- Weight: 272g (M), 210g (W)
- Stack height: 37.5mm (heel), 31.5mm (forefoot)
- Heel-to-toe drop: 6mm
- Type: Neutral/performance
The shoe
Super trainers are hot right now. Sharing many of the same qualities as super shoes built for race day (a tall stack height, high-powered super foam and often some sort of plate) but built for everyday mileage, almost every running brand now boasts one of these beefy boys in their line-ups.
And with the Cloudmonster Hyper, On is the latest brand to get in on the super trainer action – albeit slightly late to the party. Designed to be the perfect training partner for the Cloudboom Echo 3 – a shoe that divided our editors – the name 'Hyper' promises a levelled-up version of the Cloudmonster 2.
So, what makes the Cloudmonster Hyper a super trainer? Well, it uses Helion HF – the high-energy return PEBA midsole from the CloudBoom Echo 3 – encapsulated by On's traditional EVA CloudTec foam. There’s a noticeable absence of a Speedboard, though – On's version of a carbon plate – which we’ll get onto later.
How does the On Cloudmonster Hyper fit?
I got the Hyper in my regular running shoe size – a women's UK 8.5 – and had absolutely no issues. There's a good amount of room in the toe box for your feet to expand on longer runs and it's neither too narrow nor too wide. The engineered woven upper – made from 85% recycled content – is one of the best I've seen from On, too, striking the right balance between comfort, weight and breathability. Coupled with a gusseted tongue, padded heel collar and traditional lacing system, it provides a fantastically locked in fit around the midfoot, with none of that heel slippage I've experienced with the Cloudmonster 2. Truly premium stuff.
My only gripe has been with the laces themselves – they've got these silicone grippy bits on them which should, in theory, ensure that they never come undone. For some reason, though, this has had the opposite effect for me, and they've come untied on almost every run. Over an easy weekend long run, I even found myself stealing paranoid glances at my feet because I just knew that I'd have to retie them eventually. Otherwise, though, it's a very solid fit.
What's it like to run in the On Cloudmonster Hyper?
Straight away, the Hyper has a noticeably softer underfoot experience compared with the Cloudmonster 2, thanks to the upgraded midsole. In true On fashion, it still runs firmer than other max-cushioned shoes on the market, but it's definitely encroaching into the 'plush' realm more than any On shoe that's come before it.
For a stacked shoe, it also feels really stable, although you do notice the 6mm heel-to-toe drop and the shoe does feel a little blocky on the heel because of the structure of the Cloudtec elements and midsole. I've found that this eases up once you get going (around 7km in), which means you then have a shoe that you don't even need to think about during those longer miles – you can just tune into a steady rhythm. But, for £210, do you really want a shoe that you need to ease into?
When it comes to picking up the pace, I expected more, too. As mentioned previously, there’s no Speedboard in the Cloudmonster Hyper, which is On’s version of a carbon plate. This is slightly puzzling, since the normal Cloudmonster has a Nylon version and the Cloudboom Echo has a carbon one. In theory, I suppose the propulsion on the Hyper is supposed to be coming from the Helion HF foam and the late forefoot rocker. But while the shoe certainly has a bouncy and smooth ride, I don’t feel like it has that same snappy toe-off as the Cloudmonster or even the Cloudeclipse. The energy isn’t bad by any means – it works well for uptempo – I just don't think it's worth £210. And this is my biggest gripe with the shoe: when you can justify such an outlay with outstanding performance, it’s worth it – the Asics Superblast being one such example. But there’s simply not enough going on with the Cloudmonster Hyper for my liking.
On a more positive note, the rubber outsole is fantastic, with the pattern designed to provide more grip than the standard Cloudmonster. My local park can get quite slippy in wet weather, and I've had no issues running around it in these.
RW verdict
On's first super trainer isn't the speediest option on the market, but it does deliver a comfortable, forgiving and stable ride that lends itself to easy runs and longer miles. That said, so does the Cloudmonster 2 — for £40 cheaper. If the Hyper comes back for a second iteration, it needs more rigidity in the forefoot and an overall peppier ride to distinguish it from the rest of On's line-up. If I had to choose between these and the Hoka Skyward X (Hoka's latest super trainer which I also have on test), I'd pick the Skyward any day. With a name like 'Hyper', I expected the Cloudmonster to be on E numbers. Instead, I feel like I've got a tube of Smarties without the blue ones: satisfying, but lacking a little something-something.
