Wilsons Sandbox

Ed wrote Someone on the list, can't remember who, made a good point about off road boots, they said they would always make sure they had a boot on that they could do a 15-20 mile hike in without shredding their feet in case their bike ever failed and they had to hike out. Not sure if the Discovery boot qualifies, but it did get me thinking. That would be BC's Tom Grenon, super-experienced back country tourer. His web site has a lot of great advice - I would question one thing about his logic, though. A good hiking boot which is waterproof is going to set you back about $300 anyway, and is still not designed for motorcycles. I wore Danners to Central America, but the shifter contact point is cracked, and lets in water now - MC boots have reinforced shifting areas. The really high boots still aren't as tall as a MC boot, and don't provide anywhere near the level of protection. Also, we ride KLRs for their reliablity and crashability. The chances of you having to hike out are pretty low, if you've set your bike up right with protection - is it worth compromising your personal protection for something that may never happen? Even if it does, you've had a shit of a day anyway. Sore feet isn't going to make that much difference! The Discoverys, and maybe the CBT's, are the only boot that I know of that try to cover all bases. My guess is SIDI made the Discoverys after watching the sales of the CBTs. I wear mine around town, they wear in in about an hour, they are tough but simple, you could probably walk a long distance in them if you really had to. Only thing I haven't tried is the full immersion thang - they are fine in heavy rain tho... Rich