ON Cloudsurfer Trail Introduction

The On Cloudsurfer Trail – with a name like that you would picture a shoe that glides over the trails with comfort and ease.

The CloudSurfer Trail is a road to trail shoe at best. It is advertised for moderate terrain but I felt as if it was best primarily for the roads and the occasional trail thrown into the mix.

The Cloudsurfer Trail surprisingly has a lot to offer it is a first of its kind. To start it is Ons first ever trail running shoe to be powered by Cloudtec phase. This technologies overall purpose is to offer a smooth ride and energy return you will feel from heel to toe.

In simple terms, when running, each step you take the pods you see carved out of the midsole crash down and spring back open during transition. It reminds me of squishing something soft then it returns to its original shape after.

I am not sold on this piece of technology offering more energy return and a smoother ride compared to other shoes. In conjunction to the Cloudtec Phase, the helion midsole is the same as what is used in the Cloudmonster 2 which I have tested as well.

The foam is durable, somewhat soft and nothing out of this world. As we make our way to the bottom of the shoe the Cloudsurfer Trail uses Ons specialized rubber compound called Mission Grip. Again a fancy term that has not necessarily sold me on being better than the competitors.

I could feel the grip of the shoe somewhat slip even on very moderate trails. This particular pair is priced at 160… It is not outrageous but it also does not have me chomping at the bit to buy it right off the shelf.

I have not ran in many road to trail shoes so it is hard to compare it to other shoes in this category the only two shoes that come to mind is the first version of the Adidas Speed Ultra (trail) which I absolutely loved and the recent Nike Vomero (road) even the Nike Vomero I would choose over the Cloudsurfer trail as a road to trail shoe.

I also wore the Cloudmonster 2 which comes from On during my 100 miler ultra in March that was primarily moderate trails. I would even use that model over the Cloudsurfer Trail if I had to decide of what to wear on the trails.

It sounds like I despise the Cloudsurfer Trail but I don’t – if maybe the price was $125-$130 I would say buy them if you do a lot of road to trail running.

ON Cloudsurfer Trail Impressions

When I pulled out the On Cloudsurfer Trail I immediately had to lace them up and see how they felt on the feet.

They are not the lightest shoes but they felt surprisingly light on feet.

My first run was up a trail called Chinese peak a 2.8 mile run straight up a maintained service road with a total climb of 1700 feet. I do not know if it was in my head but the Cloudsurfer Trail helped me obtain a personal best of 30 minutes.

The one issue I experienced is on the steep decent all the way down I was noticing some hot spots on the bottom of my heels. I have never experienced that in any other trail shoes.

The shoe is best fit for more mild groomed trails that have a flow. They would not be my first option to chose for a race but I could use them maybe for a hilly race on some super well maintained trails.

Definitely not best suited for technical terrain even on loose gravel roads I could feel slippage underneath the outsole.

I like the Cloudsurfer Trail, but there are better options for road to trail running.

My all time favorite is the adidas Speed Ultra I am not sure if they still have the first version available, but they were awesome and would be comparable to the Cloudsurfer Trail.

Overall it is an okay option I just do not see a need for them in my current running rotation I use them more for road running then I do the trails!

ON Cloudsurfer Trail Protection

I did test the Cloudsurfer Trail on some technical trails I did not like it because anytime my foot would roll on top of a rock I could definitely feel the rock hit against my foot.

The underfoot protection is fine but the shoe is somewhat unstable on technical trails which can cause the occasional ankle roll.

There is not any toe box material just your standard thin piece of rubber used as a toe bumper to help from kicking rocks but again nothing that truly protected your feet from rocks.

ON Cloudsurfer Trail Durability

The cloudsurfer trail should hold up pretty well if you do not wear them on technical terrain all the time.

A good amount of road running and on some mild trails would get you the most value out of these shoes.

They could go the distance in an ultra again if the trails were groomed and free of super technical terrain.

ON Cloudsurfer Trail Responsiveness & speed

I would not wear these for a super fast trail speed session even though I hit some good paces 6:25s I was getting hot spots on the bottom of my feet.

I believe I hit top speed while testing the cloudsurfer trail but once again I was more excited to wear them on the roads than the trails.

During my road runs they felt like a good daily trainer I actually really enjoyed them on pavement and running on the occasional canal.

The transition and responsiveness is not out of this world but they do handle a transition from road to trails fairly well.

ON Cloudsurfer Trail Comfort and fit

The fit is surprisingly comparable to the On Cloudmonster 2 I tested back in march. The fit is inconsistent the toe box is wider and some loose areas throughout the mid foot.

I did not mind it because I do like a little wider toe box but for someone who is picky with fit it would not be a good option.

he Cloudsurfer Trail is surprisingly light when you slip them on but they are pretty average in weight comparable to any other trail shoe.

Advertising for a road to trail shoe I would have liked to see them be even lighter especially when there is less rubber on the outsole. I do like to wear them for casual wear because they are comfortable underfoot.

ON Cloudsurfer Trail Conclusions

To conclude the On Cloudsurfer Trail is average not great but they are not horrible.

If I lived in Texas and my local running shop sold these trail shoes I honestly would probably buy them because a lot of the running is done on trails with the occasional dirt park loop around the lake.

I live in Idaho so that is not the case for me. I am surrounded by groomed single/double track trails. Technical trails, steep ups, steep downs, and creek crossings so just about everything you can imagine.

Therefore, I need a more well rounded road to trail shoe that could handle technical trails.

As mentioned above I tested the New Nike Vomero 14 (road running shoe) and they handled technical trails better than the Cloudsurfer Trail.