Our verdict

Upon wearing the On Cloud 5, we finally understood the hype around this high-class footwear. It is a quality lifestyle shoe that shines as a daily driver and as an athleisure option. If you are someone living on the go, we can attest that you will be delighted with its weightless construction and the ease of on-and-off. This shoe just disappears on the foot.

Pros

  • Perfect for all-day wear
  • Unbelievably lightweight
  • Can do low-impact workouts
  • Amazing in-shoe feel
  • Very breathable
  • Super easy on-off
  • Great flexibility
  • Regular laces are added
  • Sustainable materials (44%)

Cons

  • Not for wide feet
  • Lacks durability
  • Outsole catches pebbles

Audience verdict

88
Good!
  • Top 3% most popular walking shoes

Who should buy

This is a fine shoe if you want a fusion of classy and sporty for daily use. This On Cloud is ready for walks of any distance, long hours of standing at work, traveling, or simply enjoying your weekend leisure. What makes the shoe really stand out though is its extreme lightness. It is perfect for the fans of lightweight walking shoes.

on-cloud-5-lab-review

As a nice bonus, it can also be used for light home workouts, body weight, or with lighter dumbells and kettlebells. You can wear it for warm-up treadmill runs too as long as you keep your runs short and casual.

Who should NOT buy

Because of its close resemblance to many other On Cloud shoes, the Cloud 5 is easy to confuse for a running shoe or a gym shoe. But we find that this trainer should be limited to daily wear. So, if you were hoping to get a performance shoe, consider the following alternatives:

  • a shoe to walk in AND do your runs and workouts, a much better (and cheaper) option would be the Reebok Nano X1;
  • a proper running shoe from On is the Cloudflow 3.0.

We also find the shoe’s exposed foam concerning for long-term durability. So, if you know that you’ll be dragging your feet or kicking stones here and there, try the On Cloud X. It is very similar in design but is far superior in durability with its beefier outsole and more rubber.

on-cloud-5-lab-tested

Cushioning

Shock absorption

New

This section is a work in progress

Test results
Cloud 5 114 SA
Average 112 SA
Compared to 16 walking shoes
Number of shoes
95 SA
Shock absorption
133 SA

Size and fit

Size

On Cloud 5 is true to size (2216 votes).

Owners of this shoe, how does this shoe fit?

1 size small ½ size small True to size ½ size large 1 size large
Compared to 38 walking shoes
Number of shoes
½ size small
Slightly small
True to size
Slightly large
½ size large

Flexibility / Stiffness

New

The Cloud 5 proved to be one of the most flexible walking shoes in our lab. Its incredible pliability translated into very seamless heel-to-toe transitions on the walk.

Based on our flexibility testing machine measurement, it is nearly 50% bendier than the average walking shoe. It took only 7.4N to bend this On shoe by 30 degrees.

Twisting the Cloud 5, we found that it had a lot of torsional give too. On a 1-5 stiffness scale, we rated it as low as 2/5.

On Cloud 5 Flexibility Stiffness
New test (recommended)
Old test
Test results
Cloud 5 7.4N
Average 13.9N
Compared to 33 walking shoes
Number of shoes
1.0N
Flexibility <> Stiffness
27.4N