As a nurse with over a decade of shifts under my belt—and on my feet—I can tell you that the two most important things in my life are coffee and shoes. One keeps me awake, the other keeps me upright. And when you’re clocking twelve-hour shifts in a hospital where “breaks” are more theory than reality, you learn very quickly what your feet can (and absolutely cannot) tolerate. That’s where Palladium Silver came in—and why I’m still talking about them four years later.
I bought my first pair during a particularly rough winter. We were short-staffed, the flu season was brutal, and I’d gone through two different pairs of “professional” sneakers in under six months. My soles were wearing out faster than my patience. A colleague—who always looked oddly composed, even after a double shift—told me about Palladium NZ. I laughed at first. I thought, “Aren’t those more for hikers than hospital staff?” But I was desperate enough to try anything with a sole that didn’t cave in by week three.
The pair I chose was a low-profile, all-silver style—subtle, clean-looking, and surprisingly lightweight. From the first shift, I noticed the difference. No “breaking in” phase. No blisters. Just this quiet, reliable support that followed me down endless corridors, up stairwells when the elevators broke (again), and through spills, alarms, and late-night charting marathons.
Here’s a story I always come back to when people ask why I still wear the same pair:
It was a particularly chaotic Friday night. We had a multi-vehicle collision come in, beds were filling up fast, and I hadn’t sat down in nearly five hours. I remember feeling completely spent—mentally and physically—but still needing to run a sample across to pathology. I took a shortcut through the loading dock, where it had just started raining. One of the maintenance guys shouted a warning about the slippery concrete, but by then, I’d already hit it at full speed.
I didn’t slip. My feet gripped the ground like they were glued to it. And in that ridiculous, soggy moment—carrying a blood sample in one hand and my sanity in the other—I thought, “Okay, maybe these boots really are magic.”
What’s wild is, that was three years ago. And I still wear that same pair on rotation. Sure, they’re a little scuffed now. The silver has dulled around the toe box. But the soles? Still solid. The stitching? Still intact. I’ve washed them, dried them, taken them through shifts, storms, and even a volunteer trip overseas—and they’ve never let me down.
Most shoes I’ve owned as a nurse barely survive a year of hospital life. Palladiums? They’re the only pair that’s managed to match me step for step—and I’m not exactly gentle. I’ve stepped in questionable fluids, raced down emergency hallways, and stood for hours in triage without a single arch complaint.
If I could make one request, it’d be to see more healthcare-friendly colors in the future—something lowkey that can still pass muster with hospital dress codes. But honestly, even if they only came in “moon crater grey,” I’d still wear them. Comfort and durability like this don’t come around often, and when they do, you hang on tight.
So yes, I’m a nurse. And yes, I’ve got opinions about shoes. But when you find something that lasts through 50-hour weeks, night shifts, and that one time you had to mop your own station after a pipe burst, you stop questioning it. You just buy another pair—and maybe tell a few of your friends in the break room.