On Cloudboom Strike Review: Home Run or Strikeout?

All shoes are reviewed by the Fleet Feet tester team, which represents a wide variety of goals, foot shapes, running locations and terrains. Reviewers pound the pavement, climb the hills, tackle the trails, then come together to compare notes. Debates ensue over the feel of the cushioning, the purpose of the shoe, and how it compares to last year’s model. While each reviewer has their own individual preferences, we hope that capturing our debates will help you make an informed decision.
‘Tis the season for speed, and On has shown up in a big way with the much anticipated release of the On Cloudboom Strike.
With an ultra-cushioned and responsive midsole, the Cloudboom Strike promises to offer a peppier, bouncier ride than On’s previous road-racing shoe, the On Cloudboom Echo. This was music to my ears when trying the shoe on at The 2023 Running Event since, if you’ve read our previous reviews, you’ll know I’m a sucker for bouncy cushioning. Plus, a prototype of the shoes were worn by marathon superstar Hellen Obiri during her 2023 Boston and New York City victories.
Unfortunately I didn’t get the chance to wear-test the Cloudboom Strike but two of our speediest reviewers, Kate and Travis, did. Did the shoe keep up with their supersonic speeds? Read on to find out.
On Cloudboom Strike
Weight | 6.6 oz (W), 7.6 oz (M) |
---|---|
Stack height (heel/forefoot) | 39.5 mm/35.5 mm |
Heel-to-toe drop | 4 mm |
Category | Road racing |
Surface | Road, track |
Price | $280 |
Comparable to… | New Balance SuperComp Elite v4, Saucony Endorphin Pro 4 |
Ride
Cushioning
Energy

Can the Cloudboom Strike bounce into top-tier status?
The On Cloudboom Strike is built with On’s proprietary Helion Hyperfoam Bounceboard, which first debuted in the On Cloudmonster Hyper. It’s a PEBAX®-based foam, meaning it offers exceptionally high energy return at a low weight. Sounds like everything you’d want in a super shoe, right? But wait, what about the magic carbon-fiber plate?
On uses what they call a Speedboard embedded in the midsole. This carbon-fiber plate is spoon-shaped, helping propel you forward much like the marshmallow catapults you may have made in preschool. While the Cloudboom Strike may not catapult you across the finish line, it feels pretty responsive.
“Admittedly, I am not in fast running shape right now, so any shoe I test will automatically be handicapped by my rust-busting turnover,” says Travis, who’s still lightyears ahead of my paces. “I found the Cloudboom Strike to be a really smooth ride. The plate and the rocker motion combined to help me forget about my lack of fitness while feeling fast. In my opinion, the Cloudboom Strike is right up there with the Nike Vaporfly 3 and Saucony Endorphin Pro 4 in terms of lightweightness and responsiveness.”
Kate, however, wasn’t convinced.
“The Cloudboom Strike has the type of cushioning, shape, and upper that makes it feel like a premium super shoe. It has the soft cushion I’ve come to expect, but I didn’t feel the propulsive rigidity that I wanted from the plate. The shoe feels light and soft, but it doesn’t feel like it’s helping me run faster. I even checked the tech sheet to make sure that there actually was a plate in the shoe. Supposedly it’s in there, but it doesn’t feel like it.”
Whether or not you believe the On Cloudboom Strike is worthy of top-tier racing shoe status will likely depend on your preferences for soft versus firm shoes. Some runners, like Kate, appreciate a firm, rigid ride to help propel them forward. Other runners, like Travis and myself, appreciate a softer ride with some bounciness for extra energy return.
Laces draw ire from reviewers

The lacing system can make or break any running shoe, no matter how the midsole feels. In this case, the laces were enough to have Kate swear off running forever–or, at least until she changed her mind a few minutes later.
“The fit of the Cloudboom Strike feels roomy, so I had to cinch the laces down to get the right fit,” she says. “When I cinched them down, my foot stayed in place but the skinny little laces were long. Too long. Dangerously long! While the laces seem to be designed to stay tied with the added texture, the design doesn’t work. I had them quadruple-tied to use up the excessive length, but they didn’t stay tied. I tripped and wiped out at the end of my run, ironically knocking open my scar from the time I tripped over these same type of laces used in the Cloudboom Echo that I tested last year.”
While Travis fortunately didn’t experience any wipe-outs, he had his own complaints about the lacing system.
“The only thing I don’t like about the upper in the Cloudboom Strike is the laces,” he says. “For some reason, I had a hard time lacing them up properly which led to an annoying rubbing feeling on the top of my foot. When I received the shoes, the laces were done up all the way through the top where you would typically tie the marathon loop. This added some unnecessary pressure, but once I re-laced them to my comfort they felt much better.”
Despite the unfortunate lacing chronicles, reviewers enjoyed the rest of the upper. It’s a one-piece mesh material that wraps snugly around the foot for a performance-oriented fit.
“The fit and upper are pretty standard for the typical racing shoes nowadays,” says Travis. “It’s super lightweight and thin, with no unnecessary materials. The fit runs understandably narrow, which is pretty on par with a typical racing shoe. The length is also pretty true to size as well.”
Racing shoes tend to fit snugger than daily trainers because the less room for your feet to move around within the shoe, the less energy wasted. It’s all about efficiency.

On Cloudboom Strike versus On Cloudboom Echo 3
Tech Specs | On Cloudboom Strike | On Cloudboom Echo 3 |
Weight | 6.6 oz (W), 7.6 oz (M) | 6.6 oz (W), 7.6 oz (M) |
Stack height | 39.5 mm/35.5 mm | 35 mm/25.5 mm |
Heel-to-toe drop | 4 mm | 9.5 mm |
Price | $280 | $290 |
While the Cloudboom Strike is a completely different model from the Cloudboom Echo 3, it will take its place as the brand’s premium road racing shoe.
I tested the Cloudboom Echo 3 last summer and I tried on the Cloudboom Strike at The Running Event last November. The shoes offer completely different step-in feels. While the Cloudboom Echo feels firm, rigid and honestly fairly flat, the Strike feels soft yet energetic and peppy.
I think the Strike falls more in line with what runners are looking for in a road racing shoe. It’s soft enough to remain comfortable for hours at a time during a marathon, yet it’s springy enough to handle uptempo paces.
However, if you prefer a rigid platform to push off from when running top speeds, you may prefer the Echo. “The Echo had a firmer feel,” Kate says, “In my opinion, that shoe felt faster.”
However, Travis plans to wear the Strike for his next race. We can all agree to disagree.

How does the On Cloudboom Strike compare?
We took a look at some comparable models to see how they stack up against the On Cloudboom Strike. Here’s what we found.
Tech Specs | On Cloudboom Strike | New Balance SC Elite v4 | Saucony Endorphin Pro 4 |
Weight | 6.6 oz (W), 7.6 oz (M) | 6.1 oz (W), 7.8 oz (M) | 6.5 oz (W), 7.5 oz (M) |
Stack height | 39.5 mm/35.5 mm | 40 mm/36 mm | 39.5 mm/31.5 mm |
Heel-to-toe drop | 4 mm | 4 mm | 8 mm |
Price | $280 | $250 | $225 |
When it comes to weight and stack height, the Cloudboom Strike is almost identical to two of our most beloved racing shoes, the New Balance SC Elite v4 and the Saucony Endorphin Pro 4.
The Cloudboom Strike and the New Balance SC Elite v4 offer the same 4 millimeter drop, although we thought the SC Elite v4 was firmer than the Strike.
Travis noticed that the Strike felt much more stable than other supershoes he’s recently tried.
“With other super shoes, I end up feeling some discomfort in my hips due to the instability from the super bouncy foams,” he says. “Not so with the Cloudboom Strike. At one point on my test run, I ran on a busy sidewalk where I had to juke and dodge other pedestrians and I still felt completely stable.”

Who is the On Cloudboom Strike best for?
Thanks to its soft cushioning, the Cloudboom Strike is best for runners who enjoy a plush underfoot feeling when trying to run fast. If you prefer a rigid, stiff ride at top speeds, you’ll likely prefer the Cloudboom Echo 3.
“The Cloudboom Strike is definitely a tried-and-true racing shoe,” says Travis. “With its lightness and responsiveness, I can see it being a great option for racing a road mile all the way up to the marathon distance.”
Runners who appreciate a sense of stability will likely enjoy the Cloudboom Strike, as well.
Just be sure to double-tie those laces!