Most people know Danner for its boots - a pioneer in GORE-TEX® footwear, and a name trusted by anyone who's spent real time outdoors. What's easy to miss is that the same thinking runs straight through the brand's apparel. This season, we're introducing a considered edit of Danner's outerwear and essentials.
Stubborn belief and quality consideration.
Charles Danner originally founded his boot company in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, in 1932. In the midst of the Great Depression, Charles Danner took it upon himself to open a small factory of twelve employees in Wisconsin, to create and produce the best-crafted, most durable work boots in America.
To Danner, superior craftsmanship mattered, despite the economic climate, and it was this stubborn belief in quality boots that carried his company through the next few years in Wisconsin where a pair of Danner boots sold for just four dollars.
From Chippewa Falls to Portland, Oregon.
In 1936 he made the strategic decision to move to Portland, Oregon.
The move was driven by the booming timber industry in the Pacific Northwest. Danner wanted to be closer to the rugged logging camps where there was a high demand for incredibly durable, handcrafted work boots. Today, Danner still operates its main manufacturing headquarters in Portland.
A partnership that redefined what a hiking boot could be.
In 1979 Danner partnered with W.L. Gore & Associates to create the world's first fully waterproof and breathable hiking boot lining, starting with the Danner Light This groundbreaking sock-like GORE-TEX design solved the long-standing industry problem of making a leather boot waterproof without losing its ability to breathe.
The approach is the same one that's built the boots' reputation for decades. Heavy-duty fabrics, triple-needle construction, reinforced stress points, these are the details you notice only once you've worn the garment hard enough to test them. Nothing here is decorative. Every choice is made with function first, and the style follows naturally from that.
Manufacturing is kept in the USA where it counts, with longevity built in rather than added on. Danner apparel is designed the way its boots always have been - to be trusted, and to earn that trust the longer you wear it.
