Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 4 vs On Cloudboom Strike LS:
Which to Choose

Start with the common ground, because there's a lot of it. Both ride on tall, narrow neutral platforms with heel stacks right around 39mm (39mm on the Adios Pro 4, 39.5mm on the Cloudboom Strike LS), both pair a springy PEBA-class foam with a carbon plate, and both feel tippy and unsettled at jog pace but snap to life once you're genuinely racing — roughly 3:00–3:45 min/km for the Adios and 2:55–3:30 for the Cloudboom. Neither offers any pronation support; these are shoes for runners whose form already holds together at speed. The first real split is weight: the Cloudboom Strike LS is one of the lightest marathon shoes made, at about 170g, versus roughly 201g for the Adios Pro 4 — a noticeable gap you'll feel over the back half of a long race. That lightness comes from On's LightSpray upper, a sprayed, seamless one-piece shell that saves grams but gives you a snug, sock-like, essentially non-adjustable midfoot; the Adios uses a more conventional thin racing mesh that lets you dial lace tension and tends to suit a wider range of foot shapes. The second split is geometry and ride character: the Adios runs a ~6mm drop with a 33mm forefoot, while the Cloudboom sits lower at a 4mm drop on a taller 35.5mm forefoot, pushing you even further onto the forefoot. Propulsion differs too — Adidas uses carbon-infused EnergyRods, which allow a touch more natural toe-off flex, while On's full-length carbon Speedboard delivers a more unified, continuous forward roll. Finally, range: the Adios Pro 4 is rated from 10K through the marathon and happily handles shorter, sharper efforts, whereas the Cloudboom Strike LS is really a half-and-full-marathon specialist. The Adios also carries a Continental rubber outsole for dependable grip, while the Cloudboom's sprayed upper prioritizes weight over structure.