On Cloudboom Strike LS vs Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 5:
Which to Choose
Verdict
These are two of the closest-matched super-shoes you can cross-shop: same drop, essentially the same stack and weight, same narrow neutral racing character, same half-and-marathon mission with the marathon as the sweet spot. The decision isn't about which is faster — it's about mechanism and fit. Take the Cloudboom Strike LS for its full-length carbon plate's assertive forward roll and its weightless laceless upper; take the Adios Pro 5 for the EnergyRim's foam-led, firm-until-loaded ride and a laced upper you can actually adjust. Either way you're getting a genuine PB tool — so let your foot shape and your preference for plate-snap versus foam-roll make the call.
Pace
6 of 6
Cushioning
5 of 6
Responsiveness
6 of 6
Stability
2 of 6
Drop
4 mm
Support
Neutral
Plate
Carbon
Distances
HalfMarathon
Pace
6 of 6
Cushioning
5 of 6
Responsiveness
6 of 6
Stability
2 of 6
Drop
4 mm
Support
Neutral
Plate
Carbon
Distances
HalfMarathon
At a Glance
On Cloudboom Strike LSAdidas Adizero Adios Pro 5
Who Should Choose Each Shoe
Choose
On Cloudboom Strike LS
Choose the Cloudboom Strike LS if you want the most aggressive, plate-driven ride of the two — a continuous carbon Speedboard that rolls you forward hard — and you like the idea of a laceless, sprayed one-piece upper that disappears on your foot. It's the pick for the runner at the very fastest end, comfortable at sub-3:15/km efforts, who has a narrow-to-medium foot and doesn't need to dial in lace tension. If you value minimal weight and a locked-in, no-fuss fit over adjustability, this is your shoe.
Choose
Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 5
Choose the Adizero Adios Pro 5 if you'd rather the foam and geometry do the work than ride a stiff full-length plate — the EnergyRim gives a firm-until-loaded, roll-forward feel that some runners find more natural over a long marathon. It's also the better bet if you want a traditional laced upper you can adjust for precise lockdown, provided your foot is on the narrower side. Committed half and marathon racers whose sweet spot sits right around 3:00–3:15/km and who prefer propulsion that builds with effort rather than snapping at them will be happiest here.
Head-to-Head
Start with the specs, because they are almost identical. Both run a 4mm drop and sit right at roughly 39mm of heel stack and 35mm up front (the Strike LS at 39.5/35.5mm, the Adios Pro 5 at 39/35mm), so neither is meaningfully taller or more protective than the other, and both stop just shy of max-stack territory. Both are ultralight — the Adios Pro 5 is about 175g in a men's US 9, and the Strike LS lands within a handful of grams of that — and both pair a PEBA-class top layer over a secondary foam for a soft-but-lively feel that firms up and rebounds hard the faster you go. Both are rated low on stability: tall, narrow neutral platforms with no pronation support that feel tippy at jog pace and settle only once you're truly moving. The real divergence is in the propulsion mechanism and the upper. The Cloudboom Strike LS uses a full-length carbon Speedboard, which gives a continuous, aggressive forward roll and a stiffer, more insistent snap through toe-off. The Adios Pro 5 deliberately skips the full plate, instead lining the perimeter with a carbon-infused EnergyRim; the result is a ride that stays firm until you load it with pace and then rolls you forward through the geometry rather than levering you off a stiff board — a slightly less dictated, more foam-driven feel. The uppers also ask for different things: the Strike LS wears On's sprayed, seamless, laceless LightSpray shell, which saves weight and hugs the midfoot but offers no adjustability, while the Adios Pro 5's laced Lightlock 2.0 upper is compressive and narrow but lets you fine-tune lockdown. On pace, they overlap heavily, but the Strike LS's optimal window stretches a touch faster at the top (2:55–3:15 min/km where it returns the most) versus the Adios Pro 5's 3:00–3:15 min/km sweet spot.
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