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The On Cloudboom Strike 2 is an accessible and relatively affordable new carbon plate racing shoe that offers a good balance of speed, stability and comfort. It’s one of two new racers launched by On in 2026, sitting below the On Cloudboom Strike 2 LS, which has a lighter design thanks to its LightSpray upper.
While we don’t rate the On Cloudboom Strike 2 as one of the best carbon plate running shoes for pure speed, it’s still worth looking at for longer events in particular thanks to the fact it is more approachable and stable than many super-shoes, while still being a very fast shoe.
Design & Key Stats
- Price: £250/$230
- Weight: 204g/7.2oz (men’s UK 9 / US 9.5)
- Drop: 5mm
- Upper: Openweave mesh
- Midsole: Dual-density Helion HF PEBA foam with carbon plate and CloudTec Sphere geometry
- Outsole: Rubber covering the length of the shoe
On Cloudboom Strike 2 review
How’s the Fit
Nick and Tom tested the Cloudboom Strike 2 for our review and found the upper was comfortable and the fit was just about OK in their normal size. It’s tighter around the toes than other On shoes in the same size, which is standard for a racing shoe, so you could go half a size up for a roomier fit, but we enjoyed the shoe in our normal size.
Check out more of the best On running shoes
The Run Test: Likes
The midsole on the Cloudboom Strike 2 delivers an enjoyable and bouncy ride, without being as squishily soft as many racing options. The updates to the foam and plate compared with the original version of the shoe increase both its comfort and responsiveness, while also shedding some weight.
We ran a variety of hard workouts in the shoe, and Tom raced a 10K in it, and the Cloudboom Strike 2 certainly performs like a true super-shoe in making hard efforts feel easier and more sustainable. It might not be the fastest shoe out there, but it’s still very quick.
It’s also more stable than most carbon racing shoes, and gives a feeling of control on the run that you don’t get from highly-rockered rivals like the Puma Fast-R Nitro Elite 3. The Cloudboom Strike 2 is a bit more supportive and accessible, which could be a major benefit for long events in particular.
The shoe has more rubber coverage on its outsole than almost any other racer too, with pretty much any foam that comes into contact with the ground being covered in a thick layer of rubber, boosting durability.
All these features add up to a carbon shoe that you can use for a lot of training as well as racing, and given it’s also at the cheaper end of the super-shoe spectrum, the Cloudboom Strike 2 could be a good value pick for a lot of fast miles.
The Run Test: Dislikes
The Cloudboom Strike 2’s strength is its accessibility and versatility, but this comes because it isn’t as aggressive a shoe as the fastest options on the market. Shoes like the Fast-R 3, Asics Metaspeed Sky Tokyo and Edge Tokyo and Hoka Cielo X1 3.0 all have more propulsive rides that we’d opt for ourselves when chasing PBs.
It’s not as light as the best racing shoes available at the moment, which often come in around 150-170g, with some being even lighter. Weight isn’t everything, but in general the Cloudboom Strike 2 feels like a shoe geared to offer a balance of support and speed, rather than aiming for all-out pace like pinnacle racers.
Verdict and Alternatives
For pure speed on race day we have a few shoes ahead of the On Cloudboom Strike 2, most notably the Puma Fast-R 3 and Asics Metaspeed line. Other options we prefer include the super-soft and springy Saucony Endorphin Elite 3 and highly-rockered Hoka Cielo X1 3.0.
However, the Cloudboom Strike 2 does offer a balanced ride that couples a lot of speed with more stability than most carbon racers, and a durable outsole that should make it more suitable for a lot of training runs alongside races, and some runners will value its extra support over the marathon distance more than the flat-out speed of more aggressive shoes.
If you are seeking a more versatile racer that’s a bit more supportive, another good pick would be the Puma Deviate Nitro Elite 4, which is a little lighter than the On, though not as soft. The Hoka Rocket X3 is another good trainer/racer that fits this category in our view.
We look forward to testing the On Cloudboom Strike 2 LS too, which should be significantly lighter while retaining the enjoyable ride of the standard shoe, and could be more of a threat to the top of our carbon racer rankings.