My first run was an easy-paced run and what struck me was how much faster it was than I thought it was going to be. On uses the same sizing system as Hoka, Adidas and New Balance where there is only a half size difference between US and UK sizes so be careful if you use UK sizing. The sizing felt long so I had to go a half size down from my normal US9. That’s exactly what the founders of On wanted when they designed the first On shoe. The sensation of walking in the Cloudmonster can be likened to having cylindrical pieces of rubber attached horizontally to the sole of your shoes which easily compress every time you load the shoes. I could feel the clouds compress as I walked around and I knew that this was going to be a fun shoe to run in. The first time I walked around in the Cloudmonster, it reminded me of the Nike Vapormax because the Cloud pods on the bottom of the shoe felt like the air bubbles present on the Vapormax. It also has a 6mm drop, measuring 30mm in the heel and 24mm in the forefoot. The Cloudmonster weighs 275g (9.7 oz) for a men’s US 9 which is a competitive weight in the max-cushioned category. Monster level is above maximum cushioning level so it’s designed to be the most cushioned trainer in On’s performance running range. “Monster level cushioning for easy runs and long runs”, that’s the Cloudmonster’s description on the product page of On’s website. It’s a maximalist trainer with a rockered and protective ride for long runs. The Cloudmonster is a brand new running shoe from On.
Its upper was supremely comfortable though, one of the most comfortable of all my running shoes. I have the Cloudflow 3 and I mostly use it for casual wear because it feels so flat and firm on runs. On shoes are expensive and their performance has been somewhat lacking compared to the competition in terms of cushioning and energy return. I would never have recommended an On running shoe to you before the Cloudmonster. So far, it’s been a gimmicky technology which offers no advantage over regular slabs of midsole foams, similar to Nike’s Air Max and ASICS’ gel. The CloudTec technology is something On has tried to make work, trainer after trainer but they’ve never quite gotten the recipe right. In fact, I’ve always found On trainers to be firm compared to other brands. To me, On Running shoes have never felt like running on clouds. If a shoe brand gives all their running shoes names with the word “Cloud” in it, they better make sure that the rides of their shoes actually feel cloud-like, otherwise it’s false advertising.
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