The On Cloud may be the world's lightest fully cushioned running shoe but there's no way we'd ever run in it. Whilst they may work brilliantly for some speedy road runners, they're far too minimalist for this injury-prone long distance trail runner. Plus the funky looking Cloudtec soles have a really annoying tendency to pick up small stones which get stuck in the shoe only to be deposited later on inside the house.
Despite all this, we absolutely love this shoe. Crazy right? Well no, not really. Whilst they don't work for us as a running shoe, where they are truly brilliant is as an active travel shoe. In fact, we'd go as far to say that the On Clouds are the most comfortable, lightweight and packable shoe we've ever had!
At 198g, they're uber lightweight so can easily be popped into a pack without making a significant impact on your load. We took them on a bikepacking trip around Scotland last year and they fitted easily into our rear saddle pack and we still had more than enough room to fit in a complete change of clothes and a small bag of toiletries.
What's even better is that when it comes to use, the On Clouds are bloody good for your feet. Unlike similarly lightweight travel-oriented shoes like Crocs, the On Clouds are designed to run marathons so it goes without saying that they offer excellent support and structure throughout the shoe (which is more than we can say for the clog-style Croc that offers zero heel support).
We had been using the On Clouds as our active recovery and travel shoe of choice for months but it was only upon visiting a well known running shop in the trail mecca of Bend in Oregon back in 2016 that we realised just how on point these shoes are. The majority of the employees in the store were wearing On Clouds and all confirmed that they were using the shoes in exactly the same capacity as ourselves.
If you only ever use them as pair of fancy slippers then the £90 price tag might prove prohibitive but take them on your travels to wear as an everyday shoe or an occasional running shoe for short distances and you'll get a truly decent return on your investment. A must-have shoe for active folks on the move.
