Boots for the Adventurer

although not on your list and I understand your explanation of the MX boot issue but have a look at the new drystar Tech 7, they are very comfortable boots and waterproof, I wore Tech 10;s for years and it does not take long before they break in and peg feel is just fine, the Tech 7 are better in that regard, I made the monstrous mistake of getting some SG12 about 6 months before the Tech7's were released, not that the SG12 are bad but I would have had the tech 7 in a heartbeat.
 
although not on your list and I understand your explanation of the MX boot issue but have a look at the new drystar Tech 7, they are very comfortable boots and waterproof, I wore Tech 10;s for years and it does not take long before they break in and peg feel is just fine, the Tech 7 are better in that regard, I made the monstrous mistake of getting some SG12 about 6 months before the Tech7's were released, not that the SG12 are bad but I would have had the tech 7 in a heartbeat.


There were no Tech7 Drystars in stock anywhere when I got mine last year.
Makes no odds when water goes in the top though other than they take longer to dry out!
I just got a second pair when a cheeky offer came up on one of the websites so it didn't cost me much more.
 
I don't do the kind of riding you lot do, but my Sidi Deep Rain seem to have plenty of protection in them, they are wading in water for long periods waterproof, not if it comes over the top though!

I dropped the 1150Adv, fully loaded when trying to park one day and my leg was trapped between the kerb stone and the bike, down by the engine with the full weight of the bike on my leg. I was stuck there fore about 5 minutes before someone came to get the bike off me. Luckily the exhaust hadn't burned through. I was stuck firm but couldn't feel anything from the weight of the bike, the boot was taking it all.

When I got punted off and run over on the M40 I was wearing the same boots. The toes got scuffed up as I was dragged along under the Jeep for 20 yards or so before it spat me out and ran over my head and chest.... legs were fine. Boots are still waterproof but not so cosmetically sound. The Jeep was doing about 80, apparently. I can only repeat what was reported to me in horse pit hall, from eye witnesses and the Policeyman that sorted it all for me.... I trust those boots.
 
Kevin Sanders of GlobeBusters has a story of leading the London to Beijing trip when he clipped a rock with the toe of his boot. Which twisted his foot and broke his leg with a spiral fracture. He was wearing Sidi Crossfires. With that type of injury/fracture it doesn’t matter what boots you are wearing as it all happens Inside them.
Plus getting them off is a nightmare at a whole new level. Kevin described getting his boot off as ‘character building’, and he could probably be heard screaming throughout the Chinese hospital he was in.

Yikes! I expect he’d have been in trouble whatever boots he was wearing!

Did he heal up ok?
 
There were no Tech7 Drystars in stock anywhere when I got mine last year.
Makes no odds when water goes in the top though other than they take longer to dry out!
I just got a second pair when a cheeky offer came up on one of the websites so it didn't cost me much more.

not an issue for me never tuck trousers inside the boots anyway, so water getting in the top not an issue, and if I need to got through very deep water, I will normally take a boat/ferry or alternative route :)
 
My Sidi Crossfire TAs when riding off-road. Or maybe my Acerbis X-Teams or Gaerne GX-1 Evos if I feel like compromising.

My Daytona TransTourman GTX for when I know it will be wet. I did consider the Rev'It Expedition H2O, but Daytona's use of Gore-Tex swung me.

Agree with Andres - "adventure" boots (touring boots that look like off-road boots) won't protect my feet and legs when I fall. And I will fall.
 
After helping someone with a spiral fracture on a trail in Wales (he was wearing Sidi Adventures) I now mostly wear what many of the Dakar boys and girls use - Sidi Crossfires.

Me too, with customer fit knee braces also after a spiral fracture in Wales, for anything that involves unpaved roads.

Up here in Scotland at the moment on paved roads (but very tiny ones) I’m using Altberg Hogg tall. Super comfy and waterproof but no good for trails I fear, if protection is important.


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Yikes! I expect he’d have been in trouble whatever boots he was wearing!

Did he heal up ok?

Kevin completed that trip in the backup van, but healed fine. He does have a tiny bit of a limp at the end of a day when he’s tired though.
 
I find BMW Gravel boots very good - waterproof and comfortable to walk in, good protection.
 
The Enduro/MX boots are the muts nuts when it comes to protection. The trade off is all day comfort in all conditions. This is where the balance should be. Enough protection but not so stiff as to immobilise the foot and lower leg.

I tried the boots on today to have a feel for what fits the best.

Rev'it Expedition H2O - This is a very good boot and fits really well. The BOA system makes a massive difference. Very bulky and my pants wont go over the shin guard. Comfortable from the get go. The foot box is a bit wider and I felt that when it breaks in there will be movement. Didn't try a 44 because I felt if I went down a size the boot will be too narrow near the heel.

Sidi Adventure 2 Gore-Tex - I can see why people rate this boot. It is well made, stiff in the right places for a road boot and it is high. The boot slips on nicely and once you have finished messing around with buckles it fits really well. The 44 was just too small and it pinches the foot uncomfortably. One size up and it is spot on. At last, a Sidi that fits.

TCX Drifter - Feels almost the same as the Sidi but this boot fits me in a 44, not a 45. Once I have done up the 2nd buckle there is a pressure point just above the ankle. It also leaves a bit of a gap between the shin and the shin guard. There is a enough bending but on my hunches it pinches the bridge of the foot. Easy to adjust but then it is too loose. Comfortable overall but be sure that it fits with nothing distracting you.

TCX Terrain 3 WP - Plastic buckles. It didn't even make past the visual. Same with the TCX Baja.

Forma Adventure - Have yet to try this one.

Alpinestars Corozal Adventure Drystar - There was none to try.

Held has moved things on massively with that boot. Straight out of Star Wars star trooper boots look-a-like. It is good. The Sidi Adventure 2 Gore-Tex is my choice. In size 45 it fits like a glove, bends where it needs to the lack of a third buckle might worry some but I get a better fit with the Velcro. All the boots here doesn't have the lateral and medial stiffness of a MX boot. Some bend much easier than others above the ankle. The Held and Sidi are the stiffest here but by no means an off road boot.

Paid my dues and will see how it stacks up.

I had a look online at the Crossfires. Bloody expensive but it looks ace and something different that the Alpinestars I'm used to. If a second set of boots are needed it will get a look into. For the road the Adventure 2 feels a better boot than any I had before. In the time I was in the shop they sold 2 pairs of Sidi Adventure 2 boots.
 
I have been wearing the Sidi Adventure 2 for a week now and find it very comfortable. A bit less feel for the gear lever and brake pedal but soon got used to it. Being wider they touch down easier than the Gaerne.

The Sidis got their 1st workout today. Mini roundabout where I'm following traffic through the roundabout to the right that opens in a long straight road where I can overtake. Didn't spot the split in the tarmac that caused the bike to drop to the right and I dabbed with my right foot that was pulled under the foot peg. To say it hurt like fuck is probably right. Had I been wearing the Gaerne boots things would have been a lot worse. The heel cup, toe protection and hyper extension were tested and it didn't break, neither did I.
 
Daytona TransTourman Saved My Leg?

Making a right turn last Friday, feeling playful, I flopped the bike way over... too far... bottom of right Zega pannier scutched the ground and shunted the back end what felt like 6 inches or so to the left. Chance helped me keep some control, so no biggie...

But my right foot had been in a 1pm position, and my toe grabbed the ground as the bike was flopped over. All very quick, but I'm certain my foot rotated well past 90 degrees backward, and the outer side of my leg banged off the leading edge of the pannier.

Within metres from the event, my brain was saying there's no way your leg's not broken. I wiggled my toes and pivoted my foot up and down. It hurt, but not terribly.

I took the TransTourman off when I got home. No swelling, no bruising. Saturday and Sunday I was limping with a tinge of pain. Yesterday I realised at the top of the stairs that I had just bounded up them

Not sure how big a factor luck or chance played in this vs how protective the TransTourmans actually are. I wonder how I would have fared if I'd been wearing my Crossfires?
 
I have ridden in MX boots from the start of my road riding, as I came from a off road background. Having broken a number of bones in my right foot, and torn a few ligaments in my left, it isn't possible to protect from every eventuality, even wearing AlpineStar Tech 8's! (The top of the range at the time)
Having to walk around a hot foreign city soon becomes a chore though. I tried a plain waterproof touring boot for a while, but the lack of protection was a concern.
The Forma adventures I bought a few years ago fit the bill for me, decent cross over between comfort and protection. So much so I bought another pair and donated my old ones to the virtual stepdaughter! Mine have been totally waterproof, up to about halfway up the shin plate. Deeper than that and I don't believe any boots won't leak.
I do wear over boot style pants though, and that I believe helps for purely road riding .
Mark
 
I have wore the sidi adventures for years but tried the new klim adventure boots.
Great boots!

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