Danner Men's Striker Torrent Side Zip 8 BK Boot

I've been wearing these off and on now for a few weeks and overall I like them. They are replacing a well-worn pair of Striker IIs that were amazing boots. Too bad Danner does not make that model anymore. These Torrents are probably the best replacement, but they are not quite as good, in my opinion. First of all, they do not have the composite toe of the Striker II, but at least they have an all leather upper. I use these as a motorcycle boot so I want an all-leather upper for protection. It is also important that I can get them on and off using just the zipper, as long as I lace them up a little on the loose side. They also have a handy elastic cover at the top of the tongue that I tuck the laces into, which prevents them from catching on any motorcycle parts and there is a leather flap behind the zipper which will keep water out. The boots are comfortable out of the box but, unlike my Striker II, they do need a little time to break-in.You will read a lot of reviews that say these boots run small. I think that is true, but in a curious way. I ordered the same size as my Striker IIs, 11.5 EE. Placing the two boots sole-to-sole, the Torrent is visibly shorter and narrower and when wearing the boot it looks much smaller on my foot. However, it feels and fits just fine. My toe does not hit the end and my wide foot is not squeezed at the sides. I expect once broken in they will be as comfortable as my Striker IIs.Bottom line, you may or may not need to order up a half size. I did not, but your mileage may very. The great thing is that these have free returns, so you can send them back for another size if you aren't happy with the fit.

I'm not usually one to write reviews or be unhappy with higher dollar equipment, but spending over 200 dollars on these particular boots is an exception. I'm a patrol officer and work on my off days, so I'm wearing my full duty belt and boots for most of my time. I wear about a 10.5 to 11 in boots. My feet are pretty flat, so I try to by boots and shoes with a lot of support. For two years I used a pair of Academy special Bates zip ups, which I paid around 80 dollar for. They were light, but not waterproof at all. They became uncomfortable after about 1 year, but I toughed it out and saved up to by these Danners. Everybody raved about how great Danners are. I wanted a waterproof, full length zip up. Well I landed on these strikers. I bought the full leather ones, not the half. After wearing them for over 6 months, I wanted to review them.They are super heavy, hot, and hurt my feet after standing/walking for a while. I have to work traffic sometimes and work details, so I'm on my feet a good bit. These boots never really "broke in." The sides hurt my ankles, right where that little bone sticks out and touches the side of the boot. I've tried to loosen the laces but that doesn't help. These boots are also VERY hard to maintain a high polish (yes I know HOW to polish boots.) Once I finally got the Kiwi to absorb in, the shine just DOES not stay. My bates may have been uncomfortable and were not waterproof, but they were light and held a hell of a polish. I DO NOT recommend the Striker Torrent series. Maybe other Danners are better, I don't know. These boots hurt my ankles and feet just as much now as they first did when I got them.Now I do have a couple of good things to say. I haven't had any problems so far with the zippers breaking. The boot is really well constructed, and I don't see them falling apart like my Bates. They are 100 percent waterproof. I've ran through water probably 6 inches deep and my feet were still dry. They only time they get wet is when it's 100 plus degrees here in Louisiana and my feet sweat because these boots don't breeze. I think my next pair of boots, Danners or not, will be bought in a store so I can try them on first. For what I paid for these damn things, I think they could be a lot better.

First day of ownership and initial thoughts are that is a very well made boot with excellent stitching, leather, and overall quality. I would expect no less from Danner. My only gripes are that the boot definitely runs small in both length and width. I'm normally an 11 wide, I ordered 11.5 wide and the width is still a little too narrow but I'm m sure once i break it in it will fit nicely. Order half size larger and wider than you normally wear. Also there is 1 area where the boot creases on in between the top eyelaces and the bottom eyelets that bends inward as you walk and is uncomfortable, again once broken in im sure it will go away. Nice composite toe, i can kick a brick wall and wouldn't feel it. Also be advised the gortex stops about 2.5 inches from the top of the boot which is closer to a 10" boot than an 8" boot. Boot is taller than my Bates delta 9" by a good inch. Overall i recommend it, but time will tell how this boot fares and if the zipper holds up.

Yea these are just as nice as Striker II in my opinion. But zipper came appart. Dropped to 4. They are better than rebook military boots. They are better than converse military boots. Better fit and feel than Alpine Star Tech 3 (maybe not as good of protection?)I sewed a velcro latch on the top of the zipper to reenforce that connection point so the zipper didnt take all the load at the top. They dont have a zipper latch.I use these as sport touring motorcycle boots rather than poor fitting less supportive and protective slip ons or way too stiff race boots.I consider them the best compromise between flexibility, support and protection. Taller than 8" Striker II.

This is my second pair of these boots and I still think they are worth every penny. The zipper broke or I would have given them a five-star rating. However, keep in mind that it's unlikely they can be repaired if the zipper breaks. I took it to multiple shoe cobblers and they said it was not fixable so keep that in mind. Also, they run about 1/2 size small and take weeks to break in so start by wearing them 2-3 hours to break them in slowly.