I love the cushion provided by Hokas, but I’m tired of the outsole deteriorating so quickly. Has anyone run in the On Clouds who also has experience with Hokas? FWIW, I’m heavier at 200 lbs. Thanks.
I use both shoes, but I’m 50 lbs lighter than you and both last a long time. The Cloud and Cloud Racer are too light for you at approximately 7 and 8.1 oz respectively. The Cloud Surfer (9.7 oz) and Cloud Flyer (10.6 oz) are probably a better choice. The only criticism I’ve ever had of On Cloud is that the hard rubber of the loops do not grip well if running on wet pavement. And they aren’t a good choice for trail running as pebbles can easily get stuck between the loops.
Curious about being “too heavy for a shoe” I’m about 180 lbs. But I run with a decent enough form and have a very light footfall. I often scare the crap out of people silently passing them. Would my overall weight still make it a no-go with these real light shoes? Because I’ve seen some 130 lbs. people that run like bigfoot?
Curious about being “too heavy for a shoe” I’m about 180 lbs. But I run with a decent enough form and have a very light footfall. I often scare the crap out of people silently passing them. Would my overall weight still make it a no-go with these real light shoes? Because I’ve seen some 130 lbs. people that run like bigfoot?
Same here. Don’t interpret heavy as fat and slow :). Thanks for the feedback.
I’ve worn the cloud surfer for several years. I found the cushion to be only slightly less than that of the hoka’s. My reason for going with them over the hoka’s was that they were wider.
Overall the traction on trail and wet does suffer a bit. I didn’t get incredibly great life out of mine because the pods on the toe sections world wear or for me after 300-400 miles. By wear out i mean tear. In the newer models they changed the toe pods to be lower in height. I haven’t spent enough time on them to see if it makes them wear any better.
Curious about being “too heavy for a shoe” I’m about 180 lbs. But I run with a decent enough form and have a very light footfall. I often scare the crap out of people silently passing them. Would my overall weight still make it a no-go with these real light shoes? Because I’ve seen some 130 lbs. people that run like bigfoot?
Shoes are personal and if they work for you then great. I would just say the following:
- In general, the heavier you are, the more cushioning you need.
- In general, the heavier you are, the quicker you will wear out any given shoe than a lighter person running comparable mileage in comparable conditions.
- In general, a lighter person can wear a lighter shoe for longer race distances than a heavier person.
- In general, a younger person can wear a lighter shoe than an older person.
You may be an exception. At 59, I wear Hokas and other well cushioned shoes that I would never have considered had they even existed 30 years ago when I could get away with a sub 6 oz racer for an open marathon. If the lighter Clouds feel good to you, just be sure to test them on some long runs if you are thinking of using them for a HIM or an IM.
Personally, I would give a look at the 361-Voltar but that’s just me 
In all seriousness, the cushioning of the Hoka is pretty unique, so you’ll probably need to look for max cushioning shoes from other brands who are using a rebound formula in their EVA midsoles to get the cushioning and durability you desire.
Second that advice. I’ve been running in Hokas for a few years and like the cushioning, they are heavy and they wear quickly. I’ve put about 300 miles on a pair of 361 Spires, cushioning is still good and the outsole has very little wear.
Personally, I would give a look at the 361-Voltar but that’s just me
In all seriousness, the cushioning of the Hoka is pretty unique, so you’ll probably need to look for max cushioning shoes from other brands who are using a rebound formula in their EVA midsoles to get the cushioning and durability you desire.
Thanks. I will take a look at the Voltars.
I run on Asics Tartherzeal 4…so not exactly anything remotely similar to Hokas.
But I have tried On Cloud…and I’ll I can say that for me it was quite a disaster. Certainly not a good direction to go in if you want what you love about Hokas are the cushioning.
When I first used the Cloud Racer, they felt awesome for the first 30km. But I think the rubber clouds harden up really quickly, and they felt very awkward. They are also a very, very heavy shoe even though they don’t have a lot of support around the foot…the outsole just seems to weigh a ton.
I’m about 160-165lbs and used to run in the cloud surfer racers which worked fine, but didn’t last that long. The clouds come apart quickly and noticed the upper stitches started coming apart at the seams. Those were the first version, so may be better now. Overall, solid shoe and light.
I just started running in the hoka clayton and they are very light and I really like the solid platform. The toe box is a bit too roomy but overall I’m very happy in them and will likely run in them all year for IM training. I thought the “roll bar” was BS, but for whatever reason, I’ve had some fast runs and legs feel good afterwards. I really “want” to run longer in these shoes.
I’ve run in saucony kinvara and newton Fate’s in the past…all great shoes in the “lightweight” 4-5mm drop category, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the Hoka Clayton’s.
I have used the Cloud Flyer as well as the Hoka Clifton 1 and the Hoka Clayton, other than the obvious difference in levels of cushioning, to me the biggest difference is the level of quality. The Hoka’s are on par with pretty much all the other brands, no better and no worse. The On Cloud shoes to me are a clear step up in overall quality, take a pair and look at them closely and you will probably see the difference as well. I didn’t particularly like the On for myself as they didn’t fit my foot well, I wanted to because I recognized the quality right away but just couldn’t make it work.