[mbrun]

I am looking for suggestions for some easy-on, easy-off riding boots, if such a thing exists.

I always wear full-face helmet, and regularly wear armored armored jacket and armored gloves. I often wear, but sometimes make excuses not to wear, armored pants. But 95% of the time I make excuses for not wearing riding boots and instead just wear easy-on gym shoes that have velcro fasteners. I am looking to change that.

My excuse for not wearing boots is the effort to get them on and tie them, which is increasingly more difficult when using the pants and even more so because of my growing mid-section. So what I am hoping to find is riding boots that go on easily and fast, and perhaps secure high up using velcro or similarly fast securing system.

If I can find them, I know I will be less resistant to putting them on for shorter and shorter rides.

I figured I will never know unless I ask. Any thoughts?


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[Bluebottle]

Mine are no longer available but I would go for ”easy fasten”, “easy secure” but definitely gets secured.

Normal fitting footwear gets airborne really easily and goes to seek its own destiny as a tree decoration, not good.

Good hunting.

 

[wspollack]

I am looking for suggestions for some easy-on, easy-off riding boots, if such a thing exists.

I always wear full-face helmet, and regularly wear armored armored jacket and armored gloves. I often wear, but sometimes make excuses not to wear, armored pants. But 95% of the time I make excuses for not wearing riding boots and instead just wear easy-on gym shoes that have velcro fasteners. I am looking to change that.

My excuse for not wearing boots is the effort to get them on and tie them, which is increasingly more difficult when using the pants and even more so because of my growing mid-section. So what I am hoping to find is riding boots that go on easily and fast, and perhaps secure high up using velcro or similarly fast securing system.

If I can find them, I know I will be less resistant to putting them on for shorter and shorter rides.

I figured I will never know unless I ask. Any thoughts?


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Well, I bought these three years ago:

TCX X-Five EVO Gore-Tex Boots | 31% ($90.00) Off! - RevZilla

The X-5 EVO has Gore-Tex waterproof goodness baked into a tidy sport touring package. Ride longer, ride cooler, ride drier.

www.revzilla.com

I wear them all the time when riding, e.g., hot, cold, rain, dry. They have a short zipper on the inside side of the leg, that runs from near the bottom to about halfway up the inside, and then three large velco panels over and above that. They are similar to some older boots I had, years before that; there are many boots that use velcro flaps like that. Also, they are reasonable -- pretty good, actually -- for walking around, off the bike, at stops (although I wouldn't want to do a serious hike up a mountain trail in them).

I don't know whether that additional zipper meets your requirements. If it's not a show-stopper for you, they have my strong endorsement.

 

[Bluebottle]

Mine are very similar to these above with longer zip.
Nice reinforcement on front of shin

 

[G-Dub]

I like Alpinestars SMX vented boots for summer and shoulder seasons, uses a zipper and Velcro. Fairly comfortable to walk around in and doesn't look too "Power Ranger"-ish. Not fond of laces as I got a lace caught on a part on the V-strom once when stopping and nearly went over.

 

[suziblu]

See if Blundstone or similar type of "chelsea boot" work for you.

 

[mbrun]

Well, I bought these three years ago:

TCX X-Five EVO Gore-Tex Boots | 31% ($90.00) Off! - RevZilla

The X-5 EVO has Gore-Tex waterproof goodness baked into a tidy sport touring package. Ride longer, ride cooler, ride drier.

www.revzilla.com

I wear them all the time when riding, e.g., hot, cold, rain, dry. They have a short zipper on the inside side of the leg, that runs from near the bottom to about halfway up the inside, and then three large velco panels over and above that. They are similar to some older boots I had, years before that; there are many boots that use velcro flaps like that. Also, they are reasonable -- pretty good, actually -- for walking around, off the bike, at stops (although I wouldn't want to do a serious hike up a mountain trail in them).

I don't know whether that additional zipper meets your requirements. If it's not a show-stopper for you, they have my strong endorsement.

Thanks.

No, I am not opposed to a zipper, so long as there is easy access and it slides easily. When zipper is on the inside, I can cross one leg over the other to access the zipper. On my armored pants the zipper is on the outside and it can be a challenge for me to operate. Currently, that is the only excuse for not wearing the armored pants on some shorter trips.

Appreciate the recommendation.


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[mbrun]

See if Blundstone or similar type of "chelsea boot" work for you.

While it looks like the boot may slide on easily, it does not look like it offers much the way of ankle protection, something I want. And with the elastic, wouldn’t that style come off fairly easily during an incident? You’ve got me thinking.


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[wspollack]

Thanks.

No, I am not opposed to a zipper, so long as there is easy access and it slides easily. When zipper is on the inside, I can cross one leg over the other to access the zipper. On my armored pants the zipper is on the outside and it can be a challenge for me to operate. Currently, that is the only excuse for not wearing the armored pants on some shorter trips.

Appreciate the recommendation.


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I think I follow you completely.

Some unfortunate additional information: those boots ( www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/tcx-x-five-evo-gore-tex-boots?sku_id=981909 ) appear to be discontinued, and so are in limited small sizes (at least at Revzilla, which is a good company, easy exchanges, free shipping, yada yada).

They appear to be superseded by these (which are back to list price, $90 more):

TCX X-Five.4 Gore-Tex Boots - RevZilla

Italian styled touring boot with Gore-Tex waterproofing for the motorcycle touring purist.

www.revzilla.com

There's a very good video on that page, which shows the velcro flap action, etc. (and at about the 4:10 mark, you can see the reasonably large zipper pull, which itself is velcro). If the $290 doesn't completely put you off, well, the new version is pretty much the same as the ones I have.

In the realm of pants -- if I may segue into those, since you also mentioned them -- I've been wearing Kevlar-lined jeans, with hip and knee padding, for the last few years. I had a hip replacement in the fall of 2020 (I'm 74 now), and after that, i.e., my entire 2021 riding season, I switched over to Bohn pants:

Armored Motorcycle Pants | Bohn Body Armor - CE-Level 2 Riding Pants

Bohn Armored Motorcycle Riding Pants– #1 selling Motorcycle Pants for 25yrs. Cool, Comfortable, Affordable. Wear Under Jeans, Rain Pants or Riding Gear.

www.bohnarmor.com

Those -- I guess you could call them tights, or base-layer, or something -- have more protective, closer-fitting, less-moving, hip and knee armor (and so I removed the padding and armor from my favorite Kevlar jeans). I wanted more protection for my new titanium part, and I feel much better psychologically riding this way, i.e., with the Bohn layer.

A downside of my current system is that the Bohn and jeans are not waterproof, so if I'm expecting rain ... well, if I'm expecting rain, mostly I just don't ride. I still have an old pair of FirstGear HT Overpants that I use for multi-day trips; those are waterproof, but I haven't been on any such out-of-town trips since the pandemic started. (The overpants are good extra cushioning for 500- or 600-mile superslab days, which I have to get back to doing, in order to ride to far-flung daughters.) But, yeah, those overpants have the zipper on the outside, just as you mentioned (and, somewhat amazingly, have something like 20 or 22 velcro fasteners, and one zipper up top, for their thermal liner, which I pretty much never use these days).

Good luck with your quest.

 

[Dave_J]

I do not ride with "Motorcycle" boots. For most of my riding life it was US Army Combat boots. When I retired and hired on with GTE I got Danner Logger boots and later Georgia Boot company Loggers.

I am now back to Combat style. Just got a pair of combat style 'inside ankle' zipper from Amazon.
$59 USD

Bates Mens Tactical Sport Tactical Shoe : Amazon.ca: Clothing, Shoes & Accessories

Bates Mens Tactical Sport Tactical Shoe : Amazon.ca: Clothing, Shoes & Accessories

www.amazon.ca

 

[wspollack]

I do not ride with "Motorcycle" boots. For most of my riding life it was US Army Combat boots. When I retired and hired on with GTE I got Danner Logger boots and later Goergia Boot company Loggers. I am now back to Combat style. Just got a pair of combat style 'inside ankle' zipper from Amazon.

https://amazon.com/gp/product/B07V9DC6QC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I hear you, Dave. In fact, I advocated military footwear myself, in article I wrote in 2013 for webBikeWorld, including a pair of combat-style boots, albeit with an inside full-length zipper for ease of ingress and egress:

Tactical Boots For Motorcycle Riding - webBikeWorld

Tactical Boots For Motorcycle Riding review, motorcycle boots

www.webbikeworld.com

(I finished wearing boots in the Army about 25 years before I bought my first motorcycle, although I had ridden other people's bikes since my teenage years.)

At the time I wrote that, I was riding my Victory bagger. It had heel-and-toe shifting, i.e., I could mash the forward peg down for downshifts, and use my heel on the back-end part of the shifter to mash that for upshifts. And all was right with the world.

Come the beginning of 2019, and as I planned for my Edelweiss week in the Alps, I decided to get the TCX real motorcycle boots. I was concerned that the bike I would be riding would just have the normal toe-only shifter, and that the combat-style boots might have a toe box too large to easily get under that toe peg for upshifts. Also, I liked the idea of Gore-Tex, for better "breathability" (as both the Ridge boots I touted and the TCX are waterproof).

And then a funny thing happened. I liked those TCX boots better than the military-like gear. They were more comfortable (and motorcycle-specific designed-in foot protection seemed like a nice idea, too). So even though scooter, i.e., shiftless, riding makes toe box clearance irrelevant (along with any concern about snagging a lace on a shift peg), I switched exclusively to those TCX boots. I still have the zipped-up military-ish Ridge boots out my garage footwear area, but despite wearing them for most rides for about six years, I simply don't wear them anymore, i.e., after I bought the TCX pair.

 

[G-Dub]

If I'm riding to do a hike, my hiking boots make fine riding boots, not so easy on and off though. (If I'm on a motorcycle I'm sure to tuck in the laces.)

Several years back I splurged on a very nice and expensive pair of rugged and nice-looking boots (can't remember the name unfortunately). Ended up sending them back because I couldn't get the toe under the shifter, even after adjustments. Just mention it as something to consider for folks who have other bikes as well.

 

[Steveooo]

Icon Stormhawk Waterproof Boots - RevZilla

The Icon Stormhawk Boots are constructed from a premium leather upper featuring a water-resistant finish combined with an eVent Waterproof/Breathable …

www.revzilla.com

I got these last year and they've been great. On and of easily and quickly. I got them because I commute daily and change into sneakers when I get to work. They've been very waterproof for me. Broke in well and they're very comfortable on and off the bike. I've worn them around off the bike and they don't scream biker boots.

The Boa lacing system is fantastic and let's them open up wide to make it easier to get in/out, even with sweaty feet.

They weren't cheap, but they ticked all the boxes I wanted and I'd buy them again.

Just had a 2nd look at revzilla and they have only the black color in a few sizes left. Gray and brown are all sold out. May still be available somewhere else though.

 

[mbrun]

I visited the cycle gear shop across town today. Although not in my size, they did have a ‘TourMaster’ boot a couple model years old. It had full-length zippers on both sides plus a velcro strap at the top. The sample that had was one size too small, but I found that I could get my foot in and zip it up acceptably well while dressed in full gear. No way to get it in my size however. That experience tells me at least that another brand and model with a dual zipper design should be a candidate. Later model years of similar looking boots from same manufacturer had single zipper, none available to try on.

I appreciate all the recommendations. The boot with the BOA constrictor lacing is quite interesting. That must be a discontinued boot now too given the limited stock available. I like the fact that is could serve two purposes.


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[Bluebottle]

If it’s any help -
I have some 10ish yr old gloves with the BOA system.
It has been very reliable, never accidentally released and going strong even though the rest of the gloves are now wearing out.

 

[rjs987]

One boot that I've found to be easiest to put on were the Alpinestars Ridge V2 boot. I had the first version also which had Velcro only flaps on both sides. But they didn't last as long as I was hoping. These V2 boots lasted much longer and have Velcro only flaps on one side (outside of ankel) and a Velcro strap on the instep that held up well.
https://www.motorcyclegear.com/stre...ts/alpinestars/ridge_v2_waterproof_boots.html

I then decided I did want a zipper so now have the Alpinestars Air Plus V2 Gore-Tex boot. These have a zipper with a Velcro flap and have worked well for several years now. The zipper is on a somewhat elastic strip that makes it easier to zip up and the flap covers that. Even though they are called an "Air Plus" boot and are well ventilated I've still worn them in below zeroF temps and was fine in those temps with a thin under a thick pair of socks. They are also comfortable at 100F temps. The leg guard on the Burgman, or most any scooter, helps keep cold wind off in cold season riding but not so much that there is no wind for the warm/hot season riding.
https://www.motorcyclegear.com/stre...lpinestars/air_plus_v2_goretex_xcr_boots.html

I actually bought one of these on Amazon but have bought from Motorcyclegear.com before as well as price matched at the local dealer for gear (just needed to take in a printout of the web pricing).

 

[wspollack]

One boot that I've found to be easiest to put on were the Alpinestars Ridge V2 boot. I had the first version also which had Velcro only flaps on both sides. But they didn't last as long as I was hoping. These V2 boots lasted much longer and have Velcro only flaps on one side (outside of ankel) and a Velcro strap on the instep that held up well.
https://www.motorcyclegear.com/stre...ts/alpinestars/ridge_v2_waterproof_boots.html

I then decided I did want a zipper so now have the Alpinestars Air Plus V2 Gore-Tex boot. These have a zipper with a Velcro flap and have worked well for several years now. The zipper is on a somewhat elastic strip that makes it easier to zip up and the flap covers that. Even though they are called an "Air Plus" boot and are well ventilated I've still worn them in below zeroF temps and was fine in those temps with a thin under a thick pair of socks. They are also comfortable at 100F temps. The leg guard on the Burgman, or most any scooter, helps keep cold wind off in cold season riding but not so much that there is no wind for the warm/hot season riding.
https://www.motorcyclegear.com/stre...lpinestars/air_plus_v2_goretex_xcr_boots.html

I actually bought one of these on Amazon but have bought from Motorcyclegear.com before as well as price matched at the local dealer for gear (just needed to take in a printout of the web pricing).

Those Alpinestars look good.

They look very similar in design and construction -- inside zipper about halfway up, velcro, GoreTex -- to the TCX boots that I cited in post #9 here (I have the version prior to the current version). The Alpinestars model that you have may be a little cooler than the TCX model. Here are the Alpinestars and TCX pages at Revzilla, with nice video descriptions on each page:

TCX X-Five.4 Gore-Tex Boots - RevZilla

Italian styled touring boot with Gore-Tex waterproofing for the motorcycle touring purist.

www.revzilla.com

Alpinestars Air Plus v2 XCR Gore-Tex Boots - RevZilla

When your feet are dry and cool, you'll ride longer. The Alpinestars Air Plus v2 XCR Gore-Tex Boots help you meet this goal.

www.revzilla.com

The TCX with greater airflow that the vlogger mentions in the Alpinestars video -- which I think is more akin to the boot you cited -- is either of these two, I guess:

Looks like an old model:

TCX Airtech EVO Gore-Tex Boots | 20% ($54.00) Off! - RevZilla

Do you demand a lot from sport touring boots? The Airtech EVO Gore-Tex deliver breathable waterproofness in a protective boot. Smiles for miles!

www.revzilla.com

Looks like a newer model, but curiously out of stock (and, alas, no video discussion):

TCX Airtech 3 Gore-Tex Boots - RevZilla

Gore-Tex Extended Comfort Membrane, OrthoLite footbed and Groundtrax rubber outsole all come together in the Airtech 3 Gore-Tex Boots for the ultimate…

www.revzilla.com

Anthony & Co. talk fast -- it's as if they think they're paying by the minute at YouTube -- but I find the 5 - 7 minute videos at Revzilla to be very useful, and looked at a lot of them before buying the warmer version of the TCX that I decided on about three years ago, largely for my week in the Alps (and was so pleased with, that they became my regular daily boots at home).

 

[wspollack]

...
I appreciate all the recommendations. The boot with the BOA constrictor lacing is quite interesting. That must be a discontinued boot now too given the limited stock available. I like the fact that is could serve two purposes.

I, too, was unfamiliar with those boots that @Steveooo referenced (in post #13). I read a bunch of reviews of those Icon Stormhawks, and most folks really liked them. A lot of folks also noted that they can be pretty hot when, um, it's pretty hot out ... so that's another consideration.

I've seen some other boots with the BOA closure mechanism, but never owned a pair with them. I think that system is more prevalent on tougher boots, such as motocross and similarly tough "adventure" boots. Super traveler and super vlogger Itchy Boots, for instance, currently employs a tough pair of adventure boots with BOA: see www.itchyboots.com/blog/gear-and-equipment-season-6-alaska, which leads to this BOA-equipped boot:

Boots Expedition GTX

We’ve made our award-winning ADV motorcycle boots even better and here’s how. They combine the protection of MX boots with breathable...

www.revitsport.com

If you scroll down there, you'll see that they are $840! Itchy is a "brand ambassador" for Rev'it, so I believe she gets them free, although she could probably also afford them (and IMO she earns every penny of whatever she makes).

 

[rjs987]

I can vouch for the waterproof-ness of the XCR Gore-Tex in the Alpinestar boot. Been in some really hard rains and the only time I did get water inside was when I forgot to zip my rain suit at the ankle and water wicked up and over, but not through. I also damaged my right boot when I laid my Burgman over 2 years ago. That put a 1/4 inch hole in the mesh side just behind the toe cup and in front of the reflective side panel. The boot was still waterproof after that. To keep the mesh from fraying I sealed it with some E-6000 cement overlapping around the hole and have had no problems since. I forget that repair is even there and have been through some torrential rains since with no water getting in. Last year was one time on my way to TN over 2 days and it rained the entire way and my feet were kept dry.

And those side panels are really reflective.

 

[Steveooo]

The boot with the BOA constrictor lacing is quite interesting. That must be a discontinued boot now too given the limited stock available. I like the fact that is could serve two purposes.


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I did a web search for them and found quite a few online places with them still. As mentioned above, they're hot when it's hot outside. I only wear sock liners for hiking boots when it's hot, instead of my regular socks. It helps a bit.

Stormhawk Waterproof Boots

Shop for Stormhawk Waterproof Boots at great prices at Cheap Cycle Parts

www.cheapcycleparts.com