ON is notorious for being a trailblazer in the shoe industry with its unique ideas and wild designs, and this shoe is no different, Although I believe it’s a great blend of creativity and simplicity. The enjoyment factor is one of the most challenging qualities to define in a running shoe. Its in the On Cloudboom Strike. The Strike features a lot of cushioning and feels light on the foot. There is ample cushioning beneath the forefoot, just as I like it. The Helion HF gives way under pressure and bounces back compared to any other Pebax midsole. The stack height of about 40 mm makes turnover simple and seamless. Why I say, this is simple but creative lies in the intricacies of the design.

The midsole is incredibly unique– instead of gluing together two slabs of foam with a plate in the middle, ON has chosen to do something no one else has done yet and use a drop-in midsole, a thick layer of Helion HF foam that literally sits on top of the carbon plate that’s embedded into the bottom layer of Helion HF. You can pull it out and put it back in whenever you’d like. Its a somewhat wild idea that seems to work incredibly well. It enhances the forefoot spring and blends perfectly with the midsole foam.

FIT
The fit is surprisingly good in this model. ON has long struggled with sizing and fit for their models. I like to size down half a size from my daily trainers for a race day shoe, which works well for me with the STRIKE. However, this is from my trainers in a separate brand. If you use ON trainers such as the Monster Hyper or Eclipse, you would be wise to try it on first or order the exact size you are in these models. The shape of this model is great and provides a snug lockdown fit with ample room for your toes to splay naturally under racing intensities. The upper fits well once you figure out your size. I tested these in hot, humid weather, and the hydrophobic mesh stayed light, expelling moisture.

FEEL
Smooth and bouncy are the words I use to describe the STRIKE. Some racing models these days are super aggressive and seem to want you to run at specific paces to be comfortable, whereas the strike can easily accommodate a broader range of paces. The forefoot is super responsive thanks to the beefed-up insole, but the winning aspect of this model, I feel, is the transition. When we talk about transition, this is how smoothly the shoe goes from touchdown to toe-off. No matter where you land on the STRIKE, it effortlessly guides you in a smooth transition to toeing off with extra pop. For the strongest takeoffs, the firm, spoon-shaped Speed board absorbs energy and transfers it into the forefoot, acting as a spring. Additionally, carefully positioned Cloud Tec components produce a quicker, more seamless roll-through. Enhanced running efficiency was the outcome.

FUNCTION

This is a race-day shoe that excels at faster paces. I would take it out for easy everyday jogs when you want to feel some speed. Picking up the pace in the Strike was simple: Simply lean forward and let loose. The Strike is a super shoe that two types of people will enjoy. The first will be those who really like to load the forefoot when they push off during the toe-off position. The shoe will make you feel quite boundy when you load the forefoot hard and fast. The other people who will like the
STRIKE are those who enjoy a firmer plate at the toe-off. The bounce board does soften that experience quite a bit in the forefoot without sacrificing the bending stiffness. Those with neutral mechanics looking to have a forefoot-heavy experience will have quite a bit of fun in the Strike. 

OVERALL

I feel like this shoe is a fun and exciting addition to the ON racing lineup and racing shoe category. It’s a comfortable, bouncy and smooth race day option for anyone looking to smash some 5k, 10k, 21k, Marathon PB's