How to buy the best dual sport and adventure boots!
The most important thing?
Ignore all the so called reviews and comparisons.
Those comparisons are almost always from retailers who will favor the boots with the biggest
profits.
And so many alleged reviews are from social media influencers.
They are given free products if they will say good
things about them.
Or even receive money to do the review.
Protection versus comfort!
You get what you pay for.
If you spend enough, you can get a good mix of fairly decent protection and comfort.
But there's always a compromise.
The best protection means a heavier boot.
And it won't be so comfortable to walk in.
Here are the main points.
You want protection - your shin, toes, ankle and heel.
The heavier and more solid the construction, the more protected you will be.
This includes the sole, which ideally should be stitched on,
not just glued.
And of course, decent materials mean a big
slide down the road is less likely to wear through the
boots and get to your skin.
More dollars than sense?
No riding skills, but plenty of cash?
BWM has you covered!
These boots arefor your pleasure and use only the highest
quality unicorn skin, rhino horn, and Tiger penis.
It's the
triumph of style over substance.
Stress test!
Think of some worst case scenarios.,, your bike slides out
and crushes your foot or twist your ankle.
A stump or large
rock tries to bend your foot under the foot peg.
Or a car
rams your leg or a log in high grass and hits you in the shin.
We tried some stress tests on generic road boots, a budget
pair of boots, a $300 pair of boots and the best quality
motocross boots.
The toe cup easily crushed on the road
boots, marginally better on the budget adventure boots, slightly
better again on the $300 boots.
And of course, very little
movement on the quality motocross boots.
Lateral ankle
protection?
Absolutely crap on the road boots, next to none on
the budget boots, very poor on the three-hundred-dollar boots.
And a real effort to get any flex at all on the motocross
boots, Forward and rear reflection?
Laughable on the
budget boots.
Oh my god very little on the $300 boots.
But the pivot point on the
motocross boots allows some movement.
Then it locks solid
to prevent injury.
Protection almost non existent for the
road boots, a bit better on the budget boots, no improvement on
the more expensive boots, but then rock solid on the quality
motocross boots.
There are more tests of course, but you get
the picture.
Also don't assume all motocross boots provide
good protection!
Once you wear them in, cheap motocross boots
are next to useless.
Check out this pair of motocross boots.
So what sort of terrain do you ride in, and how aggressively?
Just cruising along dirt roads and highways, and you don't
want to clump into cafes like Frankenstein?
Then comfort will
be more important than protection, But if you spend a
lot of your time off road and enjoy some gnarly or aggressive
riding, you really should be focusing on protection.
If you
do decide on motocross boots, see our guide based on the
feedback from hundreds of riders, Next, the Hinged ankle
pivot point, Very few adventure boots have this,,, In fact, a lot
of motocross boots don't have it either.
But if you are very
serious about the best protection, we encourage you to
consider this for your boots.
Our new gumby Enduro boots!
Don't just ram that lever, feel it, become one with the lever.
Warning!
Will snap tendons, feet, and cause death through bleeding,
Longevity and quality!
Most experienced riders will tell
you cheap boots cost more in the long run, along with the.
crap protection, It's just false economy.
Cheap boots
might last two years.
The best quality ones may go a decade or
more.
You do the math.
When we researched enduro boots, there
was a clear link between cost, country of manufacture, and
overall quality and longevity, Italian made boots are usually
the best.
Made elsewhere?
Europe is next after that, it's
usually the Asian countries with China at the bottom of
course.
But don't take our word for it, do your own
research.
We've even done a video with suggestions about
how to effectively research motorbike products.
Do you want
waterproof boots?
If so do a lot of research.
Some boots
claim to be waterproof but leak after a few rides, Others don't
claim to be waterproof, but then turn out to be brilliant
in wet weather...
go figure . Height of the boot?
If you use
knee guards or braces, then they will anchor nicely into
tall boots.
Tall boots also stay dryer if you put your foot
down in a creek crossing.
And if you want to look a bit more
normal when walking around in public, consider wearing OTB
pants or over the boot pants, it hides those big high clumpy
boots quite nicely.
Finally, wear the boots before you try
them.
Some suit narrow feet, others wider feet.
Sometimes
the sizing charts are inaccurate.
Support your local
store by buying your boots there and walk around for 5
minutes first to check the fit.
We will do a more detailed
video later about brands and models of various boots.
Tell
us what you use and what you hate and like about them.
Let
us know in the comments.