How Durable should a MC boot be?

[Rogue_Shadow]

Evening BCF (timezone depending)

How long do you expect your current motorcycle boots to last?
I'm looking around to replace my RST raptors & I'm tempted to just buy the newer model.

https://www.rst-moto.com/rst-moto/images/uploads/product/full-size/Raptor-Boot.jpg
( oooooo , ahhhhh )

My current pair lasted me from my CBT to my SV650, near enough 2 years of use.
In that time they have never leaked, have never been uncomfortable & are only now starting to crack the outer leather (yet still waterproof )

Is this the mark of a good boot, or have I largely underestimated the quality of a good motorbike boot?

[recman]

I like the look of those.
I've been using HG Bullson boots for around the same amount of time as you and I reckon the soles will wear out before anything else, even though there's plenty of sole left.
Shame they didn't come with toe sliders.

[c_dug]

I tend to use sports boots, they dont generally hold up to daily use and abuse quite so well. My last two pairs have lasted a little over two years each but have both been completely knackered by that time.
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[Rogue_Shadow]

My current Raptors are brilliant, Comfy on and off the bike.
It's purely that with the leather starting to break/crack, i fear the waterproofing will be short lived.
So the Raptor II 's took my fancy, but are still fairly new and as such have no reviews.
Judging by the poll, my current (£60) pair haven't faired too badly in expectations

[Scythe]

I had some Puma boots given to me about 3 years ago which were slightly small, but other than that they're still fine. I had worn the sliders down and fancied an upgrade so I've opted for some Sidi's which seem much better built, therefore I'd expect them to last longer than 3 years.
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[CaNsA]

2yrs for me.

[sabian92]

Minimum of 2 years although if I'd bought expensive ones (200 quid+) I'd expect 3. The boots I have now (TCX X-Move) were 130 quid and they're decent - never got cold feet with just normal socks on, waterproof, comfy and most of all seem pretty durable.

I'd be happy to get 18 months out of them as I walk a lot in them as well simply because the weather is shit and they're the only waterproof shoe I own. Admittedly they aren't the most protective thing to put on your feet but they do have ankle protection, are solidly built and I don't look a knob when I'm not riding because they don't scream MOTORCYCLE BOOT.

[covent.gardens]

I'm not sure "2 years" actually means much if you don't give any idea of how many miles you do in that time; but 2 years for my footwear sounds about right as well. (~ 10k a year and all weather)

[Ben90]

Were the boots taken care of? Ie cleaned and treated with wax or boot food? Might have got even more time out of them...

Two years is still a pretty good running, I hope my Raptors last as long. The new model looks good too! No heel cup like the 'old' ones though..
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[Llama-Farmer]

It would totally depend how often you're using the boots of course. And how much you pay for them. And the type of riding you're doing in them.

I know a guy whose current Daytona boots have lasted over 200,000 miles and no sign of letting go soon. Very little of his riding is feet-up 6th gear cruising. Mostly stop-start, lots of gear changes etc.

On the other hand I know a guy who got completely through the soles of his boots in a few months. (His mother obviously didn't tell him to not drag his feet)


I have RST Tractech WP boots, which I now only wear with textiles (however the sharp pointy plastic bits on the back of the boot are tearing the inside of my textile trousers, that's a separate matter). I would be happy replacing them every two or three years. They've lasted since early 2012 so far, and a lot left in them.


I also have Alpinestars Supertech R boots which I wear with my leathers. Got them off eBay for under £150, only worn twice but too small for the guy and he thought the inner booty was too much hassle. At £360 new I'd expect them to be much more durable than the RSTs... but if I was using them on the track and crashing in them, you have to make allowances.

As it is, they're not being subjected to abuse, so given the frequency I wear them and the fact my slow control is pretty good, the soles aren't wearing out nor is the rest of the boot. I could expect them to last another few years at least. The only bad thing is they're pretty grubby now (white is a pain to keep clean!)


Finally I have a pair of Hein Gericke waterproof ankle boots, which are great as they're like trainers so easy to walk in and don't look too ridiculous wearing them with jeans if you're nowhere near your bike. They were a shade over £100 iirc, probably done close to 10,000 miles in them, wearing them all day sometimes and they're still in great nick and probably would outlast both the other pairs if all three were worn in equal amounts.

[DiscoBiscuit]

£30 Aldi boots going strong for over 3 years

[bugeye_bob]

Im actually sat in my Raptors about to go out,
I have to say they are only a year old but are still like new and the comfiest boot I have ever worn, those R2`s do look nice.

[Wonko The Sane]

I had a pair of Blytz boots that cost me £80 and were used for CBT, commuting and later that year my tests.

They were then used for further commuting until the sole started letting water through within a year of owning them.

They were replaced by £30 Aldi ones that have lasted just as long with no signs of any issues. I've just bought a new pair for whenever these wear out
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[Teflon-Mike]

Depends how much riding you do in them; how much walking you do in them, and how hard you are on them in general.

I don't tend to wear 'dedicated' bike boots for every-day biking; I have race-boots from when I raced; I have trials boots from riding trials; both Gearne and both well over a decade old; race boots more likely two decades! I had some nice Diadora tall Touring boots from the age of antiquity, till my eldest started riding and nicked them, crashed in them, and caused them to get chopped up by paramedic... the bastard! fuck y' bike, WHAT y' done to mi-boots! Bought them, I think around 1991, when my uncle asked me for his old buckle up bike boots back... think he still wears them! "Good Boots! Last you a life-time!" Was wizzened advice of older bikers when I took to the roads.

"Life-Time"... that WAS the expectation, and give or take a bit, my boots have lasted mine, so far!

But then again... Every-year I pull the little two-man ridge-tend out of the attic, my auntie gave me when I was ten; with warning it wasn't a 'toy' but as I grew up, I would be able to use it to go back-packing in the national parks, and when I got to uni... (For some reason that was always just assumed, even before I started secondary school!) might even work my way round the world, camping, in the summer holidays?!?!?!

Modern disposable comsumerist reality is a little different, and with most folk having riding careers less than five years, 20 year boots would be wasted on most, and sold these days as sport-wear, often designed to a quality that will see them last just long enough for them to launch a 'new-style' for next season!

'Couple of Years' average use for a typical boot? sounds about right. How long do you expect every-day footwear to last?

On that score, seems tome a lot of more contemprary low to middle price boots dont seem to score too well for value for money; and there seems a big 'premium' attached to it being a 'bike-boot' and sold with some presumption its more fit-for-purpose, whether more water-proof, or offers more protection than something sold as street-wear... which I think is probably rather erroneous in many cases, particularly shorter ankle 'sporty' boots; but still.

Those old Diadoras? I seem to recall I paid about £90 for them, almost quarter century ago, and they were half price, as they were an end of line, and they only had tincy wincy sizes and huge clod-hoppers like wot fitted me, left in stock! Quick comparitor against how much brand new bike in the show room cost then; suggests they would have been something like a £350 boot in modern money!? Can you even buy boots that expensive these days? Likewise they Gearne's they were near £200 boots when I bought them.

Relative prices have come down a heck of a lot this century... whether we get as much for our money though? Very different matter.

But then, I'm still wearing the same gear I have had twenty odd years, and amazingly, not just because it hasn't fallen apart, but most of it still fits me!
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[Mario_Kempes]

Stitching on the inside of my Alpinestars S-MX4s is ripping apart where the velcro is. Had them 18 months.

Got them new for 25€ right enough so I can't really complain.

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/513/gi3i.jpg

[Wonko The Sane]

[Clutchy]

Can only wear these, really don't get on with big boots, I know they don't really protect me for crap but it's better than when I wear thin trainers.

Also these are so God damn comfy I wear them in the office.


https://www.kartcart.co.uk/ekmps/shops/customcanopies/images/alpinestars-tech1k-kart-boots-137-p.jpg
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[-Matt-]

I expect 3 years, thats talking roughly 20-30k miles perhaps as a very rough estimate.

What they actually last has been very random and hard to judge. Brand and cost hasn't made much difference for most of mine. I must admit my RST Razor's - not to put you off, did go through the sole first of all the ones i've owned, but only at a specific point and I position my left foot oddly at times on the peg [the point that it wore through at].

I generally try to go for the really hard soled boots most of the time now as the rest of them has always held up relatively well. Dodgy zips, velcro and even leathers damage can be repaired or patched up, but fat hole in the sole is a PITA.

RST boots aren't bad IMO though, I know plenty of people that have got many years of out them without problem, and for the price particularly they're not a bad call i'd say