My Danner Light boots are one of my most indispensable pairs of footwear. Rugged hiking boots capable of tackling anything, I sometimes actually use them for such purposes! And when I do, oh boy do they work (although hiking purists tend to tell me I should get something lighter and more modern, to whom I say: “Just look at these things! Also, I don’t think I hike as much as you do.”).
Most of the time though, I use them to hike city streets (hey, there are semi-legitimate hills where I live) anytime the conditions beckon: mainly snow, or a day drowning in rain. The Vibram Kletterlift outsole is brutally effective, and the Gore-Tex lining and gusseted tongue ensure all the bad stuff stays out. Plus again, they look great, especially in the classic Khaki color scheme. They’re fairly huge in Japan; I have no idea why they haven’t caught on in the States with that fervor just yet. I’m going to do what I can do change that.
Their classic look is admittedly one of the reasons I love them, which is why I found myself borderline surprised to really enjoy the new, far more modern-styled Danner x Helinox Light boot. The black and white graph paper-y grid offsets the rest of the black-black-on-black in a really cool way, as do the two-tone aluminum alloy speed hooks for the laces—which are reinforced with Dyneema, “the world’s strongest fiber™” that is 15 times stronger than steel (and also got married to leather in Viberg’s new sneaker line).
Helinox generally makes extremely cool, hyper-functional outdoor furniture; they collaborated with Danner on an ultra-packable chair and table for this drop, too. But what this publication cares most about is that they can future-ize a classic boot awful nice.
All photos: Danner