I had a pair and in general liked the way they felt. This was a couple years ago when they first came out and I was trying different shoes. I believe I'll have fewer injuries running with stability shoes and they are a neutral shoe, so once they wore out I didn't get another pair. I like my several pairs of Newton Motion and Distance S shoes and sticking with the Newton shoes. Good thing on the ON shoes is you can see the wear building up and so that's good if you don't want to keep track of miles, or bad if you like to get extra miles out of a worn out shoe.
I also tested the Cloud-Racer recently ... well it was somehow no difference for me compared to my Brooks Racer ST5 but hey these Brooks are about half of the price so I stayed with them! It's not a bad product in my opinion but for me it's just much too expensive as there is almost no difference to others
John wears the Cloudrunners and loves them so much that he bought several pair of them, AND bought the Cloudsters to wear when he walks from the train station to work. I'm sure he could tell you more about them and why he loves them.... I, on the other hand, bought a pair of Cloudsters (more of a walking shoe, as the lugs are softer) and found them inherently unstable and ended up aggravating a hamstring strain.
Can you elaborate on why you're considering them? If it's an issue of cushioning, give Hoka One One's a look, too!
I have them and love love love them. I'm 6'-1", 185lbs or so (~200lbs when I originally bought them). After having a gait analysis done, I knew I was done with my Newtons because I have very little dorsiflexion and the Newtons exacerbated that problem. I needed something with a lot more cushion. So I went to the store and dropped a ton of $$ on a super cushioned pair of Asics Gel-Kinsei's that gave me blisters and I hated... I then wanted to wear the Hoka's as a super early adopter ~18 months ago, but surprisingly my size 13 feet were too big for the biggest size they made. I found the ON's on some random website and ordered them on a whim and a prayer and they fit perfect the second I put them on my feet. I loved running in them so much that I got 3 pairs (1 for the gym, 1 for home, and 1 for races). I use the CloudRunners. The Cloudsters are way too soft to run in, but I'm on my 3rd pair of them also as I walk about ~2.5 miles in them every day to and from the train station to my office on my commute and I wanted something with a ton of cushion. (yes I'm that dork that wears black sneakers with my suit). The CloudRacers are even lighter than the CloudRunners, and have lugs that are about half as big as the CloudRunners. I have never tried the Racers as the CloudRunners suit me just fine. I hate it when I like shoes and the company changes them or they disappear on me, so this fall I found a good deal on them online and bought 4 more pairs to train in this yr and to keep in a box in my closet for next yr. This yr's version has a slightly more durable upper as the spot on the inside near the top lace hole wore on each of my pairs from last yr, but I haven't had that problem with this newer version. The lugs also wear down and finally crack when it's time to replace them, but they lasted almost as long as any other shoe I have run extensively in. I love that they are 'soft' when you land on your foot, but because the lugs easily collapse upon landing, they give a solid push off. Maybe I just bought into the marketing hype, but I really think they work. They are not so good for trail running as the uppers can't take a beating, and even the foam under the lugs is soft and light and would get destroyed pretty easily on rocks and sticks. I use orthotics in mine (for the running and commuting) as they don't have all that much drop, so my orthotics have a decent heel to help enhance my dorsiflexion. I didn't use the orthotics all last yr in them though as I just got them a few months ago. With all the buzz over the Hoka's, part of me wants to try them as well now that they actually have bigger sizing, but I really don't have a good reason to since the ONs have been working so well for me. And as an FYI, I think I paid around ~$119-125 or so per pair for each of the last 6 pairs I have purchased. I really don't think that is all that much more than any other good pair of running shoes. I'm happy to answer any other specific questions, but if you're the slightest bit interested, try the CloudRunners. If you happen to be much lighter (say under 150lbs) then the CloudRacers might be a good option as well. If you're not heavy enough to fully collapse the lugs on every step (like Tiny little Jess trying to run in the Cloudsters) then yes, they will seem very unstable while running.
Appreciate all the feedback. Wow, does it vary! John is definitely the big proponent here. @john, since you seem to be the resident expert, here's my situation. We have a little running shop in my small town. The owner is a nice guy, but I can never tell if he's pushing inventory or being genuine. Anyway, he swears by ONs. We also have a very talented group of triathletes in my town and a few of them really like the shoes for various reasons. I don't know if I buy into the whole "returns more energy with less work" bs, but they seem like a good fit for me for this reason: I'm 6'1", 165lbs (way down from 2 years ago). My go to shoes are Brooks Ghosts, because I can run a marathon in them and not feel pain. I've tried some other brands with much more drop, and love the lightness of them. But, ultimately, when running hills (there are TONS where I I live), I get some Achilles tendinitis issues which I'm somewhat prone to. That ends up leading to a host of other issues. So, long story short, I'm looking for something on the light side, that will give me adequate cushioning, since I feel like I still run like I'm 200 lbs! Maybe this is the answer, maybe not. Running for 100 yards across a parking lot, anything feels good, so I guess I'll have to actually try em out for real.
@Brad, at your local shop you are unlikely to buy these at the much lower price point that I found online. But I don't think the guy is trying to stuff you with his "extra" inventory. I love mine and have tried to tell anyone who will listen (but very few actually do listen). I had another friend who was about your size who bought the CloudRacers and loved them as well (trained for and did his first IM in them). If you're looking for a shoe with a low drop and is very soft, you should try them. FYI, I don't necessarily believe in the "Return of Energy" thing. For me they are a just a really comfortable shoe with a soft landing and firm push-off. I have done 2 Ironmans in them and a couple HIM's. I definitely plan to keep wearing them this yr. At your size, you would probably do well in either the CloudRunner or the CloudRacer. Just know that the CloudRunner is a tad bit softer and a couple oz heavier. If you still run like a 200 pounder with a heavy foot strike, then I'd go with the CloudRunner. If you have a nice soft and quiet foot strike, and want something a little more minimal with less "cushion", then go with the CloudRacer.
@John - Thanks for all the good info on the ONS! The Hoka's are probably too much shoe for me in terms of cushioning and stability. But, I'll probably give the ON's a shot and mix my runs with my Brooks to get a feel for them and be able to compare. My only fear is hurting myself by trying to change things....I've been down that road before with new gear. My local shop may not be the cheapest, but if I ran in them for a month and brought them back to him because I hated them, he'd take them right back. Thanks again.
If you really like your current shoes, why change at all? But if you're looking for something different anyways, I think that's a good plan to work them in slowly. I just switched cold-turkey, but everyone is different. If you do try the ONs, please report back in a month or so to give us your impressions.
Comments
It's not a bad product in my opinion but for me it's just much too expensive as there is almost no difference to others
Can you elaborate on why you're considering them? If it's an issue of cushioning, give Hoka One One's a look, too!
@john, since you seem to be the resident expert, here's my situation. We have a little running shop in my small town. The owner is a nice guy, but I can never tell if he's pushing inventory or being genuine. Anyway, he swears by ONs. We also have a very talented group of triathletes in my town and a few of them really like the shoes for various reasons. I don't know if I buy into the whole "returns more energy with less work" bs, but they seem like a good fit for me for this reason: I'm 6'1", 165lbs (way down from 2 years ago). My go to shoes are Brooks Ghosts, because I can run a marathon in them and not feel pain. I've tried some other brands with much more drop, and love the lightness of them. But, ultimately, when running hills (there are TONS where I I live), I get some Achilles tendinitis issues which I'm somewhat prone to. That ends up leading to a host of other issues. So, long story short, I'm looking for something on the light side, that will give me adequate cushioning, since I feel like I still run like I'm 200 lbs! Maybe this is the answer, maybe not. Running for 100 yards across a parking lot, anything feels good, so I guess I'll have to actually try em out for real.