality And Value For Money Of The On Cloudmonster.

At $259.95AUD, the Cloudmonster is priced at the premium end of the running shoe market. Whilst many shoes have now surpassed the $300 mark, this is still high-end pricing.

For that, I would expect a top quality shoe, so how does the Cloudmonster stack up?

No quality control issues have appeared in the 100 or so kilometres I have run in them thus far. Construction looks good, there is no errant stitching, glue runs, or rough edges. Nothing is coming apart and there are no crude or badly finished areas causing rubbing or chafing. I have noticed a small amount of featuring and wear on the pods that are Helion foam only without rubber caps.

I particularly like the high-quality upper, the materials here are first class, and look very durable.

Swiss engineered and made in Vietnam, these shoes are comparable in terms of value-for-money to many other premium products from other reputable manufacturers at that price.

Pros And Cons Of The On Cloudmonster.

Final Verdict Of The On Cloudmonster.

This was my first On running shoe. The Cloudmonster was a great introduction to this brand, and has become one of my go-to trainers when heading out for a long run.

The combination of excellent cushioning, lively energy return, and the roll-forward geometry of the shoe, all work well to bestow this shoe with great performance.

This is not a cheap running shoe, but the technology applied, quality materials, and first-rate construction, deliver a value-for-money trainer.

As mentioned before, this shoe is technically a max-cushion shoe, and has quite a high stack height as a result. Ideally, you would save this shoe for longer runs, and have a less stacked shoe for your short-distance workouts and track work. However, if you only want to buy one shoe, try on the Cloudmonster, it can successfully serve as your daily trainer as well.

It’s chunky, looks unique, the acai colour is striking, and they perform impressively as a bonus. What’s not to like?

I hope you’ve enjoyed our road-test of the Cloudmonster, it’s been a lot of fun giving this shoe a bit of a hiding, so you’ll know whether this shoe is a buy or not. Do you own this or any other On shoe? We’d love to hear of your experiences, please let us know in the comments below.

Happy Running

Steve

Four Stars From us, we rate this one as a buy.

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