Review of the On Cloudflow

It’s been 3 months now since I tapped the code into the Amazon locker at my local mall which sprung open to reveal the parcel; my On Cloudflow shoes were awaiting. I’m a sucker for trying out new running gear-any of it. I spend hours researching, comparing and debating before I’m done and I hit that BUY button. This past few weeks I’d been weighing up the On Cloudflow and Brooks Glycerin 16.

The Brooks would have to wait. 

Did I allow myself to be influenced by the fact that the On Cloudflow was the shoe used by British Triathlete Tim Don to run the fastest ever Ironman Triathlon? Course, I did. Faster is always my goal.

After reading a few reviews and checking On’s sizing chart I decided to go for half a size bigger than my normal shoe size. I’m a UK size 7 so I plumped for 7.5s. Unless you’ve had a shoe before and are reordering it’s so difficult buying running shoes online. The fit all over is so crucial.

I grabbed the parcel, desperate to rip it open but a tad worried as it was SO light. Were they even in there? A few minutes later, sitting before a glass of wine in the pub, I set to. Ahh my beauties…

First impressions: very lightweight, as I said. As a pair my size 7.5 shoes weigh only 448g. The laces were much silkier to the touch and thinner than I was used to and I was a little worried that they might easily come undone as I ran. The shoes looked quite narrow but the upper was so soft, I hoped it would have some give.

And flipping the shoe over there were those famous clouds. Little cushioned pods dotted all over the sole. Intriguing…

Slipping them on, they felt soft and comfortable and definitely didn’t feel too narrow. The toe room was great. A walk around the room was enough to reveal that my heel slipped a little, although by the toe test I was pretty sure I’d bought the correct size. I threaded the laces through the extra eyelets, laced them up and that did the trick.

Now to the run test; to be honest the first time I set foot outside I didn’t really notice any effect from moving around on those pillows. What I did find though was that during a run my feet felt light and responsive if that makes sense? The shoes were so comfortable I could hardly feel them.

Now lots of folk have expressed concerns that the design of the sole would be a magnet for collecting pebbles. I found that the lugs on the bottom of the Cloudflow are spaced wide enough apart to avoid gathering debris as you go most of the time.

However, I did get stones stuck in the soles on a few occasions and I soon realised that these stones were all pretty much the same size! It didn’t happen often enough to be a problem and in all fairness the On Cloudflow are marketed as road running shoes. Their trail running shoes have quite different soles.

I’ve now put the shoes through their paces with intervals, fartlek, hills and my long slow road runs and they have served me well. Three months later and I have no injuries or blisters to report … and my laces have never once come undone.

Happy!