Our Take on the Evolution of the On Cloudboom Line of Marathon Racing Shoes
On launched their Cloudboom line of marathon racing shoes in the summer of 2020 with a very firm, spike-like racing flat. Here we take a look back at the evolution of this shoe over the past 5 years and see how it has transformed into one of the most comfortable racing shoes on the market.
In our latest Retrospective, we’re taking a look back at the On Cloudboom line of marathon racing shoes. First introduced in the summer of 2020, the Cloudboom has transformed from a firm, minimalist racing flat into the one of the softest, bounciest and most comfortable race shoes on the market. For the longest time, On’s promise of helping you “run on clouds” felt like a pipe dream, but not anymore. Although the running community made fun of the original Cloudboom models due to their astronomical prices, outdated foam compounds, and low stack heights, On has very rapidly shifted the narrative—in 2025, they’re putting out some of the most innovative products in the marathon segment. Let’s see how they got here.
1. On's First "Super Shoe": Cloudboom (July 2020)
There’s a reason we put “super shoe” in quotation marks when characterizing the original Cloudboom. With a low stack of firm, brick-like foam and a carbon plate sitting directly under the foot, On’s first racing shoe was miles behind the competition (it released 3 years after the innovative and groundbreaking OG Vaporfly). It’s safe to say that this shoe did nothing to help On’s reputation as an overpriced brand that lacks performance.
2. Echo of What, Exactly?: Cloudboom Echo (June 2021)
On might have increased the forefoot stack in the Cloudboom Echo, but they also hiked the price by $70 year over year. Instead of embracing the broader market’s move toward bouncy PEBA or fine-tuning their foam to be more forgiving for the marathon distance, On stuck to their guns—and paid the price. Considering the Echo was $20 more than the Alphafly 1, its no surprise the shoe didn’t take off.
3. Third Time's the Charm: Cloudboom Echo 3 (July 2023)
After burying their heads in the sand and not releasing a carbon shoe in 2022, On finally got with the program and put modern PEBA race foam in the Echo 3. For the first time, On had created a viable marathon racing shoe with excellent bounce and impact absorption. What held the shoe back was On’s own pricing/marketing strategy. Priced at a whopping $290 and positioned as a shoe “designed to last for 4 marathons,” people got the wrong idea that the Echo 3 would self destruct after relatively high mileage. This marketing strategy is the relic of a time in which runners viewed carbon shoes as exclusively for race day.
4. Running on Clouds: Cloudboom Strike (July 2024)
This was the shoe that finally made On’s slogan of “running on clouds” feel like a tangible reality. With On’s distinctive Cloudtec pods reduced to a vestigial afterthought in the shoe’s heel, the Cloudboom Strike went all in on a soft, bouncy underfoot feel, incorporating a lower drop for better forefoot protection and an innovative drop-in insole for unmatched comfort. On might have had a rocky start with their first attempts at creating a carbon racer, but the Cloudboom Strike put them on the map as a truly competitive player in the marathon segment.
On Cloudboom Strike
For more videos featuring the On Cloudboom Strike, including a 24-mile long-run, check out Yowana's YouTube Channel.
5. Bonus: Cloudboom Strike Lightspray (September 2024)
The Cloudboom Strike LS is a testament to On’s renewed commitment to innovation in recent years—while established nameplates such as the Vaporfly have begun to stagnate following initial breakthroughs, the Cloudboom line has quietly emerged as a platform for experimentation. In the Cloudboom Strike LS, On has implemented a new proprietary manufacturing process in which a robotic arm constructs the shoe’s upper by precision-spraying a thermoplastic compound.
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