melensdad
Well-Known Member
That hard plastic inset is exactly what is lacking from most touring boots and is one of the 'must have' features I am looking for. Either semi-rigid or rigid. It doesn't matter if it is applied to the front of the boot or covered over with leather, I just want it there to offer some shin protection.So I have to admit, these boot discussions have been pretty educational. They have lead me to do some investigation on my own boot inventory. The only boots I have with “armor” over the tibia area are my BMW gortex touring boots but it is a hard flexible plastic insert. All my others only have extra layers of leather over the ankle.
I also want real ankle protection, high on my list are boots with both "pucks" and with some sort of hard plastic at the ankle, ideally protecting both sides of the ankle.
Honestly I believe most "European style" touring boots from low priced brands to super premiums are actually just fashion boots when you look at actual protection. Expensive versions are Gore-Tex, lower priced versions use something else if water proofing is offered. Most have only very modest heel and toe protection, and most have a soft puck, some have a puck on only 1 side of the ankle. Footbeds are often too flexible to protect the foot from a crush/crash too.
The same concerns about lack of serious protection can be levied against riding shoes, moto-specific chukkas & hiking style boots, and most moto-specific engineer style or work style boots. Zero hard shin protection, generally too flexible soles, generally light heel/toe protection. Some give less protection than most of the Euro style touring boots, some may give more, depending upon the design and construction. My current Forma boots fall into this category of only offering modest protection.
Moving up to an ADV-Touring boot seems to bring some real protection. Many of those have both pucks & rigid or semi-rigid plastic on the ankles and pretty much all have semi-rigid or rigid shin protection. Most all have serious toe and heel protection combined with a fairly rigid footbed for protection. Many use an eco-skeleton buy some use internal had parts.
BELOW is personal opinion, feel free to ignore my opinion, its just mine, no rule says it has to fit the mindset of anyone else here. My opinion is based on my observation and consumer level research. There clearly are OTHER boots that fit into these 3 grouping. There are also boots that are called ADV-Touring boots that I would not consider acceptable. I'm not posting to argue but simply point out what I've found.
The low end of what I consider acceptable protection would be Forma's ADV-Tourer, the Rev'it Trail H20 and Sidi Canyon. Despite lightweight production both of these use some hard plastic at ankles & shins, fairly beefy in the toe/heel and remain "walkable" off the bike.
The Sidi Armada is probably a good middle range ADV-Tourer but it has a funky removable upper protective cuff design. Forma's Cape Horn and Rev'it Gravel fit into this mid-range offering more protection without giving up the ability to use as a daily rider. These all offer a step up in protective parts.
On the high end of protection (and price) for ADV-Touring boots would be Sidi Adventure 2, Dianese's Centauri or Rev'it's Discovery ... but soles on those may be so rigid that using them off the bike may be cumbersome on a long distance tour or for daily riding. These boots could pretty easily cross over as off road boots and may actually be somewhat more suitable for the ADV part of ADV-Touring and less practical for the Touring side.