Review: On Cloudventure WP

I recently acquired a pair of these running shoes and I thought I’d give them a review. As you may know from reading the blogs I do a lot of trail-running and ultra-marathons, and I was looking to try something other than my favorite so far (being the Hoka One One Speedgoat).

So these are as stated by ON a ‘lightweight trail running shoe, with extreme cushioning and grip, mountains beware’ and based on that in itself I’m really looking forward to trying them out.

Looks 10/10 Seriously cool looking, design looks awesome and love the color (in fact all the color options)I love the color of these and the design is very cool. Even the packaging is very appealing (even if it’s going straight in the recycling)

Weight: At 345g they really aren’t going to weigh you down.

Comfort: 7/10 Once they break in a bit they get more comfortable. I wouldn’t agree with the ‘extreme cushioning’ statement though these are pretty comfortable. They are however easily some of the most comfortable I’ve tried but they are far less shock absorbing than the Hoka One One Speedgoats which frankly are like running on your own two personal bouncy castles.

Fit: I have quite a a narrow foot (a C width) and these fit nicely. The lacing system locks my foot in well. They do come up slightly small I personally feel like they are for me at least about a half size smaller than expected. I think if you were to buy these they are something you’d want to try on in the shop. Nice attention to detail from ON mentioning to take a size up on their website.

Grip: 5 / 10 ON uses it’s own ‘missiongrip’ on these. Sorry to ON but though I’m sure these are great in the Swiss mountains they don’t appear to have tested them in the UK. After testing these on muddy trails I’m finding myself having to slow down to avoid sliding all over the place. Worst still to get to my local trails I have to hit a bit of tarmac, and these I can feel slide even on wet tarmac. If they can’t handle wet flat tarmac I’d be very worried about the more often than not wet, sometimes soapy rock of Snowdonia.

ON’s website does state these are best for wet weather running but having used them in such I’d be inclined to disagree. Additionally though I love ON’s unique sole design the large holes in the sole easily pick up mud and in certain areas where there peat and even clay muds…and soon that light weight aspect is all gone because you’ll be carrying part of the hills with you.

Performance: 8/10 I can say my running times have kicked up a notch wearing the ON’s and I get a nice push off from these trainers.

Summary: I do really like these trainers, they are comfortable they look good and I can get up some decent speed. They are just really let down by the grip. And for the intended use this is REALLY important.

In terms of use I wouldn’t use these for anything of seriously long distance, I just don’t feel they provide enough cushioning.

I do still however love the look of these and I would buy them but more as a general trainer, It’s not something personally I could trust (regarding grip) on mountains in the UK. I do hope ON takes a look at the grip on these as I wouldn’t hesitate to get another pair if they improve this.