Running’s super shoe arms race has cranked out some absolutely bonkers footwear over the past decade. Brands have been stacking foam, carbon plates, and 3D-printed uppers into machines that would’ve been almost inconceivable in prior years.
On has been one of the leaders in the space, and its Cloudboom line has always looked the part. Now there’s a second-gen duo, and the most surprising headline isn’t the tech. It’s that the price moved the wrong (see: right) direction for once.
A New Cloud Underfoot
The big change lives in the midsole. On has dropped in a fresh geometry it’s calling CloudTec Sphere, carving precise channels into the foam between the forefoot and midfoot.
The point is to let the cushioning flex and compress more independently as you tire, so the shoe still feels lively deep into mile 22 instead of mile two. Backing it up is a refreshed Helion HF foam that’s 15% lighter than before, plus a curved carbon Speedboard that’s both lighter and stiffer than the outgoing plate.
Sprayed, Not Stitched
Both shoes share the same setup underfoot, but the LightSpray version skips traditional construction entirely.
Rather than assembling a couple dozen pieces, a robot arm sprays roughly 1.5 kilometers of a single filament into a seamless, glueless, laceless upper in a matter of minutes. The result weighs just 158 grams, lighter than most of the phones in our pockets. The laced Cloudboom Strike 2 isn’t far behind at 191 grams.
Proven Where It Counts
On says the LightSpray model has already carried six of its sponsored athletes to personal bests, and it’s waving around a 1.6% running economy gain over leading rivals, courtesy of a University of Cape Town study.
Hellen Obiri lopped nearly two minutes off her London time, Yeman Crippa ran down a tactical win in Paris, and Joe Klecker took a staggering four-plus minutes off his Boston PB. Make of that what you will.
Spec Sheet
Models: On Cloudboom Strike 2 / LightSpray Cloudboom Strike 2
Midsole: Helion HF (15% lighter than gen one) with CloudTec Sphere geometry
Plate: Curved carbon Speedboard
Upper: Laced mesh / robot-sprayed LightSpray (one-piece, laceless)
Weight: 191 g (6.7 oz) / 158 g (5.5 oz)
Heel-to-Toe Drop: 5 mm
Sizes: 36–49
Running Economy: +1.6% vs. leading benchmarks (LightSpray)
Price: $250 / $310
Pricing & Availability
Both versions land on on.com and select premium retailers on July 30. The standard Cloudboom Strike 2 starts at $250, down from the $280 of the outgoing model, while the LightSpray version comes in at $310, a $20 trim from before (On even throws in a pair of its Elite Run Sock High Hyper socks). A super shoe getting cheaper isn’t something we see often, so enjoy it.
Recap
On Cloudboom Strike 2 & LightSpray Cloudboom Strike 2
On’s second-gen marathon racers add new CloudTec Sphere cushioning and a 15%-lighter foam, with the robot-sprayed LightSpray version dipping to a featherweight 158 grams, and both somehow cost less than the shoes they replace.
