The Xero Denver Leather is a stylish boot ready for winter made with water resistant full grain leather uppers, a thermal insole, and a cozy flannel lining. This updated version of an old favourite from Xero has a cleaner look while maintaining its classic style and typical Xero shoes comfort.
The grippy treads on the highly flexible soles strike the perfect balance between comfort and feedback so you can experience all the movement fun winter has to offer! Also perfect for cooler fall and spring days.
Winter Use Info
- We find that with regular leather maintenance, these will keep your feet dry in snow and light rain, however, they do not feature a waterproof liner.
- The Denver does not feature a gusseted tongue, but their sleek fit helps avoid snow entering along the top of the boot and in the lacing area.
- In terms of warmth, they have a medium warmth that may get a little toasty indoors and which feels great while walking outdoors in the cold.
- If you're standing for long periods outdoors in winter the thinner sole means you will be close to the chill in the ground.
- The treads and grip are excellent in most conditions, though you will still need to walk carefully on ice to avoid falling.
Sizing
We find most of our customers take their regular size or go up half a size in this model.
The Denver is only available in US men's sizing, but it's also a great option for women with wider, high volume feet.
The Denver stretches out a little over time. They are comfortable straight out of the box, but the leather will soften, mould to your feet, and become even more flexible as they break in.
The Denver has a sleek fit style:
- suits feet that are average width to narrow width
- suits a variety of foot volumes for men, but may feel too loose for women with lower volume feet even with the lacing done up tight
- suits slope and mountain forefoot shapes best, but you can go half a size up for outer forefoot width
- Xero shoes have a roughly rectangular footprint shape, rather than a triangle shape or a bean shape, and the arch area is not well defined: suitable for lower arches and strong higher arches
- Xero's men's sizing is wider and higher volume than the equivalent length in their women's sizing. A men's 9 is about as long as a women's 10.5 in the same model.
Ground Feel
The Denver's medium-low stack height and flexible materials provide lots of ground feel so that the nerve endings on your soles can get information about the terrain and you can access a wide variety of movements to navigate. We love walking in snow in these soles, you can feel it compress under your feet like sand!
You can take the optional thermal insoles out on warmer days for even more ground feel.
Most new-to-minimal customers find these fine to start out with for casual use as they provide just a bit of cushion for that transition period, as long as you start slow and pay attention. If you have pre-existing concerns, you may wish to start with something more protective or supportive while doing some restorative prep work towards transitioning.
Care
You can take a look at our article on shoe care including lots of useful info on leather maintenance here.
If you use a waterproofing treatment on the Denvers, ensure it is designed for use on leather and do a test spot to check whether it will affect the finish in a desirable manner.
Best Uses
The Denver is so comfortable you'll want to wear them everywhere, and with their easy masculine look that dresses up or down, you can!
Weather wise, we probably would choose something else that's fully waterproof and extra warm for the worst of winter, but these will be fine for the majority of what we see in Toronto. In areas where you get a lot more snow, ice and rain than we do here, the Denver will shine as a fall and spring shoe and be more of a special occasion boot for winter.
