Sidi adventure boots
 

Note: I bought mine used, nothing more than cosmetic damage but the wear and tear had begun before I started testing these out.

The good -

Armor is everywhere it needs to be, these boots saved me from many a scrape on the road throughout the last 15 months of riding through the best and worst of the Americas. I dropped the bike on pavement once and all that happened was I stretched my achilles tendon.

Comfortable as hell. Once these are worn in I could wear them all day (and frequently must)

Easy on and off, adjust once and you're done.

The Bad:

Durability. At $500 bucks new I would expect these boots to last longer, but perhaps they're just not expected to endure this kind of punishment.

They are no longer water resistant as they were when I purchased them - the leather is separating at the seams where the toe cap ends. Got them sewn back together but still leaky, no rainy riding for me anymore. They do still seem to be watertight when I am trying to get the water OUT, however...

Protection - the ankle bone protection is great but the articulated heel is a weak point I'd say. Personally I put this in the good for how comfortable it makes the boot, but after crashing 200km from the nearest city and having my foot bent so far I had to use my heel to shift, I think I'd go for fixed heel boots in the future.

Warmth - In rain the boots soak up water and even if it doesn't transfer to your socks, it will chill your feet as the wind passes over the boots.

Would I buy again?

For $200 used in good condition, sure. New? I think there should be tougher options out there.

See also: Sidi adventure boots - ADVrider

I can't believe how fast the soles wore out on my Sidi Adventures! Just bought a pair of Alpinestar Toucans(Shite Name!) and are a far better boot and completely waterproof...........so far! Cost me £240 from Germany

W2 Adventure boots.

£140, say no more. They're outlasting and outperforming some of my boots that cost double.

http://www.biker-bits.co.uk/ekmps/sh...boot-828-p.jpg

I tried a pair of the W2's on and loved them. Nicer to walk in than my hiking boots plus I like the look of them as they are not obvious as being motorbike boots when under jeans etc.

I didn't buy them as I had difficulty reconciling whether they had sufficient protection *for me* (definitely a personal thing). For maximum protection I would have bought Alpinestar Tech 3's as they are not much more expensive. However, I considered these too extreme for my usage and settled on what I determined was the middle ground - the Sidi Adventure, although quite expensive.

I wore the Sidi's pretty much all day every day over 4 months and 20,000klm over various road qualities (I have owned them for at least 1 year and 5,000klm more) and the sole of mine looks like new, they are incredibly comfortable and remain waterproof. The only obvious signs of wear is on the toes, possibly from stones being thrown up from the front wheel? I have heard of the sole issue before, but no problems with mine. I would be disappointed if I had sole issues on a boot at this price point!

The only disappointment is the "infamous" squeek that drives me insane :stormy:

I also have tech 3s which I've worn for two long trips. Great protection but impossible to walk in and a slick sole which is too slippy..... The W2s have decent protection too but probably not as much as the sidis. With any boot, if you have toothed grippy pegs, you're going to Chew the soul. A pair of flip flops will last a rtw if you have a rubber footed peg.

I'm running wide, grippy, toothed pegs and I expected a chewed sole. As there is there is hardly a mark on the sole, I can only gather that I either wasn't standing enough, the wider than standard pegs helped with weight distribution on the sole when standing (ie no pressure point) or weighing in at 75kg kitted up, I wasn't putting as much pressure on the soles as some others?

I'm both relieved and happy that the Sidis are still in reasonably good order. :thumbup1:

Just checked the toes though, I reckon this will be my main area of concern for longevity and waterproofness (I thinking I'm making words up now)....

Do they have replaceable soles ?

If you are talking about the Sidi's? Then no, they do not have their SRS (sole replacement system?). They do look like your garden variety glue/stitched sole which probably means that a decent cobbler/bootmaker may be able to sort something out?

hmmm. That ain't good for boots of that cost and supposed application..

If there is an isue I guess people could contact Sidi and complain. They might fob you off but if you persue it,then they might do something out of good will.

As for that dreaded squeak, I recommend some furniture polish spray. They have a wax it that will lubricate the moving parts and stop the squeak.

It's worked on all my squeaky boots down the years.

I used the Sidi boots last year for 8 weeks solid and 18000kms, they were very comfortable and water proof (well at the beginning but I never cleaned them or polished them so that probably didnt help). They did develop a squeek, will have to do some oiling of them. The soles are hardly worn, wonder if they had some issues with a batch?

Been wearing Sidi Adventure Rain (Gore Tex) boots for 3 years, 30,000 kms + still looking good, had plenty of falls in them, including a high side at 80 mph, some wear on toe caps and on leather on sides, but other than that they have been excellent, plenty of tread left, they have been are still are 100% waterproof and are super comfy riding or walking. They get cleaned and polished a couple of times a year.

Oh Yeah, Im wearing them to my friends wedding on Saturday - id better clean them :cool4:

All footwear has its compromises, I cant walk far in my motocross boots and I need better ankle/heel protection than a high leg hiking boot. Unless a Leather boot has a (good quality) waterproof membrane they will never be 100% waterproof, despite what anyone says, you can seam seal the stitching and us a shed load of dubbin, leather impregnation cream etc but at the end of the day leather breathes and will eventually let water through as the polish/cream/coating wears off from the outside and dissipates from the heat generated by your feet.

Ted, those W2's look pretty good, but how stiff are they around the ankle/heel ? Id definitely wear them on short rides around town or locally, but for a longer dirt trip (for me) I need somethining with an external brace/armour on ankle

Spare soles for the Sidi's are available here. It is a german store but they deliver world wide.

Greetings
Dominik

Thanks Dominik, good to know!

I must say having just looking at the Toucans mentioned by Harty, they look quite a bit more substantial with better external armour than the Sidi's how are they to walk in ?

I looked at these then bought Alt berg boots instead.

The sidi boots just don`t seem durable for the cash.

Wait a sec.... . Unless they've just changed their design, Altberg have ZERO crash protection.


They're traditional heavy duty leather only !!

Unless they have some new models out ??

My Sidi Adventure boots are great but the squeak while walking was driving me nuts. I went as far as buying Forma Adventures but they are crap compared to the Sidi's and I sent them back. So I searched the web and found some pointers as to how to heal my squeak. Most advise mink oil but there was no consensus of what the final resolution is. I could not find the mink oil so I tried something else. This is what I did and the squeak is 99% gone;

- take the upper closing binder/ankle hinge off by prying out the little holding clips. You can completely remove the hinging part.

- treat the leather parts with ample boot wax (I took horse riding boot wax, black)

- what I found is actually that the gore-tex lip in the shaft is rubbing on the leather and I think that is responsible for 50% of the squeak. So I waxed the leather side very well and applied silicone spray on the gore tex lip!

- then I cleaned the plastic parts on the inside and applied spray SKI wax on the inside of the plastics! The stuff that is intended to go on the bottom of your skies! Also put some on the inside of the fixed binder plastic parts.
-put it al together and you can go stealth mode!:thumbup1:

Cheers,
Noel

Or spray on PTFE grease... Or a wax furniture polish..

Going mildly off-topic, do people actually think that 'Crash Protection' and armour and the stuff on enduro type motorcycle boots is really necessary?

I can certainly see why you'd want it for racing, especially motocross, as there's a high risk of falling from height, and having other riders running you over. And I can see the logic for serious recreational off-road riding - You're going out to spend a day riding off-road and anything else you do will be of secondary importance, so might as well wear the enduro boots. But I'm not at all convinced that even when trailriding somewhere fairly knarly you're ever going to crash hard enough that standard tough leather boots with good ankle support won't be protective enough.

Same for gloves, I don't get this whole obsession with 'kevlar knuckles'. Probably a daft question because people who wear this kinda of stuff will swear blind that they aren't safe without it, and people who don't (like me) will swear blind that they ride hard and crash without special boots gloves whatever and survive perfectly fine.

Simply... Yes.

If you're going proper adventure riding then you will be going off road at some time. Riding and pushing a heavy, loaded bike around in uncertain conditions over unfamiliar terrain. Most of the roads in the third world are full of pot holes and undulations and off highway, even a campsite entrance can be a paris dakar event... It's just day in the life of adventure riding.

I test ride bikes all day long in my workshop boots, cotton pants and crappy gloves. I ride around the south of France in flip flops to go to a restaurant etc.

It's stupid yes, but It's an assessed risk that I've decided to take myself. I'm a very experienced rider and I don't take chances..

So, I'm not just being a jobsworth here..



The biggest consideration 'for me' is that I don't want to be slowed down, stopped or stuck in the third world with broken ankle in the middle of country where healthcare is either unavailable or at a standard that you want to just curl up and die..

Breaking your ankle in the mountains of Ethiopia etc is a major event... You will survive no doubt and have an amazing adventure in the process but walking around the rest of your life with your foot glued on backwards by a doctor who is using a Haynes manual is something I'd like to avoid if possible..

I've escaped major injury a few times due to protective kit. I've so seen/ heard some horrendous injuries and stories of people who though hiking boots are going to help them. Ask any doctor about ankles. They are one of the most complicated and fragile parts of the body. Why wouldn't you protect them all you could ???

Now of course, having the best kit is no guarantee that you won't hurt yourself but good kit DOES WORK... I know it does. You can DRAMATICALLY reduce chance and severity of ankle and foot injurys with decent , protective boots. The same goes with all your riding gear.

I think they are the third most important piece of kit after a helmet and a back protector.


But when it all comes down to it, you do what you want and what you feel comfortable with. And long may it be that way..

Statistically, the highest chance of injury while riding a bike is feet and ankles (the highest consequence is for head injuries, but that's a different story). More protection is better.

Everyone decides how to weigh the odds based on their own riding style and where they go. The fastest I've ever dropped a loaded dual sport was only about 15 mph, but I was on a deserted dirt road somewhere in the Andes, alone. The bike landed on my ankle. I was very glad my ankle was encased in a proper motocross boot at the time, not a hiking boot--no broken ankle, but some serious pain and bruising.

Make your own choices, but don't do it based on wishful thinking.

Mark

I dropped my loaded DRZ trying to climp up a cliff face track in Ethiopia after camping down on a lake. The bike bounced off the toe of my boot and trapped my ankle under the progressive joint on my rear shock.

On the Ruta 40 in Argentina, in the same boots I crashed on the stones and again, my ankle ended up under the bike.

I was wearing AlpineStar Tech 10's which are SUPER beefy and I still broke my toe and had some strain and bruising.

I swear, both occasions my ankle would of been facing backwards with unsupported boots.

In the UK I wear W2 Adventure boots as the Tech 10s are too restricting...

Overlanding, I find it hard not to wear MX boots... However, they do slow me down a lot during the daytime stops. But when you stop in the day for lunch, petrol etc, you never really want to leave your bike alone.

Sidi Couriers were very popular before the Adventure came out. A lot cheaper...

It's not about wishful thinking or misunderstanding the importance/vulnerability of your ankles. I would probably prioritise boots at the top of my own personal list of protective clothing, helmet would be third behind gloves as well for me.

I'm just not convinced that all the plastic and metal of motox/enduro style boots makes any difference short of getting run over. I put the question out to see if anything had any thoughts other than the standard two lines.


Personally, I just splashed out £177 on a pair of Altberg 'Desert Riders'. They offered them as an option when I phoned up asking how durable their desert military style boots were. It's only now I've realised that they came up with them after a request for custom boots by Chris Scott! Finally off for some fun again after 4 long years, I'll let you know if I end up breaking my ankles then you'll be able to say I told you so.

My name for this is "wishful thinking."

Two of us have described situations in which we believe we would have done serious damage in the absence of MX boots. Neither involved getting run over.

I have no wish to say I told you so. Besides, the fact is that most riders will not break feet or ankles no matter how they're shod. That's not the way I weigh risk.

In risk analysis, which is what we're doing here, there's an almost universal phenomenon in which the negative event--in this case, absence of foot or lower leg injury--is used to justify continuing to do what's been done in the past. But risk is not composed of probability alone--it's a combination of probability (likelihood) and consequence. Even a low probability if combined with a serious consequence amounts to a high level of risk. That's why I wear a helmet and that's why MX boots on overland trips.

YMMV. Good luck with your choices.

Mark

The key word there is 'believe', you cannot prove or indeed know yourself that you would have suffered serious injury had you not been wearing motox boots. It could be viewed that your belief is wishful thinking, justifying the money you spent and discomfort experienced from traveling with your motox boots.


This is the 'debate' that I'm not interested in having, where you assert something that's purely opinion, then I assert a contradictory opinion, then we keep repeating ourselves ad nauseum.


But to an extent you are doing the same thing, by choosing to conclude that when you have had an accident whilst wearing motox boots and not suffered injury, that the boots have prevented an injury you'd have otherwise experienced, and therefore you should continue wearing motox boots in order ensure that you are similarly protected in any future accidents.

Nath, if these differing opinions and their underlying rationales seem to you equivalent that's ok with me.

I call it "wishful thinking" because it appears to me contrary to both objective evidence and my confirming direct experience. I'm not holding out for an exalted standard of "proof" before acting. Nor do I feel a need to defend the validity of my conclusions. I'm merely offering my perspective for consideration, with which readers can do as they please.



Safe journeys!

Mark

I agree with Nath here:thumbup1:

To walk round in motocross type boots is hell, I brought some thinking I would need this but to be fair I felt it would not be comfy for walking once off the bike so I brought a pair of standard boots.

You could say take another pair of boots to walk in but then packing gets bigger.

I got my bike stuck in mud offroad in Slovakia in the Tatras mountains and in the end had to ditch it and walk for around 6 miles to get help to pull it out.

Would of been hell in motocross "type" boots.

I will also travel in "lighter" boots and I think Altberg will be my next boots

Everyone will always have their own opinions on this matter.

Mine changes literally hour to hour..

I see or hear of an injury and I start wearing all my safety gear for the next week. Then I get fed up of being hot and constricted and start being lapse. It's getting that balance isn't it.. Some are prepared to suffer the heat and discomfort for that added protection. I'll nip down the shops in my shorts and t-shirt but I'm armoured up like a mutant ninja turtle when I'm riding off-road in Africa.

For all out there who think that reinforced, armored safety gear doesn't help in an accident I really do think you are on cloud cuckoo land. You need your head banging against a wall (without a helmet on lol). Was that irony ?? ;)

If you get your leg stuck under a bike or twisted in a rut, solid boots WILL reduce twisting and the armour will reduce the change of a fracture/break from impact. I can't believe people will argue this.

A back protector WILL reduce shock and impact to your back if you land on it as will armour for your other joints.

I find most people who don't wear the gear are the ones who have yet to come a cropper on a bike or don't really ride anywhere challenging. Enjoy it while it lasts.

HOOOOWWWEEEVVERRR...... Do what you want. That's your choice. And I firmly believe that people should be left to just get on with it. Free wprld and all that.

Just don't come on here whining about your permanent limp from a 180 ankle break or gangrene infected stumps that got bluetacked back on in Zimbabwe because you were wearing trainers.

However they probably won't be able to type due to brain damage because they were also wearing a flower pot on their heads.

doh

For me a real "Adventure" boot is a boot you can wear on your bike and it will give you reasonable protection in the event of a fall

You can walk long distances with no issues and also wear in a bar/nightclub with jeans on and not look out of place :thumbup1:

Altberg have numerous different models of boots Ted. I think I'm right in saying they were one of the the first manufacturers to gain CE safety certification for certain designs.

I'm guessing you're thinking of the Hogg design, which is the traditional, lace up "dual purpose" walking/biking boot. They obviously don't have the same protection as MX or enduro boots but they do have built in ankle protection to the same standard as most road boots & also crush resistant soles.

Check them out, you might be surprised. I just wish I could afford to replace my ageing, slipper-like Oxters with a pair..:(

I bought the All weather, (am wearing them now , just arrived this morning)

Bottom line is they seem tough, very tough. The are thick around the ankle, give a damn site more protection that any road boot I`ve worn, and will be the nuts for wearing away as you can fling jeans on, and hey presto ! drinking boots !.

Have a look, I hate big bulky boots for travelling, they are a pain in the hoop, and the Altbergs looked the best type for what I want.

Reinforced toe, articulated ankle,with plenty protection, and half the cash of the Sidis

the main differences between a hiking boot/altberg and a motocross boot - and to a lesser extent the Sidi - are the external lateral articulating braces - this is the part that will prevent severe ankle injury - stopping your ankle from twisting - combined with the hard external plastic assembly providing a much higher amount of crush/puncture resistance when your peg, or part of your side stand/centre stand or other part of your bike tries to go through your boot, by doing a better job of spreading the force over a greater area.

The Altbergs have got a lot better for sure, but cannot offer this level of crash protection, I don't want to wear my motocross boots overlanding personally, the Sidi Adventures, whilst not offering motocross boot protection at least have a decent external brace and very good heel protection and I can walk all day in them, I have found them to have the least amount of compromises IMO - apart from the price.

A friend of mine had a nasty crash on Ruta 40 in 2010, coming off the bike at speed wearing fairly sturdy hiking boots, this person is still having major ankle problems 3 years later, with cortisone injections and on going rehab, has had to take lots of time off work and is no longer is able to ride.

You Choose.

The Altbergs are the same height as the Sidi adventures. As I said, the are much tougher than ANY road bike boot that I have ever tried.

I know a couple of people in the same situation. One of my good friends walks with a limp and will probably have his ankle fused in the future.

Another was more lucky and was just on crutches for a year and rehab for two.

Ankles are fragile... They take forever to heal IF they heal... An injury will ruin your trip and a more serious one will end it. You do not want a broken ankle dealt with ANYWHERE but a well equipped western standard hospital.

Anyway, just repeating myself. Folk will do what they do..

Sidi Discovery...
 

I agree here. I don't have the Adventure, but have the Discovery to commute in every day, year round and I love them. Been riding in them for years. Not a ton of armor, but some, and I walk quite a bit in them, because, well, that is what I have on. And I have had a negative experience with some older leather "Racing" boots, but doubt anything would have actually helped. So I still make the compromise for a dual function boot. (I.E Ride and Walk)

And regarding serious dirt riding, I have some Tech 10s which seem to be pretty much hard foot cases, which I also believe to have saved my foot/ankle on multiple occasions where had I been wearing the Discovery or something with less of a hard shell, I'm sure it would have HURT!! I've worn them commuting a few times, but from Bike to work is a rather unpleasant experience that I'd prefer not to do on a regular basis.

I only wear MX boots by Alpinestars on any of my dualsport and dirtbikes. My preferred model is Tech 6, although I also own a pair of Tech 3s.

"W2 Adventure boots.

£140, say no more. They're outlasting and outperforming some of my boots that cost double."


Ted, Did you try them on in a shop or take a size chance by mail order?

I have about 12000 miles, mostly off road, on my sidi adventures and now the sole's are separating. Twice in as many weeks the kobbler glued and nailed them back on. Sidi uses a honeycomb plastic sole and the contact surface to the boot is only the ridges of the honeycomb. Cheesy and cheap in my opinion. While the rest of the boot is in fine condition, I feel I may replace the sole's with authentic vibram sole's. For 400 smacks, they could have done a lot better. I don't believe ther are water proof any longer.:(

My left boot is no longer waterproof. The right one is fine.