| Author | Message | ||
     Steveford |
I've been slowly researching and buying boots of late. They have to be from the US or Italy to be considered in my search. I also had frost bite on both feet so my feet tend to run hot as the circulation is screwed up. Sidi - go up 1/2 size from what you normally wear. All of the Sidi boots I've owned run on the warm side - anything that says RAIN or Gore Tex is really a 3 season boot. I have 2 pair of Sidi, durable, well made, too hot for the Summer. AlpineStars - after having AlpineStars split at the seam after only 1 year I will never buy another pair. I'm not alone with the seam issue, by the way. All of the US made boots listed below are sized accurately. Get the size you'd normally wear in a shoe which may be 1/2 size smaller than your typical sneaker. Isn't it fun? The boots listed below do not have any of the motorcycle-specific protection devices so hopefully you won't slide too far on your ankle. Red Wing - Very high quality, probably the best of the bunch. Wide variety to fit just about any application. A lifetime boot which also means they weigh a ton. I currently have the Pecos pull on which will be good from around 40-70 degree day rides for me. Much above that and they'll start to get on the warm side although the tops let in lots of air flow. Stylish in kind of a cowboy-ish way. Chippewa - very high quality, maybe a notch below Red Wing but built like tanks. A lifetime boot. Thorogood - not quite in the same league as Red Wing or Chippewa but they're priced quite a bit lower and their 6" postal boot looks like a real winner for Summer riding. The soles for that model are glued on but I'm told no issues by a woman who has been selling them for 3 years. | ||
| Cupcake_mike |
Keep in mind not all red wings are made in the usa.... I have worn them for about 5 years at work...quality has gotten worse each year, don't get me wrong, they aren't bad just not as good as they used to be. The ones I got were about the lightest of the 100 or so brands/styles I could choose from and I walk at least about 5 miles a day, most days, at work so I wouldn't wear a "heavy" boot. I wear the lace up king toe...I like pull-ons but dont really trust them on the bike because there isn't much ankle support. Anyway, I wear the red wings to ride in pretty much exclusively | ||
| Steveford |
I like pull ons except it's just so hard to get the "slop" out of them for walking. One fellow suggested this stick-on padding which goes above your foot in the boot so it forces your foot down. He said it's kind of like a maxi pad for boots. You're so right, I forgot to mention that there are American Red Wings, Red Wings made with "imported leather" (from where, who knows) and then the Chinese Red Wing Worx boots and the entire Irish Setter line. You really have to do your research with them. | ||
| Pwnzor |
Good boots are worth spending the time to check out. Red wings for me. | ||
| Greg_e |
Why not check out Bates, they used to make a couple designs. | ||
| Ourdee |
I used to wear red wing pull on style with metatarsal guards. I went through a pair every year at the foundry. I wouldn't wear them on a bike. They were designed to come off quick. If you got 2600 degree iron in them there wasn't time for unlacing. | ||
| Ourdee |
The translation from german to english of Das Boot is "The Boat" | ||
| Slaughter |
Riding AND walking/standing? I use Chippewa 20085 and have for years... and I've gotten weird about buying domestic whenever possible. Chippewa are my workboots and I'll double-knot them when riding but they're not really riding boots. http://www.americanmadeworkboots.com/8-inch-boots/ chippewa-20085/  I'm a label and source-checker on ALL my clothes (t-shirts, pants, shoes and boots - but I'll buy socks in bulk) Levis haven't been domestic sourced or produced for decades now. | ||
| Steveford |
Slaughter, I checked out those exact same boots yesterday and those things would survive an atomic bomb. I used to use Bates street boots back in the 70s but something about the zipper really pissed me off. I think it detached from the leather or something and the soles got thin really fast. That's a real good point about pull on boots coming off in a crash - that would not be a good thing at all. I might have to rethink the Pecos for actual riding boots. P.S. My 12' fishing boat is also named Das Boot. You have to say it with a heavy Cherman accent to get the full effect. (Message edited by SteveFord on May 03, 2015) | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
My 12' fishing boat is also named Das Boot. You have to say it with a heavy Cherman accent to get the full effect. Is it submersible? (either by design or accident)  | ||
| Crusty |
This discussion is really sinking to new depths. | ||
| Steveford |
We nearly found out when my wife got into the boat one fine day when I was on shore. Please do not get into the boat by stepping onto the side of the pointy end, please... Landlubbers! | ||
| Pwnzor |
This discussion is really sinking to new depths.  | ||
| Steveford |
Their web site could use some help but I was steered to this store which is outside of York, PA http://www.shoppeamericanmade.com/home.html and it was both pretty cool to see a store full of only American made products (I went for the Thorogood boots) and also just so sad to see what outsourcing has done to us. Growing up who would have thought that nearly EVERYTHING would be made somewhere else and there would be small specialty stores devoted to products made here? It just seems surreal to someone my age (born 1959). After the American Made shop my wife and I went to look at Chippewa boots in this one gigantic boot and shoe store and aside from maybe 10 pair of Chippewa boots which were kind of scattered throughout the piles of boxes, everything else was made in China. The day left me feeling kind of stunned. P.S. Very nice people at that American Made store so if you're in the area I'd recommend stopping in. (Message edited by SteveFord on May 08, 2015) | ||
| Steveford |
Sidi Traffic Air boots are made in Romania (?) and are the first Sidi boots I've ever seen that run large. I used to have to go 1/2 size up. Not with these. Is nothing sacred? |
