I've let Sasha off lead since she was a tiny pup. HOWEVER, let me state this....we live in the city so we have no backyard where she can run and get out excess energy (our backyard is a small pacth that serves as potty-area....) so I have been taking her out every single day to areas where we can safely run around and play fetch together, hide and seek or do training. Now, I only do this in open areas where I can see if other people or dogs are approaching, and if so, I put the leash on. I also have her off leash when hiking, but only if I can be certain that no one else is around. If we meet other people with dogs, I ask them if their dog is friendy, neutered and would like to play with Sasha, so we let them run around and play for a little while, but only under supervision. We did go to dog parks when she was little for socialization, but now... I just don't trust other dog owners.... so no more of that. Sasha is really good at the recall, but we're still training and there is no way I would EVER let her run off leash near traffic. That is too dangerous regardless of how well trained a dog is.
Most of the time she is on a lead, but at the end of a walk we go to the field where she can "shake it off" and she loves it. She never runs away from me, she has to see me. If a tree blocks her view, she'll come running immediately. I think that's because we have been playing hide and seek a lot when she was little, so whenever I couldn't see her I would say "wheere arrreee youuuuu??" in a happy voice, and she'd come running for me, and I'd give her a treat.
whenever I say "where are you" now, boom! there she is!