On the road - surfing?
ROAD shoes from On.. in for test
First option - Cloudsurfer Max
Listed at 36/30mm (6mm drop), I’m not sure if it can accurately be called “Max” in today’s market. I have some trail shoes north of 40mm at the heel, and road super trainers are even pushing 45mm+.
Nevertheless, I don’t have too many high stack road options so this one is new for me. Notice the Double Layer CloudTec Phase setup - the “pods” are offset into two levels.
It seems to smooth out the ride on the run - I notice a nice and smooth even compression that’s neither firm nor overly soft. It feels solid underfoot for the “Max” stack.
Of course I took them out on some dirt (still trying to keep it flat less than one week after racing 100k).
They’re pretty stable actually, and could be a solid shoe for light trails, gravel, and dirt. It has decent enough outsole coverage to handle the job.
Check out my first impressions here -
Next road option from On - the Cloudsurfer 2
This shoe has been out for a while, and it’s very close in look and design to the Cloudsurfer Trail (V1) that I previously tested-
I liked the CloudTec Phase design in that one - how the pods are somewhat angled like dominoes toppling over. I found that it did give a sense of “sequential” compression when landing - especially for heel strikers.
Different upper setup compared to the trail version I tested. I have a US 10 in the road Cloudsurfer 2 here - and I actually feel better heel lockdown compared to my Cloudsurfer Trail V1 in a smaller US 9.5.
That top “lace loop eyelet” seems to help pull the heel down into the pocket. They’ve also really bumped up the padding along the inner heel area. Again, feels great walking around so far and more secure even with the bigger size.
Outsole setup is similar to the Max - a little less coverage around the middle. The shoe is lighter (9.5 vs 10.0 oz) and does feel more nimble (although less stable).
I have not run them yet, but looking forward to getting some more road/dirt miles in and possibly and A/B comp?
BONUS - also in for test - Cloudultra 3 (regular version)
All black (?).. I wanted to try this one in a US 9.5 mainly for fit comparison. My Cloudultra Pros in US 10.0 are quite spacious (I like it), but I wanted to try out how my typical true to size would feel, mainly for giving sizing advice. Stay tuned for more on these and of course comparison to the Pro!
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➡️ On Cloudsurfer Max at REI ($180)
➡️ On Cloudsurfer 2 at REI ($160)
➡️ On Cloudultra 3 at REI ($190)
➡️ On Cloudultra Pro at REI ($260)
Cloudsurfer Max, Cloudsurfer 2, Cloudultra 3, and Cloudultra Pro samples were provided at no cost for test and review by On. Please see my support page for disclaimers regarding my testing and review process.