I am not in a career that requires a high level pnw boot. Not that it matters, I will have a pair some day. I decided to try an LTT from danner. The fit is a half size than my normal length and fits securely especially around the toes with enough wiggle room. Walking around is firm and comfortable and should get even more so after breaking them in.
I wanted to show the most worn Danners in our family and get thoughts on whether they are good candidates for recrafting.
First up are my original pair of GoreTex and Thinsulate lined Elk Hunters, in my opinion Danner’s best boot. I believe I bought these in grad school, which makes them about 45 years old. Yes, I am (old).
They have seen solitary snow camping (when I was quite depressed and needed to get fully away from everyone), hiked an 10K ft pass carrying a 50 lb pack (I don’t think I could even walk a block with that pack today), patrolled wild trout streams summer after summer as a fisheries volunteer with the Forest Service, and for the last twenty years been my winter boot up here in Portland Ore. My feet have truly never been wet or cold in these boots.
I used to leave them muddy and wet out on the porch, until one day they disappeared, stolen by a porch pirate. I was surprised by how upset I was about losing my old boots, and after a mourning period bought a new pair of Elk Hunters, which I only wore a few times before discovering that my wife, tired of seeing dirty old boots on “her” porch, had stuffed the Elk Hunters in the back of a closet to get them out of her sight.
So now the new boots sit in the closet and the old ones proudly live on the shoe rack in “her” foyer, protected by a negotiated agreement from her wrath. They live a gentler life now. Last winter I started a gut rehab project on a 1907 Four Square house, the Elk Hunters were pressed into duty as work boots, but after some weeks of wading through piles of demo’d lath and plaster, rat droppings and a couple rat corpses (scary what you’ll find in the ceiling of a 120 year old house), and nail-studded lumber, the old boots looked so put out that I ended their work boot career. They are only for hiking, snow days, and ski trips now.
These boots have been resoled by various cobblers many times but never received a visit to Danner itself. The stitching on the right heel is gone and their last conditioning has left them vaguely sticky. The liner is fine and other than some cuts from scrambling through Sierra scree, the leather is pretty intact.
What say you - are these Elk Hunters a recrafting candidate? Can Danner give them another 45 years - not that I’ll be around that long, but I’ll bequeath them to my son.
Next up are my son’s alloy toe insulated Quarrys. He bought these for working summers doing maintenance, brush clearance, and kitchen duty at a camp in the Sierras, after a season of wearing my Elk Hunters. They are about six years old and have been resoled two or three times. He’s hard on boots. For the last couple months he’s been in a construction training program and these boots have been taking more abuse there.
I finally convinced him to start alternating work boots, on the theory that a chance to rest and dry out helps boots last longer, and he got a new pair of Quarry boots. But he still wears these old ones more.
(When I took my Elk Hunters off work boot duty, I bought a pair of Steel Blue Southern Cross Zip, which are very good work boots with the all-important rubber toe cap over the composite toe and puncture-resistant midsole. Then, when I decided to start alternating boots too, I bought myself a pair of alloy toe Quarrys. So we have three pairs of brown Quarrys in the house.)
Back to my son’s boot, other than the worn-through leather on one toe, the leather is intact if very roughed up, and the liner is fine.
What say you - are these Quarrys recrafting candidates? Any hope Danner could sew a toe cap over the left boot?
Another new pair.
thanks you Danner!
🏔️🏕️🏎️🍻
Picked this vintage pair off of eBay - all in $63.65. Before and after pics…used Danner Suede and Leather Cleaner and then hit them with a coating of Danner Boot Dressing (Clear). I’ve got some outsole gluing to do but all in all, I think they turned out OK. Well worth the small investment…
What’s the deal here? Overstock blowout or counterfeit?
The fit is amazing, I have worn them everyday for the past month walking around our hilly and rocky 40acres. I can walk all day in these things. But I have already about worn the sole down to no traction grabbers. Am I harder on them than I should be? I concerned, am I going to need to send off for resoleing every couple of months? Should I consider another boot or even boot maker?
If anyone bought these; how are the Danners Tropical? How do they fit? Are they comfortable? Are they worth the price?
Just picked up a pair of Mountain Ridge boots on a recent trip to japan! This took me two trips to japan to find, its truly a scavenger hunt, old school fun since "online sales" is not nearly as common there. Cost for the mountain ridge shoes was ~$220 USD, tax free since i was there as a tourist.
I had read about a line of Danner shoes that were made and sold in Japan, and upon looking through the catalog I loved the way the Mountain Ridge shoes looked, and I preferred a "low" cut for daily wearability (did not want to be the guy that wears hiking boots everywhere lol).
What surprised me is the fit was quite different than the synthetic danners i own. My other pair is size 9.5 so I asked the sales associate right away for a 9.5 - and when I first put it on I felt like i was wearing a shoe that was 2 sizes larger.
Went down to a size 8 which seemed like a "very snug" fit but after about 20 minutes of debate, and switching back and forth I went with a 8.5, "slightly snug". I wasn't a fan of how the stock insoles felt (frankly a slight disappointment for a premium line) but easily solved with aftermarket danner insoles they had in the store. After the slightly thicker insole the fit became "moderately snug" with the thought that the leather will hopefully break in and loosen up a bit.
I have around 25 miles on the boots now, mainly paved city type walking, with 2-3 miles of actual hiking, and 1 downpour.
Initial thoughts
Trying to break it in while walking around the city, slightly uncomfortable but can get thru a whole day of walking (6-8 miles) no problem, slightly sore at end of day. Had a sudden downpour and the traction was great, and feet stayed dry.
I did a small 2-3 mile hike through mostly unmaintained trails (photos above) thru snow, streams, over rocks big and small.
The part that was most surprising is the "leverage" from the rigid and wide outsole (on low cut) while walking over uneven rock, that leverage puts a bit of pressure on the ankles. However I'm not too worried at this point since I feel there is plenty of miles of break in ahead (I do hike about 10-15 miles a week on bunny slopes with tame gravel trails)
Thats pretty much it! So far so good, any comments from seasoned veterans i'd greatly appreciate it!
And dont mind the sloppy shoelaces
hard at work in my Mountain 600’s.
these are the best boot I’ve ever worked in or hiked in.
I need the ankle support from an old sports injury on my right ankle.
15,000 - 18,000 steps per day as a beer delivery driver.
thanks Danner!
If this is not good suggest me A hiking boot which has traction on wet and mud and dry and can be used as casual wear too. Under 200 dollars please ( colour preference: black)