Ever since I laid eyes on these 2 years ago, I was determined to grab these. I try not to fall into a self-fulfilling prophecy of buying what I post up HB haha but these were something else. I was actually able to go to Japan around the same time but unfortunately came away empty handed as I couldn’t get a size. My brother at the time was on exchange in Tokyo and was nice enough to front pretty much all the money in his bank account to grab me a pair before coming to Hong Kong to spend the Christmas. I’ve worn them faithfully the last 2 years and I don’t see myself getting tired of them any time soon. Coming from a culture in which wearing the same pair on consecutive days is questionable, I have no problems wearing these everyday. Despite the GORE-TEX liner, they’re still quite breathable cause they’re unlined. The suede’s darkened quite a bit and is virtually immune to scuffs, definitely a good boot to go and get twisted in.

While they’re designated as a “Danner Japan” release under the licensee there, some “factory seconds” do make their way to the Danner outlet in Portland for a lot cheaper too I might add. The flaws are pretty minimal from what I’ve seen or heard but I’ve never seen a pair in person. For fit, I am a size 10 in Nikes and a size 9 in these.

-Eugene