Quote:
Originally Posted by surjaonwheelz Sports Touring Riding Boots
My riding boots are due for replacement and the options are: 1. Forma Freccia - not available in my size (42) and no try and buy options around in Pune, only online 2. Shima RSX-6 - need to check it out if it's worth it at GT House, Pune 3. Gaerne G Evolution Five is another option from LABS, Mumbai
These are the 3 finalists in the import category, Forma not available in size 42, leaves me with the other 2. But if it looks and feels its worth then only I'll go ahead.
Else either I'll fallback to local RYO or XDI OR save up for TCX ST fighter or A* SMX-6 V2 (not happening)
As my feet sweat less and I can survive my current (The Riding Gear thread)Joe Rocket Sonic R Waterproof boots round the year, I don't mind WP boots but there aren't many options!
If anyone has the above boots, please share your experience or if I missed any available options below 20k (How the prices have increased!) |
Quote:
Originally Posted by ambarkhan |
Quote:
Originally Posted by surjaonwheelz Both 6KIOM and LABS have restocked and some excellent options from Falco & Gaerne are available now. |
Quote:
Originally Posted by swiftnfurious Helpful post - thank you. Do you have any suggestions on perforated / vented boots under 10K / 20K brackets ? |
Quote:
Originally Posted by Red Liner 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!
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 (The Riding Gear thread)
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