On Cloud 6 review: are they any good for walking?

I took the On Cloud 6 to Rhodes for a week of travel, town walking and easy coastal wandering, and this review is built on that real use rather than a spec sheet. The short answer to the question most people are asking, "are the On Cloud 6 any good for walking?", is yes, very good, with one honest caveat about what kind of walking. This is a road and lifestyle trainer. It is not a hiking or trail shoe, and I'm not going to pretend it is.

What it is, is a great-looking trainer and one of the most comfortable I've ever put on, and I don't say that lightly. I've spent a lifetime in trainers, mostly expensive ones, whether it's Nike Pegasus, Nike Lunarglide or any number of other premium sports trainers I wear every single day. Against that lot, the Cloud 6 is right up at the top for pure comfort. Light, easy on the foot all day, and more supportive than a shoe this soft has any right to be. If you want a proper trail shoe, I'll point you in the right direction at the end. If you want a do-everything travel and everyday walking trainer, read on.

Who is the On Cloud 6 for?

The Cloud 6 is a road and lifestyle shoe first, and a walking shoe second. It suits you if:

• You want one comfortable pair for travel: airports, city walking, sightseeing, the walk to the beach and back
• You do a lot of everyday and gym-to-town wear and want something light and smart that doesn't look like a hiking shoe
• Your "walking" is pavements, promenades, easy coastal paths and beaches rather than fells, bogs and rocky trail
• You value a soft, cushioned ride and low weight over grip and protection

It is not for you if you want a trail shoe. On mud, wet grass, loose rock, steep ground or anything you'd log on AllTrails as a proper hike, this is the wrong tool. There's no aggressive lug pattern, no rock plate for trail underfoot, and the open sole design lets debris straight in (more on that below). For that kind of walking, look at the walking shoes hub or my guide to trail running shoes vs hiking shoes.

Specs

Type

Road / lifestyle trainer (not a trail shoe)

Weight

~267g per shoe (men's, varies by size)

Upper

Recycled polyester with TPU overlays

Cushioning

Zero-Gravity CloudTec foam pods

Support plate

On's Speedboard (nylon), moulded through the midsole

Heel-to-toe drop

8mm

Closure

Elastic speed laces (slip-on style)

Fit

Reworked wider than the Cloud 5; true to size for medium width

UK price

~£140

The two bits of On tech worth naming are the CloudTec sole and the Speedboard. CloudTec is the signature look: those hollow foam pods (the "clouds") on the underside that compress on impact and are supposed to spring back. The Speedboard is the part most people miss, a moulded plate that runs through the midsole to add a bit of propulsion and, crucially for walking, structure. It's the reason a shoe this soft still feels like it has a backbone.

Comfort and support

This is where the Cloud 6 earns its money. As someone who has worn premium trainers every day for as long as I can remember, from Nike Pegasus to Lunarglide and plenty in between, I've a fair benchmark for what all-day comfort should feel like, and the Cloud 6 sits near the top of it. Straight out of the box it's super comfy and genuinely light on the foot, and I wore it hard for a week without a single hot spot or ache. On a hot Rhodes week, with a lot of walking to and from the beach and around town, that comfort held up all day, every day.

What surprised me was the support. A shoe this soft and light could easily feel like a slipper, all cushion and no structure, and plenty of lifestyle trainers do. The Cloud 6 doesn't. It manages to feel cushioned and supportive at the same time, and I put a lot of that down to the Speedboard plate doing its job underfoot. You get the soft CloudTec landing but the shoe still holds its shape and holds your foot, so long days don't leave your feet feeling like they've been folded in half.

The slip-on, elastic-lace design makes it a brilliant travel shoe too. On and off at airport security without bending down, on and off at the beach, that sort of thing. Small point, but it's the kind of thing you appreciate every single day on a trip.

The CloudTec sole and debris: the honest bit

Here's the question nobody seems to answer properly online, so I'll answer it from the beach: do stones get stuck in On Clouds?

Yes, small ones can, and it's worth understanding why. The shoreline at Kiotari, like a lot of the Greek islands, isn't soft sand. It's small pebbles and an almost gravel-like coarse sand, and you kick that stuff up as you walk. With the Cloud 6, some of it found its way into the open CloudTec pods on the sole. A normal closed-sole shoe wouldn't let any of it in at all, so this is a real trade-off of the design.

But here's the part that matters: it fell back out again just as easily. Debris went in, debris came out, and it didn't build up or wedge in place. It never once spoiled a walk or became something I had to stop and dig out. The pods are open enough to take a small pebble and open enough to release it, so it's an in-and-out thing rather than a stuck-forever thing.

So if you're deciding between the Cloud 6 and something with a solid sole for pebbly beaches and gravel paths, be clear-eyed about it. The CloudTec design will let small debris in where a closed sole wouldn't. In my week of real use that was a minor quirk and nothing more. If the idea of any grit in the sole bothers you, it's a genuine mark against this particular sole style, but for me it didn't detract from the shoe at all.

Grip

I wasn't expecting much grip from a road trainer, but at one point I stopped to climb up a large rock on the shoreline, and the Cloud 6 held nicely. It was grippy enough on dry stone that I felt planted rather than skittish, and I was glad I had a proper shoe on my foot for that rather than flip flops or an open sandal.

That's the honest ceiling of it, though. This is dry, sound rock and easy scrambling, the kind of thing you do on a beach walk, not a wet, mossy, loose trail. There's no deep, directional lug pattern here. On wet rock, mud or loose scree I would not trust this sole, and I wouldn't ask it to do that job. For dry town and coastal surfaces it grips perfectly well.

Where it fits: travel and everyday, not trail

If I'm putting the Cloud 6 in its lane, it's this: a superb travel, everyday and easy-coastal-walking trainer. Over a week abroad it was the shoe I reached for constantly, comfortable from breakfast to the evening walk, light in the bag, smart enough to wear out, and easy on and off. As a gym-to-town and general everyday shoe back home it fills exactly the same role.

What it is not is a replacement for a walking shoe or boot. If your walking involves trail, elevation, wet ground or anything technical, this isn't the shoe, and buying it for that would leave you disappointed and possibly on your backside. The sole style, the grip and the lack of underfoot protection all point the same way: road and lifestyle, not fell.

If you're genuinely trying to work out whether you need a shoe or a boot for actual hiking, my guide to walking shoes vs walking boots breaks that down, and the trail running shoes vs hiking shoes guide covers the lighter trail options. The walking shoes hub has the shoes I'd actually take on the coast path.

Pros

• Superb all-day comfort, held up over a full week of hot-weather travel
• Light on the foot and light in the bag
• More supportive than it looks, thanks to the Speedboard plate
• Slip-on elastic laces make it a brilliant travel shoe
• Grippier than expected on dry rock
• Smart enough to wear anywhere, not just for walking

Cons

• It's a road and lifestyle trainer, not a hiking or trail shoe
• Open CloudTec sole lets small pebbles and grit in on gravelly ground (though they fall back out)
• No aggressive lugs: not for mud, wet rock or loose terrain
• At ~£140 it's a premium price for what is, ultimately, an everyday shoe

Verdict

The On Cloud 6 is one of the best travel and everyday walking trainers I've worn. A week on Rhodes told me everything I needed to know: superb comfort, low weight, and a level of support a soft shoe like this shouldn't manage, all courtesy of the Speedboard underfoot. As the do-everything shoe for a trip, it was faultless.

The CloudTec sole letting small debris in is the one real quirk, and I'd rather be straight about it than hide it: on a pebbly, gravelly beach, bits get in. They also fall straight back out, and it never once spoiled a walk. Weigh that up if solid-sole cleanliness matters to you.

Just buy it for the right job. This is a travel, everyday, gym-to-town and easy-coastal shoe, and a very good one. It is not a trail shoe, and if hiking is what you're after, spend your money on something built for it. On its own terms, though, the Cloud 6 is an easy shoe to recommend.

Rating: 4.4 / 5

On Cloud 6 FAQ