The Origins Of Danner Boots & Footwear

By Robert Greenfield


You have probably heard of the company Danner or have seen someone wearing a pair of Danner boots. What you may not have known is that Danner has been around for quite some time, and has grown from their humble beginnings over 75 years ago. Charles Danner founded Danner in 1932 with the mission of making quality boots and footwear that were affordable and long lasting.

Four years after it was founded, Charles Danner moved the company from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin to Portland, Oregon. Mr. Danner believed the move would help the company grow and prosper by offering quality, durable work boots to the pioneers of the Pacific Northwest. He made handcrafted boots from the best raw materials available and sold them for $20 a pair, which was quite a bit of money in 1936.

When Charles Danner moved the company from Wisconsin to Oregon, he knew he was taking a big risk, especially considering this was right in the middle of the worst economic crisis the US had ever faced, the Great Depression. The gamble paid off however, and in the decades and years to follow, Danner grew by leaps and bounds. Danner soon established a reputation for making boots and footwear of the absolute best craftsmanship and quality.

A few decades later, Charles Danner passed the company to his two sons, John and Bill Danner. Eventually, Bill Danner would take the reigns and became the sole owner when he bought his brothers share of the company. By the 60's and 70's, Danner started making hiking boots for the first time.

The reason for this new change was in response to the rising and massive popularity of outdoor sports like hiking and backpacking that were becoming more commonplace throughout the 60's & 70's. The company's very first hiking boot was the Danner Mountain Light, and it started the standards and practices that Danner follows to this day with their line of hiking boots. The Mountain Light hiking boots were revolutionary when they were first introduced, and are still considered to some of the best hiking boots one can buy.

When Danner initially introduced the Mountain Light Hiking Boot, they partnered with W.L. Gore & Associates to make an inner boot liner that would be totally waterproof and breathable. It was the first waterproof boot liner in footwear history and started a revolution in the hiking boot community. That company is of course better known today as Gore-Tex, and they still work with Danner to make 100% waterproof and breathable boot liners. In 1983, Danner was sold to the businessman Eric Merck.

When Eric Merck bought Danner, one condition of the sale was that Mr. Merck continues to adhere to the company's mission of quality and craftsmanship. Mr. Merck went one step further and installed even stricter quality control measures and standards for the company and its line of boots and footwear. In 1994, LaCrosse Footwear, known for their line of rubber footwear, merged with Danner.

Today, the company formerly known as the Danner Shoe Manufacturing Company is forging a new path by continuing to make some of the best boots and footwear available. Danner makes quality boots and footwear out of high-grade materials and by using time-honored techniques and procedures that are often done by hand. They offer a full line of boots for women and men in a variety of colors, styles, and choices. Danner's Stumptown collection is a recent offering of vintage-inspired boots that evoke the company's founding and heritage while also being modern.




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