Quick take
In short: what each side says
AI panel · Buyers — each opened up in full further down ↓
Best on Gemini (avg #11.0), weakest on Perplexity (#18.0)
Owners love the shoe's versatile design, cushioning, and comfort for travel and daily wear, but some find it lacks structural support on uneven terrain and has fit inconsistencies.
The juries split — Divided. Check both sides before you commit.
Main competitors
Top rivals in Running Shoes.
The verdict
What the panel makes of it.
The Cloudultra 2 ranks #22 for trail running but excels as a versatile daily wearer with strong cushioning and comfort; however, buyers report inconsistent fit and limited support on rough terrain, making it better suited for roads and travel than serious off-road use.
Act one
What the machines think.
Several AI models read the category and place this product — model by model, list by list, over time.
Model by model?
How each AI sees it.
Best on Gemini (avg #11.0), weakest on Perplexity (#18.0) Averaging across the AI panel, Cloudultra 2 sits around #14.5 this snapshot.
Grok
—
Didn’t rank Cloudultra 2 this snapshot.
GPT
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Didn’t rank Cloudultra 2 this snapshot.
AI Mode
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Didn’t rank Cloudultra 2 this snapshot.
Claude
Didn’t rank Cloudultra 2 this snapshot.
Rank trajectory?
Weeks of movement.
Act two · ★ new
What the people say.
The same product, judged by the owners who bought and filmed it — what they praise, what they knock, who it's for.
What buyers say?
What Google knows about it.
Beyond the video critics, Google pools 103 buyer ratings of the Cloudultra 2 from across retailers — a far wider, if blunter, jury. Here’s the shape of that opinion.
103 ratings · 7 written
across 4 retailers
What owners single out
Review 1 highlights loose fit and insufficient lateral support on trails, echoing concerns about structural support that video reviewers may have raised for off-road performance.
In their words
“On Cloudultra has always been my go to shoe for traveling. It's trendy and versatile. I used it for gym, walking and running in all my travels to the extent that the sole was worn out. I was extremely happy to find the On Cloudultra 2.0. It did not even need to be worn in, performing well on my daily 10km walks. Looks really good too”
Nazly K. · verified purchase · thesportsconceptstore.co.za
“These are roomie and comfortable but not a shoe I’d recommend for hiking or running on dirt. My feet move around a lot in them and the material is very giving and airy which is great for the summer but because of that they don’t have structure to support your foot on the material parts(sides, top etc). Maybe sticking to pavement would be better but I’ve only used them on trails.”
Greg B · verified purchase · backcountry.com
as of June 25 · 103 buyer ratings?
Act three · ★ new
Do they agree?
Put the machine's rank and the owners' score in one frame, settle it with a verdict, and answer the only question that matters: should you buy it?
The disagreement
Where the juries actually split.
Gemini
#11avg rank
ranks it highest of the panel
Perplexity
#18avg rank
the most sceptical model
owners 4.4★ sits outside the models' split.
owners 4.4★Per-model average ranks from this week's panel?
Frequent rivals?
What it competes against.
- Agility Peak 6MerrellOn leads 1–0 · 1 sharedRead
- Akasha IILa SportivaOn leads 1–0 · 1 sharedRead
- Challenger 8HokaOn leads 1–0 · 1 sharedRead
- Terrex Speed UltraAdidasOn leads 1–0 · 1 sharedRead
- Trabuco Max 4ASICSOn leads 1–0 · 1 sharedRead
- Xodus Ultra 3SauconyOn leads 1–0 · 1 sharedRead
- Terrex Agravic Speed UltraAdidasOn leads 1–0 · 1 sharedRead
Alternatives by price · Same field?
Same field, less money.
The recap
Where it stands today.
- PositionBest rank #11 across 1 intent tracked (no change vs last snapshot).
- FootprintStrongest in Best Trail Running Shoes (#11).
- TraitsMost often described as “cushioning” (2 mentions).
- Closest rivalAgility Peak 6 (1–0 across 1 shared intent).
- MakerBy On — see how it ranks across other intents on its brand profile.
browse Cloudultra 2 in these categories