On Cloudrunner 2: A Podiatrist’s Analysis

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What On says the Cloudrunner 2 is

On’s own copy for the second Cloudrunner is one sentence: “The legend, leveled up. With more support, more comfort and more cushioning – for more fun on every run.” The product page describes the upper in detail — vamp and tongue in 100% recycled polyester, a quarter of recycled polyester and thermoplastic polyurethane, a recycled-polyester collar lining — and lists the shoe at $160 (on sale at $110 when read). Retail listings add what On’s page does not: a 10 mm drop, On’s Helion foam midsole, a pair weight of 1 lb 3.5 oz, and a stability classification. In On’s range the Cloudrunner sits as the supportive daily shoe, the one for runners who want a wider base and a more guided ride than the Cloud line’s lighter models give.

Published specifications

What those numbers mean, in general

A 10 mm drop is at the higher end of modern trainers. In general it takes some load off the calf and Achilles and puts a little more on the front of the foot, which is why a higher-drop shoe is often the easier one to wear during an Achilles flare and the less comfortable one for a sore forefoot. A pair weight of about 553 g puts each shoe near 276 g, mid-weight for a supportive daily trainer. The word “stability” on a listing means different things from different brands: some use a firmer medial section, some a wider base, some a rigid plate. On’s page does not say which of those the Cloudrunner 2 relies on, and that is exactly what the torsional twist and heel-counter squeeze are for. Nothing published tells you the toe-box width or whether a custom orthotic fits; both are measured, not read.

Who should wait for the test before buying

• Custom orthotic wearers. The Orthotic Volume Rating is pending and On publishes nothing about interior depth.
• Runners managing forefoot pain such as metatarsalgia or Morton’s neuroma. A 10 mm drop loads the front of the foot a little more; whether that matters here is a wear question.
• Anyone who needs a wide fitting. No width options were published on the page as read; confirm with the retailer, and wait for the internal width.

What we will measure

Weight at a men’s US 10; heel and forefoot stack, which nobody publishes for this shoe, and the drop that results; internal toe-box width and depth; the Orthotic Volume Rating with the stock insole out; the three stability checks, which will say what kind of stability shoe this actually is; then logged miles. The nine criteria are scored only after that, against How We Test, and the seal follows the registry rules.

Where to buy

The Amazon listing below is the men’s Cloudrunner 2; choose your size and colour on the listing. Prices change daily.

Sources: on.com product page for the men’s Cloudrunner 2 (price, upper materials, description) and the REI product listing (pair weight 1 lb 3.5 oz, 10 mm drop, Helion foam, stability), both read 7 September 2026. Last verified 7 September 2026. This is a spec analysis, not a review: the shoe has not been worn or measured by Podiatrist Tested. Nothing on this page is medical advice.

Questions people ask about the Cloudrunner 2

What is the Cloudrunner 2 designed for?

On builds it as a stability daily trainer — On’s own page describes “more support”, and REI lists it in the stability category. In practice that means everyday road mileage with some medial support: not a racing shoe, not a trail shoe. The 10 mm heel-to-toe drop, which comes from REI’s listing rather than On’s own product page, sits at the higher end of current trainers and generally suits people who land heel-first and those managing Achilles or calf complaints. One thing worth knowing before you buy: On does not publish heel or forefoot stack height for this shoe, and REI does not list it either, so how much foam is actually under you is not a knowable number today. That is among the first things we put on the bench.

Is the On Cloudrunner 2 a good walking shoe?

It is a running shoe that many people walk in, which is usually fine — walking is a lower-load version of the same motion. Two things on the published spec sheet favour it: the stability build, and a low weight for the category at roughly 276 g a shoe, derived from REI’s stated pair weight of 1 lb 3.5 oz with the size not stated. The honest caution is that walkers spend far longer in midstance than runners do, so forefoot flexibility and outsole durability under a slower, flatter roll matter more than they do at running pace, and neither is published. If you want a shoe designed for walking from the ground up rather than adapted to it, our Hoka Transport 2 and Brooks Addiction Walker 2 pages cover that category directly.

Is Cloudrunner 2 good for standing all day?

Standing all day is a genuinely different demand from either running or walking, and it is the question this shoe’s spec sheet answers least well. Static standing rewards a broad, stable platform, a heel counter that does not fold under hours of load, and enough room for a foot that swells through a shift. The stability construction is a point in its favour. Against it: no published stack heights, and no width options listed on the page as we read it — and width is often the deciding factor for anyone on their feet for ten hours. Heel-counter stiffness and torsional rigidity are measured on our bench with a squeeze and a twist test rather than read off a spec sheet, so we are not going to tell you it holds up until we have done that. See how we test for what those checks involve.

Is Cloudrunner 2 a good shoe?

We are not scoring it yet, and that is deliberate: under our standard a number only appears after a pair has been measured and worn. What we can say from the published figures is that the spec sheet is internally coherent for its category — a 10 mm drop, Helion midsole and a stability designation line up with the daily-trainer job On sells it for. On list price, On’s own page showed $160 with a $110 sale price when we read it on 7 September 2026; check the retailer, because that moves. When a pair goes through the bench this page stops being a spec reading and becomes the review.

Other shoes we have looked at

Drop is the figure that decides how load splits between your heel and your forefoot, so it is the fastest way to tell these apart. Where a figure was independently measured rather than taken from the brand, it says so — and on several of these the two disagree.

Do podiatrists recommend the On Cloudrunner 2?

The Cloudrunner is On’s stability-leaning trainer, and its 10 mm drop — the highest in On’s road line — is the part with a clinical rationale, since a higher heel is the conventional choice for an irritable Achilles or a sore plantar fascia. This page is thinner than most on the site, and the reason is deliberate. On does not publish the stack heights, the widths or the internal toe-box dimensions for it, and the drop shown here comes from a retail listing rather than the brand. Rather than fill those rows with numbers we cannot attribute, this page leaves them empty and says why. That is also the honest answer to the question: nobody can tell you how this shoe behaves from a specification this incomplete. Podiatrist Tested has not worn or measured this pair, so it carries no score and no seal. This one needs the bench more than most.