It was time for a pair of new boots so I did a mini tour of a few local dealers to see what was on offer, how many beer tokens I’d be shedding and which ones felt comfortable straight out of the box.
For the last few years I’ve alternated between Sidi Adventures and Daytona Roadstar GTX depending on whether I planned to depart from decent road surfaces but the Sidi boots were never what I’d call truly comfortable for long days and I always left them off until the last possible minute and the Daytonas though as comfortable as a pair of slippers were never going to save my feet or ankles from anything more than a pleasant slide on tarmac with no chance of a sudden feet first stop.
Anyway, in the end it came down to Forma Adventures or Gaerne All Terrain and though marginally heavier the Gaerne boots won the day mainly because I actually trust Gore-Tex to keep my feet dry in torrential rain but also because the very nice dealer knocked £50 off the price bringing them below any other dealers where you can actually try boots on rather than buying off the Internet then having to return them if unhappy. I could have saved another £10 by buying off eBay after getting the size right in the local dealer but that’s a shit trick to pull and you end up with the local dealer closing if everyone does it.
So far so good. I’ve only tried standing up on the bike while it’s on the stand due to having a finger currently held together with superglue and steristrips but they felt nice and solid so they should be good for bouncing around on the pegs while off road and then spent an hour or so wearing them in the house and they’re comfortable even when ratcheted up tight.
Once my digit has healed I’ll give them a thorough test then report back with a more in depth review though hopefully not including crash protection or bilblical rain
For the last few years I’ve alternated between Sidi Adventures and Daytona Roadstar GTX depending on whether I planned to depart from decent road surfaces but the Sidi boots were never what I’d call truly comfortable for long days and I always left them off until the last possible minute and the Daytonas though as comfortable as a pair of slippers were never going to save my feet or ankles from anything more than a pleasant slide on tarmac with no chance of a sudden feet first stop.
Anyway, in the end it came down to Forma Adventures or Gaerne All Terrain and though marginally heavier the Gaerne boots won the day mainly because I actually trust Gore-Tex to keep my feet dry in torrential rain but also because the very nice dealer knocked £50 off the price bringing them below any other dealers where you can actually try boots on rather than buying off the Internet then having to return them if unhappy. I could have saved another £10 by buying off eBay after getting the size right in the local dealer but that’s a shit trick to pull and you end up with the local dealer closing if everyone does it.
So far so good. I’ve only tried standing up on the bike while it’s on the stand due to having a finger currently held together with superglue and steristrips but they felt nice and solid so they should be good for bouncing around on the pegs while off road and then spent an hour or so wearing them in the house and they’re comfortable even when ratcheted up tight.
Once my digit has healed I’ll give them a thorough test then report back with a more in depth review though hopefully not including crash protection or bilblical rain
