Everything I know about the Cloud Edge Moon

On's Cloud Edge Moon, Collector's Edition Shoe

***19 JULY UPDATE***

If you sign up for their email, On will make the purchase for the Cloud Edge Moon available at the following time on 20 July:

9:00 am Pacific Time

12:00 pm Eastern Time

You can check out more from them here: On's CLOUD EDGE MOON Pre-Order



***Original Post***

  I received an email from On this morning that they would be releasing their first collector’s edition shoe, the Cloud Edge Moon to commemorate the 50^th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.  I bought the regular Cloud Edge when it first came out over a year ago as a limited edition shoe, so my interest peaked when I saw this, especially since the Cloud Edge is such a durable shoe that I still wear to this day.

A closer look

 From what I’ve learned so far, the Cloud Edge Moon will be limited to 999 pairs available and will only come in white and metallic gold. 

The Original Cloud Edge

 Since the shoes are based off the Cloud Edge, now known as the Cloud Terry, they have a great foundation. You can see my initial review of the Cloud Edge here:

and my follow-up review of them here: 

Back to the Cloud Edge Moon, the shoe is mostly white with a metallic gold tongue and gold back heel pull tab.  The white and gold shoe laces are the speed laces that are typical for the On Cloud and the Cloud Edge/Terry.  That means that you don’t tie the laces, but instead you do the initial adjustment before putting a knot at the end of the laces to keep them in place.  I love these laces and wish more shoes would use this design. 

  There are two spots that On added a Velcro tab, as inspiration from the astronauts’ gear.  The front Velcro strap will feature the number of the shoe along with the total number of shoes made. So, if your order was 573, you should see “573/999” printed on the front strap.  The back strap is for some sort of personalization that you can send to On when you order the shoes, but I don’t know the number of characters can be used.

  One of the features is a great nod to the lunar landings, but not everyone will see it.  On the inside, the sock liner has a partial picture of the moon, earth’s only natural satellite printed on it.  That’s pretty cool, but again, how many will see it unless you take the shoe off to show people?

You could be stepping on the moon
when you wear these.

  Of course, this wouldn’t be an On shoe without their Cloudtec pockets, and it looks like the Cloud Edge Moon is definitely aligned with the On Cloud's outsole. 

  The only issue I have with the shoes is the price. At 250 U.S. dollars, these are definitely a collector’s edition shoe, but for that price I could own two pairs of the On Cloud or even get that Nike Vaporfly 4% that everyone has been raving about for the past year.  Still these shoes look phenomenal from what I’ve seen, but it would be very strange to casually race in them or wearing them every day on non-special occasions.

The On Cloudstratus: A First Look

I got the On Cloudstratus because it looked like a good alternative to the Cloudflyer, my favorite running shoe from On.  The Cloudstratus features a dual layer of Cloudtec pockets and has a composite make-up of Helion superfoam mixed with another type of foam that On likes to use.

  I will have a more in depth article on the On Cloudstratus after I run in the shoes more, but in the mean time, go ahead and check out my video above to see and hear more about the latest offering from On.

The On Cloudstratus has been released!

On Cloudstratus crushing it

On 20 June, On released their latest shoe, the On Cloudstratus. It is a running shoe that has a double layer of Cloudtec pockets, contains On’s latest superfoam called Helion, and incorporates elements from other On shoes such as the star lace pattern from the On Cloudflyer and the asymmetric upper that I’ve seen on the On Cloud shoes.

On Cloudflyer's star pattern lacing system

  I’ve been a fan of On and their shoes for almost two years now. I’ve owned several of their shoes and did reviews of them on YouTube. I even bought a pair of their limited edition On Cloud Edge last year, which is now known as the Cloud Terry, and I still wear them to this day because of their comfort and durability.

a hole formed on my Cloudswift...

  But recently, On has had an issue come up with this year’s shoe models that have gotten several groups and fans a little upset: the heel interior’s fabric will rub and form a hole when your heel will come in contact with the shoe. A hole may even form on the top of the shoe at the heel area. This all sounds like the fabric has friction problems. My On Cloud Edge has this issue, but it’s from me wearing them almost every day for everything.  My On Cloudswift are only three months old and they have formed a hole in the inside. Nowhere near as big as Chris Ford’s On Cloudswift.  This is definitely an issue that On needs to address, but I honestly don’t think it will be fixed until they release next year’s models of running shoes.

...and on the other shoe as well

  In the meantime, I did debate on getting the On Cloudstratus. While the hole was a concern, personally it was mostly a cosmetic one, even though no one can see it unless I take the shoes off. Also, On has never disappointed me when it comes to the durability and comfort of their shoes.  As a fan of On, I can overlook the shoes’ ability to collect rocks and burrs because I know about it and can adjust my running habits (and routes) accordingly. 

  And I’m hoping the On Cloudstratus is another good substitute for the On Cloudace, arguably the best cushioned On shoe.  The On Cloudflyer is a very good alternative to the Cloudace and I want to find out if the Cloudstratus will rank there as well. I’m still a fan of On and their shoes, but I don’t want to blindly follow them and buy everything they have (and praise all that they do without checking and testing it out beforehand). I’ll have something on it shortly after the shoes arrive in a few days.

  In the meantime, check out my review on the Cloudswift and Cloudflyer running shoes.

Running Shoes and AAFES: Now a Good Option

Under Armour. They make decent running shoes now

  For the vast majority of my military career, I would go to the local Post or Base Exchange, PX for the Army and BX for the Air Force, and just buy the cheapest pair of running shoes that would fit my feet. I didn’t pay attention to tread, didn’t know about quality, and definitely only cared about how little they cost. I knew about brands such as Nike, Reebok, and Adidas and in my younger days figured that name recognition would take care of quality.  I heard all about how to take care of my feet from the Army’s fitness trainers, serious runners, and teammates who competed in high school and collegiate sports, but figured that I wouldn’t worry about my feet and legs unless they started hurting.

New Balance. The first good non-Big Three shoes I would wear.

  My thought process changed about 10 years ago when I realized I was no longer the youthful, energetic person I was at 17 and that while I had been more fortunate than most of my military friends when it came to injuries, I need to take care of my body to keep going.

Brooks. Even more models and colors than I expected

  Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with Nike, Reebok, or Adidas, but the local military exchange used to carry some shoe brands that looked like running shoes but I never heard of before. And it was about a decade ago, that I noticed the Army and Air Forces Exchange Service (AAFES) started carrying running shoe brands that the running world was familiar with. I saw Brooks, noticed Asics, glanced at New Balance and it was the New Balance shoes that I started using because I remembered some of the faster runners in my unit wearing them.  I also discovered that New Balance wasn’t as expensive as I thought they would be.

Asics, a very good brand that gets overlooked

  These days, the local Base and Post Exchanges carry a good variety of running shoes. Running shoes with name brand recognition and a reputation of performing well for runners.  Durability, quality, and comfort need to be emphasized and the shoe section comes out swinging. 

Brooks running shoes a plenty

  I recently visited the local post exchange and saw a various of running shoe brands that would give your average running store a run for its money, no pun intended.  Besides the usual suspects of Nike, Reebok, and Adidas, I came across Brooks, Mizuno, Saucony, New Balance, Under Armour, Hoka, and Asics.  While I have yet to try running in Under Armour shoes, I know several cross fitters who swear by them for their short distance running.  In addition to road running, I also noticed that AAFES carries trail and hiking shoes by Merrell. I’ve worn their gear before and love the traction.

Salomon. Not a brand I was expecting in AAFES

  The one brand that I did not see, and I absolutely love is the On running shoe company.  But to be fair, I’ve only seen three stores in my city carry them and one of them isn’t known for selling running shoes.

 Shoe prices ranged from 40 dollars (USD) to over 120 dollars, with most shoes hovering around the 80 dollar price mark.  Because shoe companies seem to offset their yearly models from other companies’ schedules, you can find some shoe brands models on sale or even clearance.  While most AAFES employees don’t have advanced knowledge on the various shoe brands, they are able to help determine if you need a neutral, stability, or motion control shoe and there are even a few minimalist shoes as options.  I recommend that if you don’t know what type of shoe you already need, you should bring along a friend or someone from your unit or group who knows quite a bit about running shoes to help you.

  And the best part of getting running shoes is that you do not get charged tax, which can save you even more.

 

Merrell. For those who like to go off the road

Crunch Time - Last Week Before My Half-Marathon

  In less than a week, I will be running in my first half-marathon in over two years.  I’ve always been comfortable running 5k distances and most of the time can relax while running 10 kilometers, but any distance over 10 miles involves some thinking and preparation, no matter the activity.

  I still remember the time that I went off on temporary duty (TDY) for five weeks while my Soldiers prepared for a 12 mile ruck march.  For those who don’t know, a ruck march is a “favored” military activity in which you walk quickly with some weight in your backpack.  My male Soldiers had at least 25 pounds in their rucksack while my female Soldiers carried at least 20 pounds.  Since their training and the execution date for their ruck march would occur while I was gone, I didn’t train at all, and instead focused on my running.  However, the last week of my TDY, I got word that their scheduled ruck march was delayed a week and not many of the unit’s leadership would be able to be out there to do it with them; this event was at the company level, and I was in charge of a platoon at the time.  I didn’t have to participate, but I passed word to my squad leaders and platoon sergeant that I might do it with them.  Now, for over about two years, I had special ruck; I took a rucksack frame and mounted a radio boombox on it with several bungee cords and little the necessary weights to make the 25 pound minimum (I know some units say that the ruck should weigh at least 35 pounds, but when you’re at post that likes to ride around in vehicles, I don’t think “they” cared THAT much to keep up with the lighter units).  Rucking involves a different pair of footgear and for me, which includes a different stride and gait.  And I had not prepared at all to do a ruck march, much less a 12 mile one.

  After I got home from TDY, I prepped my ruck by replacing the batteries and checking the cords to make sure the boombox wouldn’t rattle if I go fast.  The next day was the ruck march and I met up with my platoon to do it with them.  There were several mid-level NCOs (non-commissioned officers: staff sergeants and regular ole sergeants) from the other platoons out there in addition to my NCOs and me.  In fact, I was the only officer to be out there with the company for some reason.   We start our march, and I start up my boombox.  I had a playlist already built for an occasion like this, so we marched off to Army band music, because I wanted it to sound serious in the company and battalion area, but once we hit the last road, the music changed to songs associated with Hollywood war movies. 

  At the two mile mark, one of the NCOs from another platoon quit.  That really chapped my hide because I didn’t get to prepare for five-six weeks and here’s this one guy who was supposed to be setting an example and he just ups and quits.  Went back to the company.  His feet weren’t even hurting.  That made me even more determined to finish this with my platoon.  So we continued on the ruck march, probably to Jimi Hendrix’s “All Along the Watchtower.” 

  I finished that ruck march tired and a little sore, but amazingly with no blisters and just the slightest heat spots on my feet.

  This Saturday is the True to the Brew half-marathon at Croft State Park.  I have trained some, but nowhere near to the extent that I wish I had.  I have my equipment for this race, to include new trail running shoes and for the first time ever, I will be wearing a running vest.  I need one to carry a battery charger since I will be recording the race with my GoPro and the Karma Grip (for stable footage to keep people from getting motion sickness).  I’ve tested my electronics.  I’ve worn my new trail shoes for almost a month to make sure I’m familiar with how they feel.  I’ve adjusted my running vest to (hopefully) make sure it doesn’t jingle around while I’m running.  Let’s hope that this preparation, to include getting in several six mile (ten kilometer) runs in and an eight mile run will help prepare me than that time I rucked without six weeks of practice.

New Balance Fresh Foam Vongo V3 Running Shoes Testing

The Shoe Vault

  I had a chance to try out the New Balance Free Foam Vongo V3 running shoes while attending the weekly Fleet Feet running event.  Normally on Tuesdays, Fleet Feet hosts a “Pack the Park” event in one of the local parks.  On this particular Pack the Park, a New Balance representative would be there along with several different types of New Balance shoes for us to try on during our run, however, the park was closed and we tested out the shoes on a pre-determined route by Fleet Feet. 

  The New Balance representative had four different models of shoes for us to choice from: the 860, 880, the 1080, and the Vongo Fresh Foam.  While I am usually an On Cloud person when it comes to running shoes, I have been wearing On’s Cloudflyer for the past several months because of the stability it offers. 

The Shoes To Try

  While perusing the various shoes on the rack under the New Balance tent, I asked the New Balance rep what the various numbers meant.  She quickly replied that I was looking at the shoe sizes marked on the bottom of the shoes.  I chuckled and said that I knew about the shoe sizes but didn’t comprehend the model numbers. That’s when she explained what 860 (support and stability), 880 (neutral support), and 1080 (neutral) were.  Talking about my current running shoes, the Cloudflyer, she suggested I go with either the 860 or the Vongo.

  After selecting the Fresh Foam Vongo V3 because they offered a more tradition form of support for stability running, I walked around to get a feel for the shoes.  They were kind of dusty on the outside, but I attributed that to me wearing a size 10, which is a fairly common shoe size.  Walking around the outside of Fleet Feet on the asphalt felt okay.  It was nice walking without adjusting my stance like I do for the Altra Lone Peak 3.5 with their Zero Drop foot feature.  I wandered around in the Vongos and tried to put them to the test with walking: I moved while widening my stride, I would pivot in them and listen for any squeaking or other weird noises. 

 Other people were still checking out I continued walking and then started stretching my legs and rotating my ankles since I ran in the Labor Day 5 Miler the previous day and my ankle was hurting at two different times during that event.  When the last person picked out a pair of shoe for the demo run, we unofficially officially began our warm-up exercises.  I kept toiling with ways to make the Vongo V3 flex and move about, and yet they still felt fine before the run. 

Stretching Out

  We went for our three mile run, though others who were faster opted for the four mile try-out on their New Balance shoes.  Everything felt okay and normal with the Vongo V3 at first.  I start behind most of the other runners and slowly work my way past each person, similar to what I do during a race.  I had no intention of passing anyone, but the cushioning felt pretty good and the shoes were comfortable. 

However, near the one mile mark of the run, both of my heels started to hurt each time I hit the asphalt.  That pain endured for almost a quarter of a mile.  It was a rather annoying pain that I couldn’t stop thinking about, but wasn’t enough to prevent me from continuing running.  The cushioning wasn’t helping and it almost felt like the support was not there anymore. When I hit the halfway point and turnaround, I let one of the Fleet Feet people know that my feet were hurting but I would finish the run. 

  It took about another five minutes before the pain in my heels went away during the run.  I have no idea what happened, and I couldn’t tell if the pain was residual from the race the previous day or if it was from the Vongo V3 themselves. The treads on the soles looked fairly new, but the dust atop the shoes told a slightly different story.  The pain subsided to almost nothingness by the time I finished the run, but I couldn’t help but think about what caused it. 

  I will say that while the Vongo V3 felt good before the run and okay after the run, if I hadn’t ran in the On Cloudace two weeks prior, I wouldn’t have a good gauge to on when it came to testing shoes.  With the Cloudace, I can easily compare them to my Cloudflyer and feel the difference.  Both models of On shoes offer cushioning, but the Cloudace was so comfortable, provided a lot of support, and didn’t have issues.  As for the Vongo running shoes, the other direct comparison I can do is with my New Balance Vazee shoes which I don’t usually wear for races, though I did wear them for a 6.5 trail race and a couple of 5k and a 10k run in the past. The Vongo feels better than the Vazee, seems to provide more support, but the traction on both felt about the same. 

  Proper footgear is essential when running and I was very fortunate throughout my Army career that, to my knowledge, I didn’t have any foot issues.  I know too many people who got out of the service and either had difficulty running afterwards or couldn’t run at all.  If you get a chance, test shoes before you buy, and definitely if you are given an opportunity to do a demo run with a shoe company, go for it.