I have worn Danner boots exclusively for almost 20 years, I have always had really good luck with them. They have fit right out of the box and been great. Just lace them on and go.

My old Danner's are getting tired and I decided to buy a new pair. The old ones that I have are no longer made but the Danner Grouse looks almost like the same boot so I bough a pair of those.

The foot of the boot is great. The problem that I am having is in the ankle. The tongue is one piece that folds over on itself, this fold ends up rubbing on my ankle bone (the little knobby bone on your ankle)on both ankles. It is really irritating with each step and gets quite painful

I have tried to break it in with no success.

I have:
1) Warn them in the bath tub full of hot water and walked in them all day after until they are dry (felt ok when wet).
2)Oiled the area with mink oil and leather conditioner and warn them.
3)Oiled and hammered the fold to make it flatter, this helped but did not fix it.
4)Walked miles in them, I have already really warn down the sole.

I just ordered a pair of Meindl's but would really like to be able to make my $300 Danner's work.

Has anyone experienced anything like this? If so how did you solve it?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I am going on 6 years with my Pronghorns. My suggestion would be to call Danner directly?

Contact them...

http://danner.custhelp.com/app.../585/kw/contact%20us

I'd contact Danner and ask them about it.

I have relatively skinny ankles and the excess tongue material is a common problem when lacing up taller boots. I have yet yo find a solution other than fitted White's.

While this won't help you ... Maybe it will help someone else in a similar situation.

I had a very similar problem, different manufacturer though. Bought my second pair of "Brand X" boots because the first ones were so great. Second ones, not so great.

I did what you did. I tried to make them work. By the time I realized they were not going to work, I could not get the store to take them back. $250 down the drain.

From now on, if I have the slightest problem, I take them back, swap them for another pair. Btw I also had the exact problem you did with a pair of Danners about 10 years ago. I returned them. I still buy Danners to this day. Every now and then one of them just comes out wrong.

I agree contact Danners and see what they will do. Good luck.

Truth of the matter is(I don`t care what name it is)You never have to break in a good pair of boots.

quote:

Originally posted by OLBIKER:
Truth of the matter is(I don`t care what name it is)You never have to break in a good pair of boots.

A lot of truth in that statement.

Sir,
I have had the same problem with the tongue flaps. I have always pushed them under the lips of the boots and kept them flat under the laces. This can, as yours seemed to have done, add that ridge right on the Ankle bone. I have found no good way around it unless the flap is just leather. Then you can fold it where the flap is under the laces instead of on the ankle and it will moderate to some degree. If you have insulation and gore tex to deal with, well just won't work.
dmw

you are going to love the Meindls. Mine are the best boot I have ever worn. MsAZW even cashed in some of her Cabelas points to get a pair for her after my raving and she loves them too.

Since AnotherAZWriter mentioned it, buy your boots at Cabelas, if at all possible. They stand behind them 100% all the time, every time, regardless of brand.

I would not do it, but I knew a fellow that returned a pair of boots he wore for 10 years as defective, and got another new pair with no questions asked.

Thanks for all the feedback guys!

I do have skinny ankles and from what I have read on here it is pretty common for people that have skinny ankles to have an issue like this. I am not sure why it has never happened, maybe I am getting old.

I have put the Danners back into their box and will play with them later. I have had some communication with Danner and they were not really helpful so I decided to try the meindls

The Meindls are a lot better the left foot feels great but the right foot is still bugging me. It is down to just an irritation now and no longer cause bruising. So I am hoping that I can break them in and get past this.

I will let you know how it works out, thanks again for the help

quote:

Originally posted by larrys:
Since AnotherAZWriter mentioned it, buy your boots at Cabelas, if at all possible. They stand behind them 100% all the time, every time, regardless of brand.

I would not do it, but I knew a fellow that returned a pair of boots he wore for 10 years as defective, and got another new pair with no questions asked.

THIS!!!

You ae going to love the Meidl's

Take a pair of scissors or a knife and cut the tongue down the side. Eliminate the excess material in the tongue. Seal up the cut material. Problem solved.

GA Hunter that is probably what I will end up doing when I get back from my trip at the end of the month. For now the Meindls are doing the job

Brad:

Great choice switching from the Danner to Meindl.

I did the same several years ago. No comparison between the IMO.