Product review: Kirsty Reade finds a shoe that makes running on concrete almost fun in the ON Cloudflyer
I’m not normally one to get excited about road shoes. I’m not keen on concrete and for me they’re more of a means to an end, a bit like eating kale or having a job. However, as I am doing a fair bit of running on concrete at the moment, I did need some new road shoes. I was kindly sent a pair of ON Cloudflyers and I have to say that there was plenty to get excited about when I tried them out.
Having bought similar models of road shoes for years – typical best-selling brands, nothing too flashy – the Cloudflyer did immediately look quite different. It’s surprisingly light when you pick it up as it looks quite chunky and structured. On looking at the technical spec it actually weighs under 300g and they achieve this with ‘zero gravity foam’. This also means that it’s quite cushioned, which is good news for me on concrete as I’m not the most graceful runner.
When you put it on it does feel quite structured and for me this was the best innovation about the shoe – it’s cushioned and light but it doesn’t feel ‘spongy’, like some quite cushioned shoes do. It feels very light to run in and yet, when you land your foot, there’s plenty of support. They look like they should feel clumpy, but they actually feel, well, a bit cloud-like. They are contradictory beasts, they don’t conform and I liked it.
The other thing I liked was the lacing system. The bottom half of the laces has a sort of double lacing system and it keeps your foot really snug in the shoe but without feeling tight. They are just really well-constructed shoes through and through and everything felt quite cushioned. I often get a sore arch and top of my foot when I run a lot on concrete but in the Cloudflyers I didn’t have this problem (though this is obviously really personal, especially as I have fairly freaky feet).
The Cloudflyer just feels like a great quality shoe (as you’d expect for a price of £130) which is very light and comfortable, but without sacrificing support. A word of warning though: the channel in the sole might help to deliver a very light shoe, but it would be absolute hell if you stepped in a dog poo. Run safe.
Find out more at www.on-running.com
Kirsty Reade
I’d describe myself as borderline obsessed with running, racing, reading about running, and watching others run so hopefully I’m fairly typical of Run247’s visitors. I tend to do longer races, particularly off-road marathons and ultras, but am pretty much a fan of any distance. I'm passionate about helping runners of all levels to improve through running communities I'm involved in, such as Underground Ultra and Free Range Runners.
