All photos by Steve Hoskins

I admit I wasn’t tuned in to On until rather late in the game. Where I live in the Colorado foothills, most trail runners don go-tos like the HOKA Speedgoat or some version of the La Sportiva Jackal for their pre-9-to-5 workouts. Since launching in 2010, the Swiss brand has won a prestigious sports innovation award and introduced a fully recyclable subscription-based running shoe, Cyclon. Despite these achievements, On wasn’t on my radar until the early 2020s.

My cousin, a performance dietitian then working with elite athletes, clued me in. She’d been inspired to buy an earlier iteration of the On Cloud X 3 after hearing her clients and coworkers rave about the brand. Now, she too was proselytizing about the comfort, performance and style of the Swiss trainers.

She had me curious about the running shoe brand that I was beginning to see increasingly both on and off the trail. At the same time, On was expanding quickly, with 6,500 stores around the globe; everywhere you looked, athletes—from Olympic medal contenders to urban joggers—sported the Swiss-cheese-style-midsole. But what would it feel like to run in a Swiss shoe with a Swiss-cheese-style midsole? Last December, when a prototype of the Cloudsurfer Trail (women’s, men’s) arrived on my doorstep, I finally got the chance to see for myself.

An Easy Intro

Launched earlier this spring, the Cloudsurfer Trail running shoes resemble their road-ready counterpart, the Cloudsurfer (women’s, men’s). This off-road-specific version, however, replaces a milder outsole with slightly deeper and wider lugs and updates On’s CloudTec midsole for the dirt and gravel of light trails. I was eager to test their performance.

Alas, my first “outing” with the shoe was more of an “inning.” Driving 14 hours to visit family in Northern Illinois for the holidays required a night at a cheap hotel, blessedly one with a treadmill. Clearly, this wasn’t the optimal initial test run for a trail-specific model, but I could at least get a feel for the shoe’s fit and cushioning. When I hopped on the machine, I bumped up the incline in a meager attempt to mimic singletrack and ratcheted up the speed to my standard pace of about 10 minutes or so a mile. The new CloudTec Phase technology immediately caught my attention.

Designed to provide a soft landing while still being responsive, the original CloudTec cushioning has been On’s secret sauce. The eye-catching, hollow-in-places midsole serves as the foundation for a personalized landing pad—one that compresses horizontally and vertically “cloud by cloud” according to your unique gait. The brand tweaks the exact number, shape, size and orientation of these cavities for each shoe in its portfolio to best serve its intended purpose, whether short road runs, ultrarunning on trails, mixed training or something else. This time, however, On has responded to popular customer feedback about its CloudTec technology to create an even more accommodating ride.

A Welcomed Midsole Update

A great brand doesn’t rest on their laurels. And it’s no secret that some runners had issues with the original CloudTec recipe. Those who like a firmer feel underfoot were on board; naysayers said it felt like running on a board. Online reviews and forum threads have described CloudTec midsoles as overly firm and heavy, an aesthetic ploy gone wrong. A few of our own testers agreed, reporting that the pods collapsed too much on the landing, creating an uncomfortably firm feel before pushing off. A customer review of the women’s On Cloudvista trail-running shoes notes another issue with CloudTec: “Holes in the sole [design] mean rocks and other debris get stuck, and you’ll end up feeling it.”

Given that feedback, it’s not surprising that the Cloudsurfer Trail features an updated midsole, CloudTec Phase. On footwear designers used Finite Element Analysis (FEA) technology to predict how a shoe’s midsole would behave in given conditions. With that knowledge, they upgraded the CloudTec construction in 2023 for enhanced comfort and a smoother stride from heel to toe. Bonus: Because FEA relies heavily on computer models, the iterative design process required fewer physical prototypes, meaning less waste. (The Cloudsurfer road- and trail-running shoes, along with the Cloudeclipse (women’s, men’s), are the first to use the CloudTec Phase technology.)

A fellow tester confirms that On’s midsole update on the Cloudsurfer Trail is indeed an improvement. He finds the new midsole softer and more cushioned than the original yet still delightfully responsive. On Sunday morning runs with a frisky border collie, he’s able to alter his gait or make a quick turn to go around the mule deer or cows his pup is keen to herd. “I didn’t have to think about how my shoes were fitting,” he says, “or if I could make that sharp turn.” 

Personally, I felt the new midsole smoothly push my foot forward with each step on the treadmill. I rarely do speed work, but the peppiness of the Cloudsurfer Trail gives me confidence to notch up the pace a bit and then some. I don’t know that I could call my takeoffs “explosive,” but I cruised along at a much faster clip than normal—and, most importantly, the shoes helped me enjoy my newfound speed. 

Time for the Trail

By late December, I was still in the Land of Lincoln, but free of the holiday hustle and bustle. Doing my best to ignore the cold, slightly soggy conditions and the lethargy of a post-New-Years body, I laced up the Cloudsurfer Trail and let them play in their natural environment.

The trail was a mix of grass and dirt, relatively level but riddled with tree roots, pine needles and freshly fallen leaves that apparently didn’t get the memo back in autumn. Melted snow left some slightly muddy sections in its wake. In short, it was the perfect testing grounds for a shoe designed for a smooth and grippy ride on light terrain.

The Cloudsurfer Trail delivered. Once again, I relished the forward boost and overall stability facilitated by CloudTec Phase, but now the Missiongrip outsole had a chance to shine. Paired with 2-millimeter-deep lugs, the outsole felt sticky, which meant I felt solid. I was confident that I would remain upright as I covered the slippery, slightly uneven terrain—and I did.

Back home, I was happy to see the outsole hadn’t brought half the trail back with me like shoes with deeper lugs tend to do.

Hitting Their Stride

In Boulder, I found the Cloudsurfer Trail to be a reliable companion on my go-to, mixed-terrain routes. The Helion Superfoam in the midsole provided a deliciously cushioned landing for pavement stretches, and I continued to appreciate the outsole’s grip on grass and mud. The shoes even worked fine for beginner-level parkour moves off logs, benches and cement sign fixtures. (Indeed, running with my 7-year-old is never boring).

While my fellow tester points out the Cloudsurfer Trail doesn’t shine in deep mud or muddy and inclined conditions, he agrees that the shoes’ shallow lugs “provide adequate traction on dirt, paved roads and non-technical trail.”

Two months and many miles into the testing period, I realize that I especially love the way the Cloudsurfer Trail performs on smooth gravel. Here, the trifecta of CloudTec Phase midsole, Missiongrip outsole and Helion Superfoam coalesce to deliver an underfoot feel that’s comfortable, stable and solid. Just like on the treadmill, I notice my strides tend to quicken a bit beyond the usual pace.

Good Looks

Plenty of reviewers have described certain On models as “lifestyle shoes” with great looks and subpar performance, kicks suited for the grocery store or airport but not for running. With the Cloudsurfer Trail, On rights the scales, designing both a beautiful and functional trail-running shoe. The uppers—which feature recycled content—combine simple, breathable mesh sections, embroidered details and standard laces to create an understated yet refined look that allows its innovative midsole to take center stage.

Though this time, On takes a subtler approach with its color options, which it achieves through a water-saving dope dye technology. That more discreet aesthetic is a source of joy on one early morning jaunt. Making my way across the gravel, I swivel at my standard turn-around point and gawp at the scene before me: The snow-covered peaks appear almost navy in the distance. Tall, amber grasses dusted with frost greet me in the foreground. The trail ahead is a dusty rose, and above, the light lavender of a passing cloud almost perfectly matches my Cloudsurfer Trails. No question these shoes, from their feel underfoot to their looks against the early morning sky, are meant for surfing clouds.

The Rundown

Athletes who consistently cover packed gravel and smooth dirt paths will find the Cloudsurfer Trail trail-running shoes a steadfast companion. These aren’t designed for race day (perhaps a future iteration with On’s Speedboard technology may be), but their smooth transition from heel to toe-off will likely cajole you into moving just a touch faster on training runs. Likewise, while rocky terrain, thick mud and snow-covered trails might be a bit much for the Cloudsurfer Trail, they do well on wet grassy sections, in light mud and more moderate terrain. (If you consistently run in this type of environment, look for the waterproof version).

Overall, the Cloudsurfer Trail demonstrates why On has become a major player in running shoes. And like my cousin, I’m now among those on board.