Out of the box, my impression is one of simplicity. These shoes are of honest straightforwardness. The packaging and the shoes themselves seem to be deliberately un-flashy. It’s quite refreshing, actually. They are sturdy looking and wide and quite flat across the toe box. There’s a nice high waterproof line to stop any sogginess creeping in. The tread looks meaty and the rise is just about high enough.
I’m a little underwhelmed by the colourway and though they’ve been marketed as being olive/black, my overriding impression is one of a grey-ish brown to the suede upper. Not the end of the world at all, but not 100% accurate either. The suede is soft and pleasingly strokeable and nicely offsets the solidity of the lower shoe signalling a neat blend and attention to comfort and support. They fit true to size.
My feeling is that the Danner brand still isn’t that well known in the UK although is it just me who’s been peppered by Danner Instagram ads over the course of the last two years? Probably not. To me there’s something classically American about the brand and their products; they’re ever so slightly old fashioned but self-evidently proud of being traditional in the way that salt-of-the-earth rural folk can be. Some of the Danner boots are pleasingly retro but authentically so. They’re often just perpetuating the designs they always had in the ’80s or whenever, with some gentle updates as technology progresses. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it kinda vibe. Fair enough.