ActiveHiking & WalkingDanner Free Spirit walking boot review: retro cool and practicality combinedThe old-school Danner Free Spirit walking boots will shine in town or on trail. Here’s our reviewWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.(Image credit: Mark Mayne)T3 VerdictThe Danner Free Spirit boot combines retro looks and a solid level of practicality for trails, around town and footpaths, but can run out of grip in mixed, hilly terrain.Reasons to buy+Retro appeal+Breathable+Lots of dexterityReasons to avoid-Not great grip on mud and wet grassWhy you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
ActiveHiking & WalkingDanner Free Spirit walking boot review: retro cool and practicality combinedThe old-school Danner Free Spirit walking boots will shine in town or on trail. Here’s our reviewWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.(Image credit: Mark Mayne)T3 VerdictThe Danner Free Spirit boot combines retro looks and a solid level of practicality for trails, around town and footpaths, but can run out of grip in mixed, hilly terrain.Reasons to buy+Retro appeal+Breathable+Lots of dexterityReasons to avoid-Not great grip on mud and wet grassWhy you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
The old-school Danner Free Spirit walking boots will shine in town or on trail. Here’s our review
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Mark Mayne)T3 VerdictThe Danner Free Spirit boot combines retro looks and a solid level of practicality for trails, around town and footpaths, but can run out of grip in mixed, hilly terrain.Reasons to buy+Retro appeal+Breathable+Lots of dexterityReasons to avoid-Not great grip on mud and wet grass
(Image credit: Mark Mayne)
(Image credit: Mark Mayne)
T3 VerdictThe Danner Free Spirit boot combines retro looks and a solid level of practicality for trails, around town and footpaths, but can run out of grip in mixed, hilly terrain.Reasons to buy+Retro appeal+Breathable+Lots of dexterityReasons to avoid-Not great grip on mud and wet grass
T3 VerdictThe Danner Free Spirit boot combines retro looks and a solid level of practicality for trails, around town and footpaths, but can run out of grip in mixed, hilly terrain.
T3 Verdict
The Danner Free Spirit boot combines retro looks and a solid level of practicality for trails, around town and footpaths, but can run out of grip in mixed, hilly terrain.
Reasons to buy+Retro appeal+Breathable+Lots of dexterityReasons to avoid-Not great grip on mud and wet grass
Reasons to buy+Retro appeal+Breathable+Lots of dexterity
Retro appeal
Breathable
Lots of dexterity
Reasons to avoid-Not great grip on mud and wet grass
Not great grip on mud and wet grass
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
The Danner Free Spirit boots are intended to evoke the days of yore, when boots were made for walking, and the skies were wide and free… or something like that anyway. That said, there’s a decidedly modern theme running alongside the retro schtick, with technical materials rubbing shoulders with suede and tri-density open-cell polyurethane. But can the Danner Free Spirit boots deliver practicality as well as good looks, to be considered one of today’sbest hiking boots for men? Read on for the full Danner Free Spirit boot review to find out…
Danner Free Spirit hiking boot review: design and build
The first impression of the Danner Free Spirit boot is that it is retro indeed, combining durable suede with lightweight textile panels – both in a nod to the past, but also plenty of practicality in the present. The ankle is deeply padded in a comforting way, and the five metal lace loops set into the suede capture both an older style of boot, as well as the laces themselves, of which you get two sets with the boots - one flat, one round. A slight oddity is the stitch-down construction method of the heel, which Danner claims aids stability, but certainly adds to the distinctive look.
(Image credit: Mark Mayne)
(Image credit: Mark Mayne)
While there’s plenty of the old-school in the design language of the Danner Free Spirit boots, thanks partly to the brown suede and green mesh colourway, there’s also more modern materials on show too. The inevitable Gore-Tex liner is present and correct, as is a tri-density OrthoLite footbed for extra comfort. The midsole isn’t as old-school as you might expect, with a dual-density that’s firmer around the edges for stability and softer in the middle for improved traction, at least in theory. Finally, a Vibram Overlook outsole with Megagrip technology graces the underside, promising decent grip via a complex pattern of triangle lugs.
(Image credit: Mark Mayne)
(Image credit: Mark Mayne)
Danner Free Spirit hiking boot review: comfort and performance
(Image credit: Mark Mayne)
(Image credit: Mark Mayne)
The actual undersole is a slightly mixed bag, but it’s certainly not the fault of the Vibram Megagrip, which is sticky as ever. We’d never have thought it, but the softer central part of the midsole does indeed feel more positive and grippy than the outside, which is great on uneven, rocky surfaces like a boulder-y path. Megagrip is very much at home on rock and hard surfaces too, so hillside paths to city streets alike, you’re in good hands. The difficulty comes on slicker, organic surfaces, where the low-profile tread can struggle to maintain traction in some situations. To be fair to Danner, most boots will struggle with steep wet grass at some point/angle, so the fact that these do too isn’t surprising, but the minimalist tread of the Danner Free Spirit does encourage it slightly more than more aggressive lugs.
(Image credit: Mark Mayne)
(Image credit: Mark Mayne)
Danner Free Spirit hiking boot review: verdict
Danner has intentionally designed the Danner Free Spirit boot to be something of a lifestyle crossover, and indeed directly references this in the marketing materials. That’s no bad thing, and certainly not unusual for outdoor brands, assuming there’s no compromise on performance. To be fair, Danner has managed a good balance here, there’s a lot of solid build quality underneath the retro looks, and the Gore-Tex and Megagrip are just as performant here as in any other boot. With a deeper, more aggressive tread pattern it would be more of an all-rounder boot, but it would lose the clean lines and retro cool that are clearly a core part of the design language.
Overall though, there’s a lot of positives to the Danner Free Spirit boot, whether you take a lifestyle or entirely technical standpoint. Or, to put it another way, if you’re looking for a retro walking boot that actually delivers, you’re in the right place…
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