Danners redux

[Tesoro]

I used to live in my all leather Danner lightweights in the 80's and 90's. Since then I have gone to the tennis shoe keen hiking boot but keep wearing the soles out every 150 miles and the rocks poke up into the sole. So a few days ago I shelled out 380 bucks for the boot I used to wear...wow thats what you have to pay to get non chinese making your boot. They now call it the Explorer. Same thing as the lightweight hunter but all leather. It sure feels good and the leather is much softer when new nowadays. They are narrow boots so I had to get a half size larger in EE to fit. Buy once cry once. But once they get worn in they are more comfortable than any tennis boot and esp with the good insoles one can get nowadays. I used to use lambswool ones back then but they were always trying to slip around but boy were they comfortable.

 

[Litehiker]

I have had bad luck with the last two pair of Danner boots i bought so I do not use them anymore. The 1st two pair were excellent. Dunno why their quality dropped.

Now I use Merrill boots. But Cabela's has the largest selection of quality boots and boot brands I know of.

Eric B.

 

[Tesoro]

The high dollar danners are all still handmade in oregon and they of same quality as old. The rest of them like all other brands are smell like chow mein when yuo take out of the box

 

[Litehiker]

Tesoro, Gotta tell ya, the first pair of Danners that went bad (broken fiberglass shank in the midsole) was an all leather "Made in USA" pair. Made me sad to send them back to Cabela's. And yes, they were 'spensive.

The 2nd pair were, yes, made in China, and the left sole cracked through right across the ball of my foot! And Cabela's stood behind them as well. Great company.

Eric B.

 

[Tesoro]

Great! I have the explorer with the f/g shank. See how it goes. the old ones I used had a steel shank. hope mine last. never had a pair of boots fail and what to do if you are 10 miles up in the hills??!

 

[Litehiker]

Well, all my boot with the broken shank did was "CLICK" every right step. But it was annoying as hell and I couldn't use them for hunting with that noise.

 

[Tesoro]

thx for the heads up. was looking forward to breaking them in now I will always be listening for a click!!

 

[Litehiker]

My favorite boot break-in routine is:
1. in the bathtub fill the boots with warm water
2. let the boots set for 30 minutes
3. drain the boots for 5 minutes
4. wear your boots around the house for two hours and if they feel good enough to keep go hiking for an hour. The warm water takes the place of perspiration and this routine works very well on all boots, synthetic or leather.
5. Go to REI or online and buy their heat treatment insoles (thin version). Follow directions for heating and forming and you will never have blisters on the sole of your feet - ever. (Let your dog chew on the original Dinner insoles. ;0)

Eric B.

 

[Tesoro]

I used to do the same with corks and use alcohol. How does the waterproof liner work for your process? I guess after some hours it lets the water soak thru?
Or do you mean fill tub with water and the boot so they dont float?
I might have to do that!

 

[Litehiker]

No, just fill the boots (see #1.)

 

[Tesoro]

Ah I forgot that gortex is a one way fabric..so the water would go out of the liner but not in reverse. will give it a try thx.
I sure hope that they got those f/g shanks worked out. hopefully you had the ' a model' version! how long ago did this happen to you and how long - miles - did it take to brake? for 380 bucks I dont have much tolerance for faulty boots!!

 

[Coonhuntin]

Promghorns lasted about 6 months

Montana hunter 6 months

Full curl sent back 4 times. Eyelets pulling out. Sole delaminates. Rand coming apart.

I also am a forester so where them often