Hoka Restore TC review

We think that the Hoka Restore TC hits the nail on the head for people who need:

• an extra comfortable pair for day-to-day use
• a shoe for active recovery from sports
• a slip-on kick with a super quick and easy on-and-off

And if you want an equally cushioned and cozy slip-on but in a lighter and sleeker package, we highly recommend the GO WALK 6 and the GO WALK Flex from Skechers.

If you want to experience the benefits of the Hoka Restore TC but feel uncertain about its visual aspect, try the Nike Motiva instead. It is a dedicated walking shoe from Nike that puts comfort first without losing a sleek look. It's not a slip-on shoe though.

As a true Hoka shoe, the Restore TC offers a ton of cushioning.

Measuring its stack height in the heel, our caliper showed 32.7 mm. Even though it is nearly the same as the average, the cushioning feels even more abundant in person.

Spending an entire day on feet felt like a breeze in the Restore TC. There is plenty of impact protection, especially if you walk on hard surfaces a lot.

A generous helping of foam in the forefoot makes the Restore TC feel more cushioned than other walking shoes.

Measuring its thickness with a caliper returned 25.2 mm which is a few millimeters taller than average. It mutes out the ground feel quite a bit.

The difference in stack heights gives us a heel-to-toe drop of 7.5 mm. It is a bit lower than average but not as low as the 5-mm drop claimed by Hoka.

For most folks, however, it won't make any difference on foot. The slight heel elevation above the toes hits a sweet spot between support and a more natural foot positioning.

Looking inside the half-cut midsole of the Hoka Restore TC, we found that its cushioning comprises the softer insole and the firmer carrier foam.

Together they create a sense of controlled plushness that feels cozy and not wobbly at all.

Pressing our durometer against the shoe's insole confirmed its amazing plushness. With a reading of 20.5 HA, it is about 20% softer than the average cushioning foam.

Measuring the softness of the firmer carrier foam with a durometer, we got 30.0 HA. It is indeed firmer than the insole by 46%!

Instead of being an additional component, the insole of the Hoka Restore TC functions as the shoe's primary cushioning.

With an impressive thickness of 16.9 mm, it is an elephant in the shoe!

As a slip-on shoe with a knit upper, the Hoka Restore TC offers a pretty close one-to-one fit without constricting the foot.

But don't let its visually large toebox mislead you. Inside, this Hoka shoe offers no more space than the average walking shoe.

Once the gel mold cooled off, we measured its widest part with a caliper. At 92.9 mm, it is no different than most walking shoes we tested in the same size (men's US 9).

Even the seemingly wide and rounded toebox shape of the Restore TC turned out to be misleading! Large rubber overlays are responsible for making it look bigger than it is.

Our mold shows that this Hoka shoe is even slightly narrower than average in the big toe area with a caliper reading of 70.5 mm.

And if you're wondering if the rubber overlays limit the space above the toes - it does not. We found that the shoe's toebox height is on par with the average at 27.1 mm while the knit upper offers some give.

Checking the shoe's side-to-side support and stability, we can tell that it sits somewhere in the middle of the range.

Its wider-than-average platform and raised sidewalls will make the shoe stable enough for most people. But on the downside, the Restore TC lacks the arch support and stability elements needed to support a moderate-to-severe overpronation.

If you have flat feet and your ankles roll inwards excessively, we recommend looking into Skechers Arch Fit instead.

Like we said, most people will find the Hoka Restore TC quite supportive for their day-to-day walks. The shoe has enough torsional rigidity to keep the foot in place.

Assessing it in our manual test, we rated the stiffness with an average score of 3 out of 5. The chunky platform with raised sidewalls makes it more rigid than the typical walking shoe.

Despite its sizeable appearance, the heel counter of the Restore TC is not very rigid.

We could squeeze and fold it pretty effortlessly in our manual test. Thus, we gave it a rather low score of 2 on a 1-5 stiffness scale.

But it doesn't allow heel slippage and that's a huge bonus.

As befits a Hoka shoe, the Restore TC comes with very broad sole dimensions.

In the widest part of the forefoot, our caliper measured 116.0 mm which is about 5 mm wider than average.

In the heel, the Restore TC beats all of the previous records showing an impressive 104 mm in the widest part! Expect to feel extra surefooted with such a broad contact area.

There is very little flexibility in the shoe's forefoot, mainly due to its massive platform.

Using a force gauge, we measured that it takes as much as 24.3N to bend the shoe to a 90-degree angle. Although not the stiffest, it requires 15% more force to bend compared to an average walking shoe.

But walking in the Hoka Restore TC feels comfortable nevertheless. The shoe relies on a rockered shape to roll the feet from heels to toes.

More and more walking shoes resort to the rocker shape to create smoother and easier heel-to-toe transitions.

With a ton of cushioning underfoot and a flared wing-like collar at the back, it is no surprise that the Hoka Restore TC comes with an extra heft.

It's not a heavy shoe per se but it feels substantial on foot. Weighing it in a men's US size 9, our scale showed 11.0 oz (313g). It is over an ounce heavier than the average walking shoe.

The knit upper of the Hoka Restore TC feels a lot like a soft sweater around the foot. And unfortunately, it offers just as little breathability.

Filling up the shoe's upper with smoke in our breathability test, we observed that none of it passed through the fabric! Unlike the smoking mesh upper on the right, the Restore TC's knit failed to breathe.

Our transparency test also proved that this Hoka shoe has no ventilation holes to aerate the interiors. Even when we looked at the fabric up close through a microscope, we saw no pores that could help the airflow.

It's just a plushy sweater through and through.

On a scale from 1 to 5, where 5 would be the most breathable, we gave the Hoka Restore TC the lowest score of 1. It is not an option for hot summer days.

The Hoka Restore TC's upper may fall short of breathability, but it makes up for it with exceptional wear resistance.

It may seem like a delicate knit fabric but try tearing it apart and you will need more effort than you think. Add to that a wide protective toe cap and you have a recipe for a long-lasting shoe!

Putting the shoe's jacquard knit to our Dremel test for 12 seconds, we were amazed at how barely noticeable the damage was. For comparison, here is a glaring hole that the very same test left on the On Cloudrift!

Rating the shoe's toebox durability on a 1 to 5 scale, the Hoka earns a solid 4.

As a slip-on shoe, the Restore TC is ready for a lot of friction at the back of the heel collar. That's why Hoka reinforced the inner side of the shoe's heel with an additional textile layer.

It really helped the shoe to stand up to our 4-second Dremel test. Looking at the damage left by the tool's sandpaper tip, we rated its heel lining durability as 3 out of 5. One point better than average!

Sure, this part of the shoe is more prone to wearing out but at least it's sturdier compared to other walking shoes.

The Hoka Restore TC has no rubber outsole which puts the exposed midsole at risk of faster abrasion.

Even though the foam has some firmness to it, our durometer returned a pretty low reading of 62.9 HC. It indicates that the shoe's midsole is 20% softer than the average rubber outsole and consequently, less durable.

With our Dremel set to the relentless speed of 10K RPM, we drilled the bottom of the shoe for 22 seconds. It is our standard condition for testing outsole durability, no exceptions.

As you can see from the video above, our tool burned right through the foam as if it were made of butter.

It was not a huge surprise when our tread gauge showed a whopping 6.0 mm of damage in the foam. It is even deeper than the dents we got in soft Skechers shoes (3 mm on average)!

If you want a long and happy life for your pair of Hoka Restore TCs, we recommend limiting its use to less abrasive surfaces. It's better to avoid asphalt, cobblestone, rocky trails, and the like.

Despite the absence of a rubber outsole, this Hoka shoe doesn't fall short of grip on most urban surfaces.

Its exposed foam is softer than rubber and offers tackier contact with the floor.

There are no reflective elements on the Hoka Restore TC.

The Restore TC's upper is pretty thin, showing only 2.5 mm of material thickness on top of the instep. But you don't really need more padding as the shoe has no laces either.

The Hoka Restore TC features a sock-like bootie that envelopes the foot in a snug but cozy manner. According to the brand, it is even suitable for sockless wear.

Personally, we found it to be okay to wear barefoot but wouldn't recommend it. If the weather gets warm enough to make your feet sweat, the shoe's lack of breathability will cause unpleasant odor and even hot spots.

One of the shoe's main highlights is how fast and convenient it is to get on and off.

Its extended wing-like heel collar is very handy and works almost like a shoehorn. Sliding into the Restore TC takes mere seconds and requires only one hand.

The shoe's insole is removable but we wouldn't recommend replacing it with your own.

Considering its extreme thickness and the fact that it works as the shoe's primary cushioning, it would be tricky to find a replacement.

In an attempt to make its products more sustainable, Hoka designed the Restore TC with recycled and environmentally friendly materials including:

• 73% dope-dyed polyester in the upper (dope-dying uses fewer chemicals and reduces water consumption)
• 83% dope-dyed polyester in the inner bootie
• 30% sugarcane-based EVA insole
• 100% recycled polyester strobel board

Oh, boy, that soft terry Hoka logo got us obsessed. We just couldn't stop touching it!