Let’s start this review with the boring administrative stuff to get it out of the way. This review is based on my options. I am not an affiliate and any link in this article is for you, the read, to find the website easier. I do not make any money whether you click, or make a purchase. The links are here to provide you the ease with finding the website.
The number of items a nurse has on them, one item in particular, that will always be on the nurse, shoes. The sneakers on the feet of the nurse. At the beginning of my career, I would use whatever shoes I could find. Every time I had the dreaded breaking. The time between acquiring the shoe and when you can comfortably wear them for the twelve-hour period without feeling discomfort. Several sneakers I put on my feet and tried to wear them too soon, which causes pain to my overall foot and blisters on the back of my heels. Sneakers have always been a problem for me until I came across Clove.
Clove, on their website, the name of their products means with love. “Our name has a bar above the c, the medical shorthand for ‘with’, to mean ‘with love’”. The founder Joe Ammon, husband to a nurse who “saw first-hand how taxing—both physically and mentally—healthcare can be.” They first came out to the public in 2019.
For myself, I first came across them about a year after they first came out during the pandemic. As a Covid Nurse, not know at the time what this virus is, what it does in the short term or long term. To protect my family as soon as I reached the car in the parking garage, my shoes came off and placed in a plastic bag in the trunk of my car. But the fabric of the shoes, the textures, and the nooks and crannies didn’t allow its self to be sanitized as easily as needed too.
The algorithms of social media and the internet brought the company and the product to my screen. The need for a shoe made for a nurse. I just had to try. Since that first purchase, I have made three more purchases. I did not make the three other purchases because the shoe fell apart. As a matter of fact, I have never had a Clove shoe fall apart to where I needed to buy another one. I made three more purchases because of a new job at a new hospital, and my puppy ate the toggle on the shoes, and I purchased one pair for my sister, who is also a nurse.
Let’s go into the pros of the sneakers and discuss why they are my favorite sneakers, ever. The sneaker’s overall style is appealing, and it doesn’t have many nooks and crannies, which makes it easy to clean the fabric. A nice purple wipe from work and everything wipes clean and sanitized. No matter what spills you walk through or fall on the top. The sneakers clean easily because the manufacturer made them with a fluid repellent. There are no laces, no worries about tying them or wondering why your laces are wet when you touch them. The shoes have cords that lace up with a toggle to pull and tighten. Just keep any puppies or other animals that would eat. The one bad thing is that the company doesn’t sell replacement toggles and ones found in other store fronts, at least the ones I’ve tried to don’t fit. The sneakers allow for easy on, easy off and a way to tighten without having to drag laces throughout the unknowns of the hospital floors. No worries, no matter what you step in.
They are the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn. They are the only shoes that I could take out of the box, put them on, and work a twelve-hour shift. The sneakers fit my feet, without blisters, without having the break them in. The sneakers have an insert sole that is twice as thick as the typical cushion, that help to fight against bacteria and reduces odors. Cleaning the insert is easy; the insert comes right out and is machine washable. The bottom of the shoe has a great grip, on different surfaces without the squeak.
Clove sneakers are the best shoes I’ve worn. I recently had sneakers that I only wore at home for walks. As time passed, the insole of the sneakers flattened. To remedy this, I added a new insert. The heel folded in so much that it caused pain in my feet and calves when walking a mile on flat asphalt. I walked in my work shoes a few times, with zero regret. I have given them away as gifts, and will continue to wear them at work. They are the best shoe I’ve ever worn.