On Cloudboom Strike LS vs Saucony Endorphin Elite 3:
Which to Choose

Start with how similar these are: both are tall, narrow neutral platforms with low stability (2/6), both come alive only when you commit to race pace and feel tippy at an easy jog, and both sit in essentially the same stack tier — right around 39–40mm at the heel — so neither is the "softer" or "firmer" shoe in any meaningful way. The real differences are three. First, drop: the Cloudboom Strike LS runs a lower 4mm offset versus the Endorphin Elite 3's 6mm (Saucony officially lists it at 8mm), so the On sits a touch flatter and more forefoot-oriented while the Saucony keeps a slightly more traditional heel-to-toe geometry. Second, the plate: On's full-length carbon Speedboard delivers a clean, aggressive forward roll, while Saucony's slotted, forked carbon plate is built to add torsional flex — it gives the Elite 3 a marginally more planted, controlled feel through the midfoot, a small but genuine edge given how unstable both platforms are at slow speeds. Third, and biggest, the upper: the LS uses On's LightSpray, a sprayed, seamless, laceless one-piece shell that is spectacularly light and sock-snug but offers no adjustability — the fit is what it is — whereas the Elite 3's laced engineered mesh lets you dial in lockdown conventionally. That upper difference also feeds weight: the On is the lighter of the two, trimming grams with its minimal sprayed build, while the Elite 3 weighs roughly 204g in a men's US 9. Both share the elite-racer caveat of limited outsole durability, so neither is one you'd burn on daily miles.