ON CLOUDBOOM STRIKE LS
When Hellen Obiri, the Kenyan distance runner and two-time 5000m Olympic silver medalist, takes her place on the starting line of the Olympic marathon in Paris next month, it will be the global debut of the On Cloudboom Strike LS, the most technically advanced running shoe ever made. Though Obiri won the Boston marathon in a custom model of the shoe this year, this will be the first time the shoe is commercially available.
According to The New York Times, the first time Obiri saw the shoes she said, “No, I can’t run with these.” The shoes had no laces. They had no heel cap — a hard plate at the back kept the foot in place. They were made of a weird, stretchy, plastic-y material.
The Cloudboom Strike LS is manufactured using a single 1.5km long filament that is spun by a robotic arm onto a high-performance racing midsole to create an ultra-thin, mesh-like upper. Forming the complete shoe upper in a single step means no glues or seams. Elastic and fully moldable to every foot, means no need for laces. Like a second skin, the Cloudboom Strike LS offers a precision fit.
The process also minimizes waste and emits 75% less CO2 than On’s other premium uppers. And because the filament is a thermoplastic, the upper can be melted down and reused at the end of a shoe’s life cycle.
Meanwhile underfoot, two layers of Helion™ HF hyper foam provide high energy return and impact absorption, with a pre-shaped, stiff carbon fiber Speedboard® sandwiched between, for powerful propulsion at every stride. Each shoe is fully assembled in just three minutes – a little less than the world record for the men’s mile.
Coming soon, the On Cloudboom Strike LS retails for $330, available at ON.com.
