I just picked up those exact Crossfire boots from a friend last night! I actually think they make less noise than my Sidi Adventure boots...
I get the idea of not wanting grippy soles if you go down, but another safety issue is needing good grip when you have to put a foot down, especially when traffic forces you to practically walk the damn bike. I like my Sedici Lorenzos, but they are a little lacking in that department (and not the best shin protection, but that's another matter). I try to look before planting a foot, but sometimes you gotta do it on a surface that is not ideal. I'm hoping to find something eventually that is a worthy compromise between the two, with good lower leg protection... and waterproof... haven't seen it yet. And when are they gonna make a boot with a slider on the inside edge of the toe, so I can drag my feet a little when needed without wearing the boots out quickly? I'm half-joking, but I think it would be a good idea. In crawling stop-n-go traffic, it would be nice to not have so much getting on and off the pegs or having to dangle my legs without dragging my feet.
Some years ago, I was riding a Honda Reflex scooter a nice little bike, when I went over during a turn in the middle of an intersection. My leg was somewhat trapped under the bike. I was not wearing bootsl, just a pair of sneaker. When I managed to pull my foot out from under the bike the, my foot came out of my sneaker and the bike came down further...the hot exhaust onto my nearly naked ankle. To this day, nearly 10 years later I have a pretty good burn scar there. I never got on a bike without boots on after that. So, even if they are not the best, wear above the ankle boots.
What snake boots do you wear? I'm looking for boots that I can wear that have somewhat protection more than my work boots and that I can wear at work/my lab for about 5 to 8 hours a day. Seems that they would be abrasive resistant.
They seem a little low? Do you wear the 6 inch boot, or 9 inch boot? I was looking for something taller than your average low boot as my pants tend to ride up while I ride
New rider here... My first bike was a street bike last summer, the mighty CBR300R and I got a pair of SMX plus boots to use with it. I think they are nice street boots but then I got rid of that bike when I discovered that dual sports existed and were the right kind of bike for my outdoor interests. I bought the Alpinestars Toucans because they were for adventuring and shit like that and I'm all about roaming the Earth and getting into adventures. But, I started reading more and talking to people and it seemed having a full height MX boot would be good too. Plus I could tuck my pants in them and ride around town looking like a total prick. That sealed the deal and I was sold on the idea. I got a pair of Forma Terrain TX Enduros this past Christmas. I watched Brian's review at Atomic Moto and it seemed the bottom line was that they have the protection of the higher end boots but not the creature comforts. Worked for me and my budget. The Incident and Lesson: Anyway, I was wearing the Toucans while dirt road riding a couple weeks ago. I made a shitty line when I came up a rise and was presented with a downhill hairpin to the left. I was going too fast and was on the wrong side of the curve at the start. As you would expect I went wide and impacted into a dirt wall on the outside of the turn at about 25-35 mph. The bike hit the wall somewhat sideways and stopped, I kept going. My body was kind of leaned over to my left when I hit the wall. My feet went through the bars and my left foot got snagged up. I slid to a stop on my left side down the trail from the bike. I got a nasty sprain and Achilles' tendon was killing me and the one on top of my foot when doing an kind of flexion. Outer ankle took a good impact knock and was swelled up big for a few days. Outer side of lower foot turned black from bruising. I think the side of my foot hit the bars and then hyper extended on the way out. I am glad I was wearing a boot with the level of protection I had as I am convinced that if I had anything less on I would have broken my ankle or torn tendons and ligaments, which I probably did, but not to the point of needing surgery. I've been wearing an air cast the last couple weeks and healing up pretty good. Today I was able to go out and putter around some back roads. I am also convinced that if I had been wearing my Forma Terrain TX boots with the much better ankle support and hinge system that my injury would have been less. But I can't really complain about the performance of the Toucans. They did the job, nothing broke. I cinched the buckles down tight as I could on the injured side and I was able to ride 60 miles home. There I took the boot off and as you would expect the swelling began to inflate my ankle right away. Aside from the valuable riding lessons learned from my mistake, I have also vowed to always wear the full MX boot when trail riding. You know, the reason I bought them. (Plus the tucked in pants thing). I wore the Toucans that day because it was raining a bit in the morning when I set out. Since I knew I was going trail riding I should have gone for max protection over comfort. My DR650 was of course unfazed by my amateurish riding antics and was like "Is that all you got? You brought me out here for this shit?" Lol. I'd like to also add that I was wearing jacket and pants with D30 XT Pro CE2 shoulder, elbow, hip and knee protection plus Bohn adventure shorts with the thigh armor, and an Astars chest and back protector under my jacket. Didn't feel a thing on this crash in those areas and virtually nothing on the other low speed cash I had earlier that day. It's weird how a drainage ditch on the other side of the road can hypnotize you into riding right in it. On that crash I did a low side trying to steer out of the ditch and rubbed along my left side and wound up kind of slammed down on my chest on a gravelly road. No bruising. Luck and the pads worked out. D30 works like they say it does. Bueno. So yeah. I agree. Boots. Steve
Sidi Adventure boots fit that description. Not enough protection for off-road riding in my opinion (I bought a pair of Sidi Crossfire 2 boots for that), but the Sidi Adventure boots would provide the level of protection you asked about. I had a high side crash 1-1/2 years ago and the bike ended up landing on my right leg breaking the Fibula just under the knee and separated the fibula/tibia at the ankle. The engine case landed directly on my ankle, but the Sidi Adventure boots protected the ankle from being crushed. The ankle damage that did happen was a result of my foot being pinned against the ground by the bike while I was rag dolling it (twisting injury). External Fixation. Not nearly as much fun as it looks.
Nothing beats the protection of a good pair of MX boots. A good friend of mine has an excellent way of evaluating off-road riding boots. His criteria, grap a ball peen hammer and start pounding on the boots. If there is any part you are afraid to hit, then you don't have the right boots.
Get lowered footpegs. These made riding with MX boots much, much more comfortable on my KLR650. The are not only lower, but they are moved back which really helps. http://www.knightdesignllc.com/Products/Motorcycle/Motorcycle-Makes.html
Wow, After reading this I guess I'll keep my Gaerne MX boots for riding and bring along something to walk in for where ever I'm going. The Gaernes' are KTM orange and I now ride beemer, but this post makes me overlook matching my gear to the bike. I walk like Darth Vader when wearing them.. so I guess I'll pack other shoes or only ride to Star Wars or Frankenstein conventions.
A few years back a guy was picking up his brand new K1300s HP4 at our dealer. Just after leaving the parking lot a car made an abrupt left into him and knocked his barely moving bike pretty hard. Bike went over and pinned his foot between the frame of the skidding bike and pavement. He was wearing regular shoes and had his foot traumatically amputated at the scene. Basically ground it off a the ankle. Quite possibly with good boots he would have suffered just a broken ankle.
I walk strange, feel like a gunslinger when the metal toe scrapes against the ground, receive strange looks from cagers who have never ridden or fellow enthusiasts who don't know the meaning of ATGATT. I ride with one boot, SIDI Discovery Rain. Have been in a few self induced off road naps with the big DL1000 but no severe accidents (crossing fingers). Reading this I will keep wearing and hoping I never test them.
That's okay. Sometimes when I run to the post office I get asked what time the spaceship is taking off. I just laugh. It's just people making conversation. And hey, chicks dig a man who does his own thing, plus you're riding a motorcycle. Woot! You can't lose. 60% of the time it will work all the time to get a phone number.
Just my opinion here....but unless one is wearing a boot that is hard plastic from the top to the toe, protection from traumatic impact is at best, a compromise. I wear a pair of 8 inch Bates duty boots......the are comfortable to walk around in, and will provide adequate protection against road rash...but I don't delude myself into thinking that if my ankle gets pinched between a front bumper and a motorcycle frame, that they are going to save me from serious ankle injury.
Bates has a new line of boots out that are motorcycle specific. I looked at them. They do have some upgraded protection features, but still like you said, not race ready or super armored up or anything.
Bike fell on me downhill trapping right foot under it til another rider lifted it off. 2 weeks of swelling, finished the ride and might be okay. First thing the guys said "get rid off the Adventure boots. Get Tech 10's or Crossfires." The new Crossfire TA 2's arrived this week. Might save the Adventures for fire roading the Nat'l forest, that's about it.
Boots are important, and don't leave them out in the rain the night before work so you can't wear them. This could happen.
