Discontinued · road · Race day · $200
On's first carbon racer — firm and snappy rather than soft.
Built for race day, at a target pace of 5:30–7:15 /mi on road.
This model is no longer in production. The closest shoe you can buy today is On Cloudboom Strike.
On tuned this midsole balanced (3/5 on our cushioning scale). Energy return is above average: the midsole rebounds well without feeling unstable. 32 mm of heel stack is the modern daily-trainer sweet spot — enough foam for long miles without losing contact with the road. Combined, the ride reads as explosive at 5/5 responsiveness.
A full-length carbon plate stiffens the forefoot and works with the foam as a lever: it smooths the transition off the toes and cuts the effort of holding fast paces. It also asks for speed — at easy paces a carbon plate feels stiff and does little for you, and it is the main reason super-shoes wear out sooner than trainers.
A tall 9 mm drop tips weight forward off the heel, which usually suits heel strikers and calves that dislike low-drop shoes. The rocker is moderate — enough curve to smooth the roll-through without dictating your footstrike. The forefoot is stiff, so it rolls rather than bends — a lever, not a slipper. It is a neutral platform with no built-in correction.
The toe-box is narrow and performance-oriented; wide-footed runners should try before buying. It runs small; most runners size up a half. Expect roughly 200 miles from the outsole, about $1.00 per mile at $200.
For the foams and plates On uses across its line, read the On brand guide.
Measured against the 542 currently-available shoes in the catalog. The bar shows where this shoe sits in that range.
Weight
225 g / 7.9 oz
50 g lighter than the catalog median of 275 g
Heel stack
32 mm
4 mm lower than the catalog median of 36 mm
Drop
9 mm
3 mm higher than the catalog median of 6 mm
Price
$200
40 pricier than the catalog median of 160
Responsiveness
5 / 5
Catalog median 3 / 5
Cushioning
3 / 5
Catalog median 4 / 5
Energy return
4 / 5
Catalog median 3 / 5
Durability
~200 mi
Catalog median ~400 mi
Within the On line it is lighter than the brand's median (270 g / 9.5 oz) and sits lower than its median stack (34 mm).
Current shoes with the nearest combination of weight, stack, drop, foam feel and plate.
On Cloudboom Echo 3
225 g / 7.9 oz · 37 mm · 9 mm drop · Carbon · $290
Carbon marathon racer with a rockered, aggressive toe-off.
Brooks Hyperion 2(2024)
201 g / 7.1 oz · 32 mm · 8 mm drop · — · $140
Light, firm and fast — a plateless racer for shorter distances.
Asics Hyper Speed 4
210 g / 7.4 oz · 32 mm · 7 mm drop · — · $100
Budget racer: light, simple and fast enough for 5Ks on a dime.
Salomon S/Lab Spectur
232 g / 8.2 oz · 38 mm · 8 mm drop · Carbon · $220
Stability-minded carbon super shoe aimed at 3:30-and-up marathoners.