On 2024-02-20, rbowman <bowman@montana.com> wrote:
> On Tue, 20 Feb 2024 13:29:19 -0000 (UTC), RonB wrote:
>
>> Never hear of White shoes. Have heard of Danner, however. My brother
>> used to buy Danner boots. I think he got surprised by the last pair he
>> bought that weren't made in the U.S. — or maybe he barely buying them.
>> Something like that.
>
> https://whitesboots.com/our-legacy/
>
> I don't know how much exposure they have outside of the PNW. When I was
> with the Forest Service it was a right of passage when a fire crew member
> or smokejumper got a pair of White's and hobbled around for a few weeks.
> They were never described as comfortable out of the box. That's why they
> discouraged me from buying them for hiking. They've added a few models
> that would work better.
>
> Back when I was in the Rensselaer Outing Club Limmers had a similar
> cachet. A pilgrimage to NH to the store, Peter Limmer measuring your feet,
> and a length wait produced a pair, which also required an extensive
> breaking in.
>
> Much later, in 2004, I finally made it to the shrine. I'd been hiking in
> the Whites for several days and they were hesitant to measure my feet
> since they may have been slightly swollen. The wait at the time was 4 or 5
> years. I opted for one of their off the shelf models, tracing my feet as
> directed, and placing my order. The non-custom models are made in Germany
> but are still very heavy and take weeks to break in.
>
> I was disappointed while hiking in AZ. It was spring and not deathly hot
> but the sun on the black volcanic rock prevalent in the area heated it up.
> The soles were glued on and the glue melted. Using duct tape and
> eventually ShoeGoo to repair an expensive pair of boots didn't set well.
> The lining in the heel box also wire through. Sometimes when you finally
> get your status symbol it isn't all you dreamed.
>
> Despite being an import I'm happy with the Danners comfort and durability.
> I've been through an assortment of boots over the years. Vasque Sundowners
> didn't work for me and I was happy when they wore out. There was something
> about the geometry. They moved manufacturing from Italy to China and
> reports are the quality suffered. The Merrell toe box didn't work to the
> point that I once opted to take the boots off and walk on a rocky trail in
> my bare feet. There was a box at a local store for clothing donations
> after the 2004 tsunami that I dropped them in. Maybe they forked better
> for some big-footed Asian.

It sounds like you've gone through a lot of different boots. Also sounds
like most of these fancy boots are painful to wear. I'm happy to hear that
Danners are still good, even though they're not American made. My father has
a couple pairs of Rocky shoes that weren't American made that he says are
good anyhow. So I guess it's possible. Probably depends on how closely the
companies monitor their Chinese factories. My problem with Chinese shoes is
that the sizes seem to me nothing. But the Chinese shoes I bought were not
high quality, so I guess you get what you pay for.

--
[Self-centered, Woke] "pride is a life of self-destructive fakery, an
entrapment to a false and self-created matrix of twisted unreality."
"It was pride that changed angels into devils..." — St. Augustine

On Tue, 20 Feb 2024 23:41:22 -0000 (UTC), RonB wrote:

> It sounds like you've gone through a lot of different boots. Also sounds
> like most of these fancy boots are painful to wear.

They're great on off trail scrambles where you want all the support you
can get and a stable platform. They're also heavy and stiff. They are
overkill for established trails but I don't always color between the
lines.

https://www.summitpost.org/ch-paa-qn-peak-squaw-peak/393990

For something like that stiff is good although most of the trail isn't a
rock hop. There isn't a trail up the talus, you just find your way. I've
got a few landmarks but I doubt I've ever done it exactly the same.

Other times I may be following an interesting deer trail. I like deer
trails. Deer don't do technical rock climbing and neither do I.

RonB wrote this copyrighted missive and expects royalties:

> On 2024-02-20, rbowman <bowman@montana.com> wrote:
>> On Tue, 20 Feb 2024 13:29:19 -0000 (UTC), RonB wrote:
>>
>>> Never hear of White shoes. Have heard of Danner, however. My brother
>>> used to buy Danner boots. I think he got surprised by the last pair he
>>> bought that weren't made in the U.S. — or maybe he barely buying them.
>>> Something like that.
>>
>> https://whitesboots.com/our-legacy/
>>
>> I don't know how much exposure they have outside of the PNW. When I was
>> with the Forest Service it was a right of passage when a fire crew member
>> or smokejumper got a pair of White's and hobbled around for a few weeks.
>> They were never described as comfortable out of the box. That's why they
>> discouraged me from buying them for hiking. They've added a few models
>> that would work better.
>>
>> Back when I was in the Rensselaer Outing Club Limmers had a similar
>> cachet. A pilgrimage to NH to the store, Peter Limmer measuring your feet,
>> and a length wait produced a pair, which also required an extensive
>> breaking in.
>>
>> Much later, in 2004, I finally made it to the shrine. I'd been hiking in
>> the Whites for several days and they were hesitant to measure my feet
>> since they may have been slightly swollen. The wait at the time was 4 or 5
>> years. I opted for one of their off the shelf models, tracing my feet as
>> directed, and placing my order. The non-custom models are made in Germany
>> but are still very heavy and take weeks to break in.
>>
>> I was disappointed while hiking in AZ. It was spring and not deathly hot
>> but the sun on the black volcanic rock prevalent in the area heated it up.
>> The soles were glued on and the glue melted. Using duct tape and
>> eventually ShoeGoo to repair an expensive pair of boots didn't set well.
>> The lining in the heel box also wire through. Sometimes when you finally
>> get your status symbol it isn't all you dreamed.
>>
>> Despite being an import I'm happy with the Danners comfort and durability.
>> I've been through an assortment of boots over the years. Vasque Sundowners
>> didn't work for me and I was happy when they wore out. There was something
>> about the geometry. They moved manufacturing from Italy to China and
>> reports are the quality suffered. The Merrell toe box didn't work to the
>> point that I once opted to take the boots off and walk on a rocky trail in
>> my bare feet. There was a box at a local store for clothing donations
>> after the 2004 tsunami that I dropped them in. Maybe they forked better
>> for some big-footed Asian.
>
> It sounds like you've gone through a lot of different boots. Also sounds
> like most of these fancy boots are painful to wear. I'm happy to hear that
> Danners are still good, even though they're not American made. My father has
> a couple pairs of Rocky shoes that weren't American made that he says are
> good anyhow. So I guess it's possible. Probably depends on how closely the
> companies monitor their Chinese factories. My problem with Chinese shoes is
> that the sizes seem to me nothing. But the Chinese shoes I bought were not
> high quality, so I guess you get what you pay for.

I can recommend shoes from a brand name for comfort and light walking...
Damyuan :-)

Generally the Chinese stuff I buy is of decent quality. Undoubtedly not
suitable for you-all's use cases.

I did once by a cheap pair of steel-toed shows when our group was supposed to
tour a construction dock for the Zumwalt. We never went to that dock, and I
gave them away without ever wearing them.

Time to reboot this thread.

--
Q: What do little WASPs want to be when they grow up?
A: The very best person they can possibly be.