Happy feet!

[soberups]

I struck gold at the Danner factory outlet store up in Portland today. I wear size 12EE's which are normally harder than hell to find, but today I found TWO pair of Danner "Explorer" factory seconds in my size. "Factory seconds" means that the boots have some extremely minor scuff or cosmetic blemish on them (I will scuff the hell out of them anyway after an hour of work), but are otherwise perfectly good. These are Made in USA boots with GoreTex liners in them, waterproof and resoleable. First quality versions of this boot normally retail for well over $300 a pair; the factory seconds run for $175; but the Danner outlet store gives UPS employees a 20% discount so I was able to pick them up for $140 a pair. You cant beat the price, and in my opinion Danners are the best boots money can buy. I just paid out $300 to have a couple of my older pairs resoled and reconditioned, but since I didnt want to spend extra to replace the Gore Tex in them they wont be 100% waterproof. Not a problem now, I can wear those boots in the summer and save these new ones for the rainy/snowy season. I have learned over the years that my feet, knees and back will all pay the price if I try to "go cheap" on boots, so for me Danners are the only way to go!

 

[Cementups]

Good deal for such a heel!!!

 

[uber]

Nice looking shoe. Might have to go out there and check it out.

 

[barnyard]

I have scored similar deals on Whites. I wear 12B, which is also very rare to see on the clearance/blemish rack.

 

[rod]

I struck gold at the Danner factory outlet store up in Portland today. I wear size 12EE's which are normally harder than hell to find, but today I found TWO pair of Danner "Explorer" factory seconds in my size. "Factory seconds" means that the boots have some extremely minor scuff or cosmetic blemish on them (I will scuff the hell out of them anyway after an hour of work), but are otherwise perfectly good. These are Made in USA boots with GoreTex liners in them, waterproof and resoleable. First quality versions of this boot normally retail for well over $300 a pair; the factory seconds run for $175; but the Danner outlet store gives UPS employees a 20% discount so I was able to pick them up for $140 a pair. You cant beat the price, and in my opinion Danners are the best boots money can buy. I just paid out $300 to have a couple of my older pairs resoled and reconditioned, but since I didnt want to spend extra to replace the Gore Tex in them they wont be 100% waterproof. Not a problem now, I can wear those boots in the summer and save these new ones for the rainy/snowy season. I have learned over the years that my feet, knees and back will all pay the price if I try to "go cheap" on boots, so for me Danners are the only way to go!

Wow---you are kind of like the Imelda Marcos of boots.

 

[soberups]

Wow---you are kind of like the Imelda Marcos of boots.

I have tried buying "cheap" boots or shoes for work in the past, and I wound up blowing out the sides or otherwise rendering them unwearable in a matter of weeks. Even premium quality boots such as Danners or Red Wings will only last me from 6-8 months before they need to be resoled and reconditioned. I am 6"-1 and around 250 lbs and I get in and out of a package car 200 times a day, so for me quality footwear is an investment in my health. Cheap or worn out boots cause my feet and knees and back to hurt. I view the expense of good footwear as part of the cost of doing business for UPS.

 

[rod]

I have tried buying "cheap" boots or shoes for work in the past, and I wound up blowing out the sides or otherwise rendering them unwearable in a matter of weeks. Even premium quality boots such as Danners or Red Wings will only last me from 6-8 months before they need to be resoled and reconditioned. I am 6"-1 and around 250 lbs and I get in and out of a package car 200 times a day, so for me quality footwear is an investment in my health. Cheap or worn out boots cause my feet and knees and back to hurt. I view the expense of good footwear as part of the cost of doing business for UPS.

So do you have a favorite way of breaking in a new pair?

 

[soberups]

So do you have a favorite way of breaking in a new pair?

I wear an extra pair of socks for a few days, and I bring my old boots along in case I need to change back into them. A lot of times all I need to do is to take the new pair off if they start getting uncomfortable and then put them back on again in a few minutes. There are a couple of different versions of Danners that I wear, and I have found that the "Explorers" usually dont require breaking in at all whereas the "Mountain Lite" or "Acadias" generally do.

 

[soberups]

Nice looking shoe. Might have to go out there and check it out.

I love going into their new factory store. It smells like leather and rubber and glue, and you can look through the window at the repair room where they resole and recondition the boots. We live in a throwaway made-in-China society, so I think its kind of neat to go someplace local where they still actually manufacture and repair the product you are buying and be able to talk to the people who do are actually doing the work. Not only are my dollars going towards the purchase of a quality locally made product, but they are helping to provide living family wages for the people who make that product.

 

[Anonymous 10]

I hope your feet always feel like a million bucks.

 

[BSWALKS]

I finally found some boots that stay dry & comfortable for me. Idk the model but its a low cut & pretty lite hiking type boot made by Carolina.
There are 2 things I don't skimp on. Boots & pornography.

 

[barnyard]

Your boots/shoes will last considerably longer if you have 2 pair and wear them every other day. If they get the chance to dry out, the leather lasts longer and they do not smell as bad (mine still smell like leather and are 5-6 years old).

I do resoles/recondition on my winter Danner's every 3ish years. I generally get 3 sets of soles out of a pair, the original and 2 resoles. I have also found that the best place for resoling is the Danner factory. I had a local cobbler resole a pair and the soles had to be reglued several times. The Danner resoles come back looking like new and come with new laces (I take the old laces out and put them in my lunch box for spares.)

I used to think it was cheaper to buy Danner's and resole them and all that. Now I am thinking that I probably spend about the same as my chinese shod bruthas. The advantage to me is that I do not have to shop as much. I hate shopping, even boot/shoe shopping.

 

[CaptainObvious]

Danners a great boots as long as you get ones that are made in the USA. Have a pair I bought for hunting and backpacking 25+ years ago that are still in great shape and will be getting them resoled for the first time this spring.
On the other hand I bought a pair on Amazon about a year ago for work that only last about 5 months before they turned to junk. Found out after I got and wore them they were made in China. Just assumed all their boots were made in the USA.......My fault for not doing the research.

 

[barnyard]

It used to be that anything with a stitched sole was made in the USA. Not the case anymore.

 

[Cementups]

As for spending "a lot" of money on footwear, Spend the money. Happy feet = happy me. A lot of your other pains in your body can be brought on by crappy shoes.