Over the past few years, On has developed an unmissable presence in the running shoe industry alongside giants like Nike and Adidas. On’s shoes are defined by their super-firm CloudTec cushioning system — which you can see in the individual pods on the midsoles, and has caught our eye before in the Cloudsurfer Trail runners — as well as their signature Speedboard, a plastic plate in the midsole. For now, that tech has been reserved for running, walking, lifestyle and tennis shoes.
But now the brand is branching out. The Cloudpulse is On’s first training shoe designed for cardio gym workouts. It’s not a running shoe; instead, it’s meant for short and high-intensity movements. Think: box jumps, lateral lunges, sled pushes — anything that requires you to explode off the ground.
Here’s the thing: I’ve tried nearly all of On’s running shoes, but they just don’t work for me. So this was a chance to see if I’d feel differently in a shoe designed not for continuous running but for the type of cardio moves I do in the gym. I put the Cloudpulse to test over three separate gym workouts in a week. Here’s my final analysis.
On’s new training shoe is its first in that category. We especially like how it balances running-inspired tech with stability features and increased traction to support explosive, high-intensity cardio moves in the gym. Women’s sizing ranges from 5 to 11, while men’s sizing spans 7 to 14.
What I liked about them
The aesthetics
On’s Swiss engineering and design approach always come across as super clean and simple. Honestly, its shoes are so good-looking, it bums me out that they don’t really work for me on runs. The Cloudpulse are predictably pretty, with neutral colors accentuated by a few bright accents. Unlike the majority of On’s shoes, the cloud pods don’t stretch across the entire midsole; there are only two under the forefoot and two under the heel. The streamlined silhouette is most similar to that of the Cloudnova Flux, a running shoe that can also handle mixed workouts. In a sea of sometimes garish, aggressively neon sports shoes, it’s always nice to have a training option that you can also pair with real clothes without attracting a ton of side-eye.
The side-to-side stability
In On’s running shoes, the Speedboard is designed to act like a carbon plate, flexing with the foot and then snapping back to its original position to help propel you forward. Plates also help stabilize the foam underfoot (especially as shoes get taller and taller), which is more of what the Speedboard in the Cloudpulse does.
The Speedboard in the Cloudpulse, which connects directly to the heel counter (a more rigid part at the rear of the shoe) for extra stability, helps support lateral movements without sacrificing flexibility. I put these to the test during hopping exercises, box jumps and lateral bounds and felt super supported — at no point did I feel like I was having to exert excess energy to stabilize my landings. The high-grip rubber on the outer forefoot likely helped too. The mesh upper also prevented my foot from feeling as if it were slipping around inside the shoe. On says the unique lacing angle ensures increased support and heel hold, though I thought it looked just like the lacing on any shoe. But if it works, it works!
What I didn’t like about them
They’re still pretty cushioned
Most of my gym workouts include a mix of cardio and heavy lifting. I did wear these for squats and deadlifts, and I felt fine, but most trainers would caution against wearing a shoe with this much cushioning for that part of the workout. The heel is positioned 8mm higher than the toe, and that extra foam is nice and squishy, but for strength training, you want a firm sole that allows you to push into the ground without unnecessary movement. What that Helion superfoam — which you’ll find in maximally cushioned running shoes like the Cloudmonster — is good for is max energy return, so when you hop or jump or bound, it’s going to bounce with you. The solution? Wear these for any cardio elements of a workout, and kick them off real quick when it comes time to lift weights.
Bottom line
If you’re in the market for a gym shoe that will support high-intensity interval training, bootcamps and other cardio-based classes, I’d definitely recommend the On Cloudpulse. They not only look nice — I got a ton of compliments wearing these in and out of the gym — but also support and cushion your feet to make moving through your reps feel a little bit easier. However, if your workouts skew more toward lifting, you’d be best served by a sneaker designed for strength training.
This is an On shoe I’ll definitely be wearing repeatedly.
