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They're originally from Bachoo Motors, Mumbai. You can check out their stuff from this website. Five years ago, their Venom boots were one of the only local riding boots available. Riderzone had an excellent review on his page but somehow it's not available anymore (the review page)

Both 6KIOM and LABS have restocked and some excellent options from Falco & Gaerne are available now.

Ram, if you're in Bangalore try to visit 6KIOM. Tarmac is no doubt rugged & VFM and you'll don't mind kicking stones with them :thumbs up

Hello! Yeah the site is gone, I deleted it a month or so ago, got bored.

My experience with the Tarmac Venom boots was bad. I've since always used perforated boots, makes a huge difference in comfort. With Venom, once on a ride my feet got so hot I had to stop and take them off, or I'd have fainted of nausea. Thankfully the clip thing that held the boot together at the top broke off, so I had an excuse to ditch them. Still did many thousands of kilometres in them, always sweaty and uncomfortable. Those boots were a thing of terror for my roommates, they smelled like a rat and a fish fell in love, ran away from society, and died inside them.

My suggestion would always be to buy vented boots for Indian conditions, unless you plan to live in Ladakh.

Like my helmets, I like to have two pairs of gloves for my riding. I prefer this because I can have one for daily, all round use and a second premium, race spec one, for the probable track days and / or highway runs. Horses for courses.

Why not just one premium, race spec pair of gloves for all my usage? Well, Indian weather and rains in particular, arent very kind on these premium imported gloves, especially over thousands of kilometers and three to four years. Based on my experience, these race gloves abhor a lot of monsoon usage, which makes them impractical as your only pair of gloves.

Anyways, I had a pair of A* sport touring gloves and a pair of Dainese race gloves. Both were starting to give up on me and it was time to retire them. Over the last year, I went gloves hunting. Unfortunately, due to the Covid pandemic, production at most of the companies (international and Indian), was impacted. As were imports. There clearly was a massive shortage of all riding gear in the market. I looked everywhere and wasnt very impressed by the quality of the gloves which are manufactured by the popular home grown Indian brands . Fit and finish issues were obvious. Availability was an equally big issue.

I waited for the new range of Royal Enfield's gloves to arrive. Those were not full gauntlets (been using full gauntlets for over a decade) but in the absence of any other options, I was willing to compromise. However, nothing reached the Royal Enfield stores here in Cochin, and the helpful showroom staff didnt know when they would either.

A week or two ago, I stumbled upon the SPRS GP4 full gauntlet gloves. It looked like a quality piece of kit and I have done around 250 kilometers with them. But before I get into my feedback on the GP4 gloves, let me address the elephant in the room. What in the world is SPRS ???!!!

Honestly, the first time I heard that this brand was being sold in India, I wondered the exact same thing. Though I have a very good idea about the riding gear scene, I had never heard of this company. My first impression was that that it was probably some cheap import, or something that was all show, no go. But when I first saw their products, I realized that there was more to this than what meets the eye. I started to do some research on the company and was surprised by what I found.

Speed-R is a Taiwan based company that manufactures motorcycle riding gear, including jackets, gloves, pants and leather suits. The company seem to be growing quite well in the Philippines market and their Facebook page gave me some insights into how their products are being accepted, especially for track usage. When I found that SPRS had tied up with Honda and Yamaha to provide leather suits for one of their one make series for young riders, I realized that this wasnt some fly by night operator in another Asian country. The fact that they had Honda and Yamaha riders wearing their leathers for track usage, flipped a switch in my head.

Here are some pictures from their Facebook page.

I had checked out their riding jackets and they were surprisingly quite good. I also had a close look at their riding suits and again, was surprised by the high quality levels.

Initial Impressions - SPRS GP4 Gloves
When I tried them on for the first time in the store, I was bowled over by how nice they felt, as well as the fit and finish levels. This looks and feels like a solid pair of full gauntlet riding gloves. The stitching is good. The carbon fiber at the knuckles and wrist feel solid. The leather feels supple, yet thick. The gloves are stylish and come in black and red / white / blue / yellow combinations. I went for the understated black and white colour scheme.

The company site doesnt have an English translated page to describe the gloves but I managed to find a short description on the website of a Phillipines based store which mentions that the gloves are made using sheepskin leather. To my discerning eye, the only two things that caught my attention were the foam padding at the palm (would have preferred some armour here to protect the scaphoid, even if it bumped up the price of the gloves) and the long flap at the wrist. This can be tucked in safely, so it isnt an issue, per se. But it was something I noticed and I would have preferred it to be shorter by half an inch.

As far as initial riding impressions go, I really like these SPRS full gauntlet gloves! They are still breaking in and should get more comfortable as I clock more kilometers. On the sizing front, I have always used XL sized gloves but for SPRS, I went with the L sized gloves for the more snug fit, as compared to the XL. Once they break in completely, Ill be able to give more comprehensive feedback. Im waiting for some rains to see how well the gloves cope with our torrential monsoons. Right now, I feel that they are a good replacement for my A* sport touring gloves that I was using for my daily running around, especially in the monsoon season.

Here are some pictures of the gloves.


Overall, for Rs 5,600, the SPRS GP4 full gauntlet gloves look to be a great value for money option for Indian riders. Yes, there are a lot of gloves in the Rs 6,000 price range, across short cuff, half gauntlets and full gauntlets. On paper, many of the offerings from the Indian brands are tempting but after having spent my own money on some of their products and trying out others, I think they still have some way to go. Their specs might be good but in the real world, its a whole different story.

To me, these SPRS GP4 gloves are not competing with the Indian full gauntlets but instead are competing in quality with the more premium international brands, but at affordable prices.

Any suggestions for waterproof riding gloves in sub 10k budget? (Cheaper the better)

I have riding gloves for summer/winter which I will continue to use in dry weather. Looking for waterproof gloves for monsoon rides.

You can try this, I have them on order but will reach me later in the year.

There are two options that I looked at (sub 5k) for waterproof riding gloves. They are the Royal Enfield Intrepid Gloves and the RAIDA AqDry WP Riding gloves .

I went with the RE ones because I wanted 'camo' gloves for quite some time now. It's also got an inner lining that will help in winter/colder climate rides - definitely not for summer. Since there's not much rains in Mumbai region, I couldn't test the waterproofing as yet - but I put it under running water and it works pretty well. Hands were dry, though some portions of the outer glove gets wet.

There's also full gauntlet versions from Shima for 4K INR - Touring Dry WP Gloves and at 6k INR -INVERNO GLOVES .

Hope this helps! :)

In about 10k the GO TO gloves I would suggest are the Goretex from Held. I think LABS (Lazyassbikers) stocks them. I just love the Held gloves. I have the dual weather ones but since you already have dedicated summer / winter gloves just go for Goretex touring version.

Under 10k?

You can buy the Revit Chevak GT-X Goretex gloves.
Can be bought from Highnoteperformance.
I am using them since 2020 monsoon.

It's almost 10k, but then Goretex is expensive.

If anyone is looking for a riding gear set, I have listed my REV'IT! jacket + pant combo on classifieds.

Helpful post - thank you. Do you have any suggestions on perforated / vented boots under 10K / 20K brackets ?

Under 20k.

Gaerne. All made in italy. Look up importer lazyassbikers. Dont touch anything else if this fits your foot.

Sports Touring Boots

Gaerne GRW Boots

Product link

Buying link

The hunt:
I was searching for boots in the wrong time to be honest. During the 2nd wave of Covid and renewed restrictions. Stocks were very low overall for my size, Spartan didn't have the Forma Freccia in my size.

6KIOM didn't have the new stock of Falco boots available now.

TCX was one brand I was keen on but then the above video I had come across last year that shares the country of origin of riding boots. Not that it matters much but was in the back of my head. Why not to consider?

High Note Performance had TCX SP Master but I assumed it was old stock and no additional features in terms of protection. The TCX RT Race (Recommended) was beyond my use and budget!

Forma Ice Pro available at Spartan & 6KIOM is the go to option for sports bike riders. It has a few additional buckles & straps which might take a bit longer to put on. But at its price it's bang for the buck and MotoGP & WSBK riders using it, is the icing on the cake! :thumbs up

In my opinion, this is better than the Alpinestars SMX V2 which has a single sided hinge for protection.

This time I made up my mind to skip the local & affordable import options:
XDI TR2
Solace XTech Evo
Ryo RaptorIII

These are good options in the 10k range.

Most of the sports and sports touring boots come in artificial leather for lightweight construction and remove imperfections in genuine leather. For the local makers you never know what material are they using. As I had experienced my Joe Rockets disintegrating from the 4th year of use, I was skeptical. Even I saw some old stock at discounts and you could see the parts of leather chipping off!

The pair of boots I tried at store, Shima RSX-6 This pair was shortlisted for the final face off. It had CE rating, fluorescent color but was made in 2019 and imported in 2020 and costed 17.5k Surprisingly this pair was launched at 12k and at that price point it's a steal deal. Notice the similarity with the Solace boots, who inspired whom?

With Covid times there was no more option to try and buy, so I had to look online. By this time only Shima was available in my size. I started looking up Gaerne Boots Co. Their made in Italy tag was attractive. They excel in MX/Enduro boots. SG12 is a juggernaut and choice of champions!

Their sports/racing line was rather simple,
G Evo 5
GRW
GP1 Evo

The G Evo 5 was perfect for my usage and budget of 15k!

One thing I was clear that was my category of boots, sports touring. Why not sports or touring?
Sports - Too aggressive, costly!
Touring - Lack of structure in the boots, plain looks. Advantages being comfortable & waterproof most of the time!

The G Evo 5 fit the bill but there was a catch, sizing! LABS told me that I had to upsize to the next size as they run a size smaller. I'm US-8, UK-7, Euro 41-42. They only had till Euro-42 if that didn't fit I'll have to upsize to a different pair or wait for new stock of the same model.

With this inhibition I ordered the boots from LABS, as shared here multiple times by other riders, the experience was good. Whatsapp, calls, the guy explained the facts, not pushed any particular model. Even emphasized on CE Certifications. No wonder everyone is satisfied with LABS.

The boots arrived, great first impressions, made of Lorica (branded artificial leather from Italy, SIDI boots also uses it) tried them on, length wise they were fine but the toe box was narrow and tight. Watched a full MotoGP race at home with them on! Shared the experience with LABS and they said they don't expand much in break-in only the flex points adapt your feet, made sense. In short, they arranged a pick-up and I had to return the boots. This was in between the 2nd wave lock down.

My options was to wait for new stock of the same model which they said might be in late June and they also said that like helmets riding boots might come under BIS certifications and import ban is looming over them!
Refer Neil's post
I had discussed this with Neil too.

Or buy from the existing stock, upgrade to a sports boot or get a Goretex touring boots. The Touring line up was refreshed by Gaerne and the models available in my size ware going to be discontinued in 2021. I decided to wait!

After 3-4 weeks I called them up and discussed my options, they said G-Evo 5 is not coming soon but they're expecting a new lot by end of June '21 which will have mostly Adv/Mx boots. (Which they did, check out their stock) After pondering for couple of days I pulled the trigger on the GRW boots for the following feature:

FLOATING SYSTEM
The unique Gaerne floating system, allows the foot to move naturally and prevents ankle twisting without compromising flexibility. At the back of the boot, and fixed at two points, it runs inside two slots that limit movement in both directions preventing hyper extension or compression.

At that time I had not found any other pair around 20k with this feature. (Later the Falco Eso boots were available)

Sharing pictures after a short 100kms ride during monsoons with some observations.

It's very hard to find a review of Gaerne sports boots on the web. Hope this helps!

• This is ideal for in the boots riding pants but I had no issues with over the boots format. Kept the upper cleaner.
• I've to keep a close watch on these screws.
• The first few gear shifts took some conscious efforts then it was normal.
• Sole is as slippery as any other sports boots on mud & slush. Control interface is good.
• The air vents effectiveness needs to be checked on longer rides.
• The outer panel ventilation is covered by riding pants, even when in the boots I'm not sure how effective will they be. May be suitable for leather suits!
• The inner panels are soft & rubbery for grip.
• Chunky heel counter
• Stealth toe sliders
• Low profile gear shifter panel
• Full zippers with smaller velcro tab at top, easier ingress & outgress
• Chunky TPU shin guard with G branding

Ride safe,
surjaonwheelz


PS. I've tried my best to provide links of all the models discussed. Not sharing the other boots pictures as you can refer them from the links

Alpinestars SMX 6 used to come in an "Air" version, but don't see them on Planet DSG site anymore. I used that for a while, and then bought Sidi Performer Air boots from Europe. Both would be close to 20k if bought from outside India, but for some reason it's really hard to find any properly vented boots in India, don't understand why everyone sells waterproof boots when most of everyone's riding happens in blazing heat.

Btw when I say vented, I don't just mean something with an air vent or two. I mean where the entire boot material has perforations everywhere. Sidi Performer air photo below for reference. The difference between this and a WP boot is the difference between a mesh jacket and a textile jacket.

Excellent review, never heard of SRRS - sounded like Sepang Racing! You found this at a store or online?

Have you come across the Shield Viper gloves? I was keen on their Kangaroo leather, I've goat and cow leather gloves!

Ride safe,
surjaonwheelz

Thanks. SPRS is currently being imported by AutoQueen, Cochin. It is a multi brand store and is easily the one stop shop in Kerala for all riding gear requirements.

I will find out if they have any retail distributors in India. Here are some pics that I clicked at their store when I had gone there recently.

Wife and I bought a pair of Rynox riding pants for ourselves.

I'll cover what I know of them, maybe old news for most here :)

- Both come with KNOX CE Level 2 protection at hip and knee.
- The knee armour can also be unstrapped and moved around to fit your knees exactly.
- Entrance for boots is easy since there's a zip at the bottom that can be opened when wearing boots and then shut after.
- There's a small rubber patch near the crotch region to keep you from sliding off the seat.

For her, it was the Stealth Evo priced at 8250:



There's a small velcro strapped opening above the thigh that can be opened for ventilation.


Tightening adjustment around the knee and calf.


Additional support for back, not sure what it does or whether it works.










For me, it was the Storm Evo, priced at INR 7550:



I wasn't too happy with the Stealth Evo fit and also I prefer mesh just because I need that extra ventilation. I do hope I did not make a mistake.

Both come with inner winter liners that can be zipped from the inside. Quite light and I wouldn't mind carrying these if going up north.
They also come with additional rain liners.