Here’s an unpopular opinion: we liked the Cloudsurfer 2.

We know, we know. When it launched back in February 2025, plenty of reviewers weren’t shy about hating on it. But we’ve put 194 miles into ours (thank you, Strava, for keeping the receipts) and we’ve never really understood the hate. We put them through long runs and track days. They were never going to win a race for you, but they were never trying to. What they did, every single time, was feel comfortable and responsive. Solid materials, always stable underfoot. We never understood the hate.

Our one real knock? Longevity. At 194 miles, ours are pretty much dead — flat, tread all but gone. They’re about to get demoted to lawnmowing shoes. IYKYK.

So if you want the full breakdown of how we got there, go back and read our original Cloudsurfer 2 announcement from launch day. But today, that shoe officially has a successor.

On just announced the Cloudsurfer 3, and it’s built around a brand-new foam compound the brand is calling its biggest cushioning breakthrough yet.

What’s New

The headline here is Surreal™, a brand-new superfoam that On says is lighter, softer, and more responsive than Helion, the compound that’s powered its everyday trainers up to this point. It was developed in-house at On’s Foam Competency Center at On Labs Zurich.

But On isn’t presenting this as just “new foam.” It’s that the foam and the geometry around it were engineered together. The CloudTec Phase system has been redesigned so its Cloud elements compress in sequence as your foot moves through the stride, rather than the foam just doing all the work on its own.

And On backs that up with data; numbers pulled from internal Finite Element Analysis simulations comparing the combined Surreal-plus-CloudTec-Phase system against the superfoam by itself.

They’re highlighting a 15.5% deepening in compression and a 9.9% reduction in peak braking force. And yes, those are On’s own lab comparisons of the new system versus the new foam alone, not a head-to-head against the Cloudsurfer 2, so we’re not treating them as a direct generational comparison.

Plus, numbers are cool and all but we’ll highlight down the road if we can feel a difference when running.

On’s President and COO Scott Maguire says the shoe is proof that engineering structure into the foam, not just creating a new compound, is what unlocked the extra performance.

And Product Manager Zoé Gerdil said, the goal was cushioning that still felt effortless and smooth from landing to takeoff, not just soft.

Comparing to the Cloudsurfer 2

Looking through the announcement, here’s the full rundown of what changed from the Cloudsurfer 2:

• New Surreal Superfoam: Replaces Helion as On’s everyday-trainer foam, aiming for a softer, more responsive ride
• Re-engineered CloudTec Phase: Reworked cloud orientation designed for a smoother, more continuous roll from heel to toe
• Evolved Warp Knit Upper: A new engineered mesh built for breathability and a more adaptive, secure fit
• Lower Drop: Down to 8mm from 9mm on the Cloudsurfer 2
• Heavier Shoe: Up to 285g from 260g. Will this make a big difference?
• Price: These sit at the ever popular, $160, making it the same as before

A Worthy Successor?

Too early to say given this is just the announcement but we’re hoping to get our feet into a pair, ASAP.

Given how much we ended up liking the shoe this one is replacing, and given On is pounding its chest about new superfoam, and re-engineered tech, we’ve got real expectations for this — even if its heavier.

We’ll have a full review once we’ve logged some actual miles.

For now, the shoe will pre-launch exclusively through specialist running retailers on October 1 with a full global launch across all channels including On’s website and retail stores in early 2027.

Until then: rest in peace to our Cloudsurfer 2s. You did your job.