Anyone have anything to say about the Danner Desert Boot

[Scoobie Newbie]

DESERT EAGLEâ„¢ GTX 8

http://www.danner.com/products.asp?catid=12&prodid=2234

Introducing the newest, lightest boot developed by Danner for duty in the desert. The Desert Eagle™ GTX has a Cordura® upper and a waterproof, breathable GORE-TEX® liner. Its TFX platform is the next generation of the lightweight, supportive TERRA FORCE™ technology.


Danner Approach TFX Outsole
GORE-TEX® Waterproof Liner
TERRA FORCE X Support System
Men's: 7-14D; 8-13EE
Half sizes to 12
Style #26010

 

[KevinB]

Did you have to ask...  ;D

A lot lighter than their initial Desert Boot -
similar to the Meindle Desert Fox - which was Belgian Para issue.

A HUGE step forward from the issue Boot.

 

[devil39]

How will it compare to a new CTS desert boot (if there is one) based off of the profile of the CWWB or the new Temperate boot?

My experience with Danner is .... great boot.... won't compare to CTS if CTS does it right like the CWWB.

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

I don't think there is any plans in the works for a desert boot by CTS

Kev I should have known.

 

[KevinB]

FWIW I HATE and dont get issued the CWWB - I get Danners  ;D.

Devil - your the only one I know who likes them - did get them resoled?

 

[devil39]

FWIW I HATE and dont get issued the CWWB - I get Danners   ;D.

Devil - your the only one I know who likes them - did get them resoled?

Nope.... I accept that I will slip below -10  celcius... it keeps me sharp.

I love the boot... Kev... I mean love.....  Big wide sole, super stability, rugged, tough leather, smooth liner for cloth (certainly better than my Danners).

Perhaps i have toes like an ape.... however Danner toe caps are way too narrow.  CWWB have a nice big toe cap.. and my feet stay warm at least 10 degrees cooler than they do in my Danners.  I've sat around all day on the range in Shilo at -10 or -15 (no ice) and my CWWB have kept me toasty.

It was the best army boot I had ever worn when I wore it over shitty Shah I Khot terrain, at 25 deg cel in the day and 4 deg at night.  I quit wearing them after Tora Bora because it was hitting 35 deg celcius. 

By the way... the only guy who was a serious casualty in my company on ANACONDA for foot/ankle  injuries was wearing Danners. 

I let my troops wear Mk III, Danner, Matterhorn, CWWB, or civvy hiking boots pending approval from the Pl Comd and Pl WO.  I would not allow them to wear the stupid issue desert boot unless we were in camp and not on call. 

 

[pappy]

haven't tried them yet, but every other Danner I've owned with worth thier weight is gold... I don't think you can go worng with Danners.  Kevin is there anything you haven;t tried  haha  Rock-star lifestyle....

Speaking of having tried ??????  Kevin have you fired a SOCOM 16 yet? I know your not a big fan of the M14 family being an old FN-FAL guy.... but been hearing some good things about the SOCOM.... checking with my friendly gun dealers for one....

Back to boots, the military scrimps on field rations.... wtf do they scrimp on boots for?  Damit get the troops the best boots on the market....  having to eat the field rations the least they can do is provide a good pair of boots. 

The new Danners don't look resole-able, but at less then 2/3s the weight who cares

 

[KevinB]

The new Danners don't look resole-able, but at less then 2/3s the weight who cares

Ditto.

Pappy, no go on the SOCOM, but I shot a Smith Ent Crazy Horse M14 - WOW.. Still dont like them - but hate them a lot less    Ever since I played with KAC's SR25 battle Rifle with can -- I was sold on it as the 7.62x51 short rifle. They had some zero shift issues with the can at first but I think it is down to less than 1MOA which was CAG's acceptance standard...

I got FAT feet - so I guess my Danner toe issue is less than others - well I admit my Acadia's pinch a bit when I have not worn them in a bit.  If I did not have a Danner chit from 95 - I'd have gotten the MkIII's resoled with Vibram's and a decent insole - I loved the boot but hated the sole (and it caused back and knee problems for me with my VERY flat feet)

 

[pappy]

been hearing with the new designed break the SOCOM 16 / SOCOM II have equal or less recoil then 7.62x39.... 
Heard from some others the Select fire SOCOMs don't have that nasty full-auto view of the sky, they actually track downwards on full auto fire to some degree.

Yeah the SR-25 are sweet, but I'd have to have that footlocker full of M14 mags modified to fit that one...

Awww cans.... wonderful devices.... I'm sure you've tried the new Surefire 5.56 cans, very small package and one of the best dBa reductions on the market, or so reads the manual.

 

[KevinB]

Actually nothing from Surefire - but I know guys who've shot them -- Lets just say that like OPSINC they tend to move their sound meter down range (like 70m)  : to record muzzle noise... 
\ Plus I always get a LAUGH out of companies that try to claim better suppression that bullet flight noise.  (those stealth ninja bullets I guess  : )

Unfortunately many in uniform fall for marketing hype.  Don't do head to head comparisson or look at the bottom line.  I was sorry SF was booted from Block II SOPMOD as they where the only can company that dared to compete with KAC.  I've shot about 6 different types of suppressors and while KAC is not the quietest it is the easiest one and off that still has a semblance of zero retention.

*rant on.
I will freely admit being connected with a suppressor company (to wit Canadian Tactical Ltd.) however I have noticed that the CF and the US as a whole military really does not understand the purpose of suppression or the requirments of most suppressed weapons.  I am NOT connected with KAC in anyway - other than being friends with LCol Dave Lutz (USMC ret.) their VP for Mil Operations.

* rant off I can go on and on and have a swim tomorrow am that will dronw me if I don't get some rack.

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

Back to boots. lol
Looking at their (Danner's Website) you can get them resoled.

Also with regards to the Danner DB it says its made with Grotex.  Wouldn't that get too hot.

 

[Bartok5]

I'm with Devil39 regarding the CWWB.  I also wore mine during Op HARPOON, and they were the literal cat's arse.  Those vibram soles stuck to the rock like glue, and the ankle support while wearing 150 lbs of kit was second to none.  I also ditched them following Op Torrii, but they served me very well in the shale of Tora Bora.

I have owned a pair of Danner Acadia's for over 15 years.  I bought them when I was in Recce Pl, 2 PPCLI back in 1991 and they are still going reasonably strong.  They started leaking after the first year, but I kept them because they were an otherwise decent field boot in the absence of anything issued.  Having said that, I couldn't load-march in them.  The one time I tried (doing the old 2x10) I literally tore the ball off of both feet.  It made the second day a real treat....

In contrast, I have had my CWW boots for 3 years now.  I have put them to good use overseas, and on numerous FTXs since.  I distinctly recall standing in calf-deep "mud-soup" in a trench in Gagetown for 12 hours, and walking away with dry feet.  Needless to say, that experience combined with my favourable impressions in Afghanistan were more than enough to sell me on the CWWB.  As far as I am concerned, they are the equal of the Danner "Ft Lewis" boot.  And for the money (eg. FREE!), they are a heck of a bargain.  They're not a boot that I would choose to do the BFT in, but for field soldiering they are just fine.

Just my personal $.02

 

[Matt_Fisher]

Mark,

I've got to concur in regard to what you say about doing fast-paced load marches vs. general soldiering in the field with a Gore-Tex boot.  When I was out in Pendleton doing a 15K in July of 2002 I was wearing my Matterhorn ICB gore-tex boots and my feet had sweated so much that I was literally wringing the moisture out of my socks.  The gore-tex had reached its saturation point and couldn't pass any more moisture through, so it was like wearing a pair of rubber boots, with all the sweat collecting inside of them.  Luckily my feet didn't get any serious blisters, but I could see how the combination of the moisture, heat and friction causing skin on the foot to sheave off very easily, resulting in some seriously nasty foot sores.

Doing the same march a week later I switched over to the issue jungle boots.  The soles were not nearly as comfortable, but the lack of a gore-tex liner allowed my feet to breath, which resulted in them staying alot drier, lessening the chance of footsores/blisters developing.

I currently use the USMC jungle/desert non-goretex boot year round, but in times where I'm not doing any ruck marches I wear them with a set of Rocky Gore-Tex oversocks, and for any type of long march, I'll strip the gore-tex socks off.  Works pretty well thus far. 

I've noticed that with most of my gore-tex boots (have the issue Matterhorn ICB plus a pair of Matterhorn versions of the Danner Ft. Lewis) that the cambrelle lining and gore-tex will wear through in the toebox and other areas after a couple years, thus allowing water to enter through the leather into the boot's interior.  The boot otherwise is fine, and by that point in time has probably become so broken in it's very comfortable to wear.  Unfortunately, the cost of sending the boot back to Danner or whoever for a rebuild of the liner is expensive.  Additionally, unless you wash your boots occassionally, salts, dirt and body oil will build up in the liner and Gore-Tex layer of the boot, making it breath less.  With the oversocks, I can simply throw them in the washing machine when they become soiled, or replace them entirely when they wear out.

If CTS does introduce a 'temperate' non-goretex boot that utilizes a combination leather/cordura upper in the same style as the WWB, you guys will have one excellent piece of gear.