On Cloudboom Strike 2 Review: A Complete Redesign That Pays Off

When a brand announces a total redesign between generations of shoes, we, the gear editors of Runner’s World, bite our tongues and cross our fingers hoping for the best. Often enough, we are let down, but I am happy to report that the new On Cloudboom Strike 2 evolution is shockingly good. From the completely redesigned midsole to the firmer, bouncier Speedboard, On tossed the bits of the previous iteration that were less than stellar into the suck it bucket, and made a killer supershoe.ProsBouncy and funSuper lightweightHighly breathableGreat fitConsThe mesh feels weird from the outsideKey SpecsPurposeRacing, speedworkWeight5.57 ozDrop 5 mmStack Height40 mmYes, it still has the responsive, firm Helion HF (Hyperfoam) midsole, and it keeps a mesh upper, but that’s where the similarities end. This year, the Helion is noticeably 15 percent lighter, bouncier, and less prone to compression. The mesh is more breathable than the previous generation, if a bit strange (more on that later), and the lacing system is more locked-in. Even the heel lock hole feels like it’s placed more thoughtfully.But where the excitement really lies is in the new CloudTec Sphere geometry and the Speedboard. If you’ve ever seen an On shoe, you will immediately clock its highly recognizable soles, complete with the famous “pods.” The Cloudboom Strike 2? No pods. Instead, On has engineered the shoes to have flexible gaps in the front and rear that preserve the natural motion of a foot while running, while also adding enough structure through the curved carbon Speedboard to propel you forward. It makes for a stupid fun ride that feels so damn fast on foot.Against the better judgment of my banking app, I am training for several races at the moment, and with that comes the laborious task of finding the right shoe. I am team supershoe all the way for road races, and friends: This new beast from On may be it for me this October and November.Why I Love The ShoesMy love for the shoe is twofold. First, the shoe overall feels as light and fast as any supershoe I’ve tested, but it doesn’t suffer from the feeling of constantly maneuvering onto your forefoot like many plated supershoes do. Second, this is a racing shoe, and those are notoriously unstable, but, when I slow down a bit or hit the downhills, I don’t feel as wobbly in these as I have in supershoes past.Cat BowenThe CloudTec Sphere is a complete redesign, and the mesh is...there.My one irritation is the mesh upper. Yes, it’s breathable, and I do love the wacky purple and green color combination of my Cloudboom Strike 2s, but that mesh? It feels like the screens inside of the windows of the cabins at sleepaway camp. Putting them on and feeling the outside is a sensory nightmare for my autistic self. Thankfully, I can’t feel how weird the material is once my feet are in them, and they’re dead easy to clean, even if I make my husband do it. Which I do.Some Early Testing InsightsThis is a debut review, so we don’t have a ton of runners in these puppies yet, but our senior features editor, Pavlína Černá, got to take these out on the town, and she’s with me on the joyful experience of this shoe.“I put it on for my last few workouts of my current half marathon and had a blast,” she said. “It’s super light, bouncy, and fast.”But she also offered some real insight into the fit that I would not be able to assess in my testing: “My right foot is wider than my left (E width bordering on F) and during my first run, I felt like my right outer foot was getting stuck between the wall of the shoe and the insole, as if the insole was the one I compressed with every step, not the shoe itself.”Oddly enough, though, she says that that feeling did go away after a bit, which leads me to believe that they have the ability for a bit of a break-in to compensate for a wider foot. Not an easy find on supershoes.For me the fit was fairly standard, with a roomy toebox, and a heel and collar that requires me to lace through the extra hole to lock it down to accomodate my weirdly narrow heels. Like many of On’s shoes, the collar sits a bit lower, so rubbing is not an issue. Personally, I had no hotspots or rubbing, and the ultralight tongue disappeared on foot.This shoe does have a lower, 5mm drop, which is far shallower than say a Nike Vomero Plus that has a 10mm drop, but because the geometry is so pointed, it doesn’t feel like you’re losing anything. And perhaps that shallower drop is why I didn’t feel like I was walking on my forefoot the whole time? I’m not sure, and I have no physicists handy.Final ThoughtsIf you’re looking for something a bit different for this year’s fall race calendar, both in looks and in design, I think you’ll find the On Cloudboom Strike 2 a worthy choice. But, a question for On: Are you stopping at the third generation because after three strikes, you’re out? Just curious from an editorial perspective.Shop Unisex at on.comCat Bowen, senior editor of commerce; reviews, is a seasoned runner with more than 20 years of distance running experience, including dozens of marathons, half marathons, and even a few ultra marathons. For over a decade, she has tested parenting, fitness, home, and running gear and written in-depth guides to help readers with their next purchase. Holding multiple advanced degrees and currently studying kinesiology, Cat Bowen brings research-backed insight to all of her guides. Passionate about women’s health and neurodivergent inclusion, she advocates for closing research gaps and helping others—especially AudHD people—find joy in running and fitness.