We Reviewed 17 Nurse Shoes for 12 Hour Shifts. Here Are the Top 5
(According to the Nurses Who Wear Them)
Hour 8 of a 12. Your feet are screaming. Your shoes are only a few months old and still look fine.
It's not your feet. It's the shoes. The support inside wears out long before the outside looks worn. Most work shoes are built to look tough, not to stay soft. So you blame your feet and buy another pair every six months.
So we read the reviews. 17 popular work shoes, real nurse and customer reviews. We ranked the best 5 on four things that matter on a 12 hour shift.
Top 5 at a Glance
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#1Ortho Pro$69.99 · Feels like a sock9.4
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#2Hoka$155+ · Bulky over a shift6.5
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#3Brooks~$150 · Loved by flat feet6
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#4Dansko~$165 · High arches only4.9
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#5Clove~$145 · Easy clean, toes hurt4
How we judged them
Here's what we found.
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1Soft from hour 1Does it feel soft from the first hour? Hard shoes squeeze. You feel it fast.
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2Lasts past month 6Does it hold up past month 6? The support inside quits before the outside looks worn.
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3Toe room at 12Is there room for your toes at hour 12? That's where nurses say the pain starts.
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4Worth the priceIs it worth the price? Most popular picks run $145 to $175 a pair.
Nurse Babes Ortho Pro
Our Top Pick · $69.99 | nursebabes.com · 4.9 stars · 64,000+ reviews
The top scorer on all four points. The only shoe on our list nurses describe as feeling like a sock, and the only one where reviewers say the insides outlast the outside.
It's a soft knit shoe, not a stiff sneaker. The upper gives instead of squeezing, a natural toe box leaves room at hour 12, and it's ultra light. Dave K. called it 'the most comfortable sneaker sock shoe that I have ever worn.' Sally, a PSW, wrote: '...your soft fabric which molds to your feet.'
The price. Ortho Pro is $69.99. With Buy 2, Get 1 Free, three pairs cost $139.98, about $47 a pair. Less than one pair of anything else on this list. HSA/FSA eligible too.
- Feels like a sock (soft knit upper)
- Natural toe box, room at hour 12
- Reviewers say insides outlast the outside
- Slip resistant, ultra light
- $69.99, Buy 2 Get 1 Free, HSA/FSA eligible
- You'll probably end up buying multiple colors
- Almost too light to feel like real shoes
- Free shipping only on orders $90+
Still Soft Months Later?
That's the real question.
Kathy R. wore hers over six months, working two jobs, over 16 hours, 4 days a week: 'I've been wearing these nurse babes for over six months they are the most comfortable shoes I've ever worn.'
Debra R., a verified buyer, wrote: 'They are the first pair that i wear out the outside of the shoe before the insides.'
Three pairs, three colorways. $139.98 total.
Hoka
The Popular Pick · $155 to $175 | hoka.com
Ask any break room and Hoka comes up first. For a lot of nurses, the cushion feels great from day one.
But some nurses find it too bulky over a long shift. One wrote: 'I tried hokas and they always make my knees hurt after.'
- Most recommended by nurses overall
- Great cushion from day one
- Some nurses report knee pain
- Too bulky over a long shift
- $155 to $175 a pair
Verdict: great cushion, but it misses on toe room and worth the price.
Brooks
The Runner's Pick · ~$150 (Ghost 17) | brooksrunning.com
A genuinely loved running shoe, especially for flat feet. One wrote: 'The best shoes I have found are Brooks. I love them dearly and my back and joints do too.'
Flat footed nurses pair them with compression socks and swear by the cushion. At about $150 a pair, it misses the worth-the-price test.
- Loved by flat footed nurses
- Runner's cushion
- About $150 a pair
Verdict: loved by flat feet, but it misses on worth the price.
Dansko
The Cult Classic · ~$165 | dansko.com
Nurses with high arches swear by it. One wrote: 'Dansko KANES. They are elite.'
But the fit splits by arch height. 'Danskos killed my feet. Not everyone has those ridiculously high arches,' one nurse wrote. Another said 'it felt like wearing wooden shoes.'
- Elite for high arches
- Classic clog look
- Hard and stiff, not soft from hour 1
- About $165
Verdict: a cult pick, but it misses on soft from hour 1 and worth the price.
Clove
The Easy Clean · ~$145 | goclove.com
The best thing about Clove: you can wipe it down between patients. If cleanup matters most, this is the one to look at.
But some nurses report toe pain by hour 12. One wrote: 'after 12 hours my toes hurt.' Another: 'They're floppy. No arch support. Feet legitimately hurt after a shift.'
- Wipes clean, waterproof
- Some nurses love them
- Toes hurt by hour 12
- Little arch support
- About $145
Verdict: easy to clean, but it misses on toe room and lasts past month 6.
How They Compare
Side by side, on the four things that matter.
✓ = scored 7+ · ○ = 5 to 6.9 · ✗ = under 5
| Ortho Pro | Hoka | Brooks | Dansko | Clove | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soft from hour 1 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ○ |
| Lasts past month 6 | ✓ | ✓ | ○ | ○ | ✗ |
| Toe room at 12 | ✓ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ✗ |
| Worth the price | ✓ | ○ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Price per pair | $69.99 | $155+ | ~$150 | ~$165 | ~$145 |
Common Questions
How does Buy 2, Get 1 Free work?
Add three pairs to your cart and the third pair is free. Three pairs of Ortho Pro come to $139.98 total, about $47 a pair.
Is Ortho Pro HSA/FSA eligible?
Yes. Ortho Pro is HSA/FSA eligible.
Are they slip resistant?
Yes. Ortho Pro is slip resistant.
What customers are saying
I cannot believe I am wearing shoes with zero pressure nor pain on my bunion! This has been a life changing pair of shoes.
I stand for like literally 10-12 hours every single day and I cannot stress enough how comfy these shoes are. Absolute game changer...
...I bought these shoes first day it was like being on clouds I got rid of my Nike and have now bought 6 more pairs highly highly recommend.
The Bottom Line
Got high arches and love a clog? Dansko fans swear by them. Want the most recommended shoe and $155 is fine? Hoka.
But maybe your shoes look fine and feel dead inside by month 6. Maybe your feet hurt by hour 8 of a 12. Then you need a shoe that stays soft.
Ortho Pro is the only one we found built for exactly that. Soft from hour 1, still soft past month 6. At $69.99, Buy 2, Get 1 Free.
Abigail H., SICU RN, wrote: 'You could drop $150 easily on HOKAs, On Clouds, Nikes, Cloves... but why the heck would you when NurseBabes exist...'
Buy 2, Get 1 Free →