Dual-sport certified boots?

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tnoraef
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Joined: 01/12/2010

Hi there!

I am in the process of finding a pair of (hopefully approved) dual-sport boots, but have quite a few problems doing so :

- they should be EN 13634 certified up to the level 2
- they should have rubber soles instead of hard MX soles
- they should protect the ankles very seriously (my ankles have been twisted so many times that I am quite a gimp on this side)
- having some water resistance, if no waterproofing, would be a real plus

... though, as for Level 2 boots, I only found a few racing orientated ones, which is not really what I am after for touring/trails. Any suggestion ?

Alaxandair
ritratto di Alaxandair
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Joined: 05/04/2009
excuse me, but what do you

excuse me, but what do you mean for "dual-sport"?
for enduro/cross and similar as far as i know the only level 2 approved boot is the "scott genius".
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SCOTT-GENIUS-motocross-BOOT-45-uk10-5-/29049794021...

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admin
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Joined: 05/04/2009
Maybe Tcx Explorer... (liv.1)

Maybe Tcx Explorer... (liv.1)

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tnoraef
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Joined: 01/12/2010
As for the term "Dual-Sport",

As for the term "Dual-Sport", it means 50% trail use and 50% road use - it is the root of the GS name ("Gelande-Strasse", ie "Offroad-Road"), a bit in the spirit of supermoto, but with the original big wheels, and more for hanging around than for racing. Those are basically the bikes between the enduros, and the enormous road-trails : F800GS or KTM Adventure, typically, are modern dual-sport bikes - bigger than usual enduros, but smaller than monster as the 1200GS, which makes them as well usable for wandering on trails, as for road-touring (for touring with a big thumper is not the most enjoyable on the long term, imho - though I like thumpers as well).

So, to be coherent with the activity, pure MX boots may be a bit too much, and pure touring boots may be a bit too light... I knew the Scott Genius, but, first, they do not seem to still be manufactured (they do not appear anymore on Scott's website, and seem to have been superseded by the 450 and 250 boots, on which there are few details). Plus, it may be a bit too much MX-biased (though I should see them for real, to really get an opinion). And as for the TCX Explorer, maybe a bit too light, on the contrary, and as you said, Conny, only level 1, for these. What I'd search could be something more in the lines of the TCX Infinity, to stay in the same brand, but a little more rugged as the Infinity, so to be level 2...

The Scott, they seem a bit too much like rigid armor : probably cool when on the pegs, but as soon as you get off, I guess they are a bit of a burden (and as dual-sport is mainly about wandering - like for discovering new places where I'll go with the dogs thereafter, or taking pictures, or just discovering nature a bit farther than I can go to with the non-motorized bike... off-the-peg comfort is important as well). But as for the shin covering, this is about what I am searching for - but in a maybe less extreme-duty version, while still in level 2. But, I understand that always searching the compromise generally brings more difficulties (maybe I like the difficulties brought up by the very compromises of do-it-all motorcycling)...

admin
ritratto di admin
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Joined: 05/04/2009
Ups, Sorry! I said Explorer,

Ups, Sorry!

I said Explorer, but i was thinking to the Infinity GTX... Not bad at all...

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Gamerfou
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Joined: 27/09/2009
Pourquoi pas les Sidi

Pourquoi pas les Sidi Adventure?

Je ne suis pas certain qu'elles soient certifiées, mais elles m'ont l'air d'être une belle réussite quand même, et vraiment pensées pour l'utilisation mixte route/chemin...

cf. http://www.moto-zoom.com/essai/sidi-vortice-et-adventure-2010-288/3/

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What about Sidi Adventure?

I'm not sure they are homologated, but they surely do look very protective and designed for the dual-sport usage!

tnoraef
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Joined: 01/12/2010
Ha, Sidi, ça, c'est encore

Ha, Sidi, ça, c'est encore une autre histoire (Sidi's another story)...

... I contacted them a few days ago, so to ask them which of their models were certified, and to which levels... and they told me they did not know the answers to any of these two questions Shock

So they advised me to contact their distributor (feridax.com): on their website, I found a PDF of Sidi's catalog, and only 4 models are advertised as being certified (without more details as to the level, though) :

- Vortice
- Vertigo
- Crossfire
- Charger

... and all the submodels (different soles, waterproofed, meshed, ...).

So, as for the Adventure, looks quite cool, but unfortunately doesn't seem certified at all (and as it looks quite a lot like the TCX Infinity, between both, I'd probably choose the latter, as it's certified, noticeably). Otherwise, the Crossfire (the variant with a rubber sole) is quite praised on Advrider (a lot of dual-sport bikers over there)...

But as well for the Adventure as for the Crossfire, I am a little worried about the articulated ankle (I have read what happened to a guy of this forum with Dainese Torque whose articulations probably helped break his ankle at a low speed fall). It seems to use a screw on the Adventure (and that quite does not amuse me), but I think it is another system for the Crossfire (they speak about circlips, which would mimic the tendons, in some way - maybe it is a system similar to the one pictured on TCX offroad line, ie "Torsion Control System" - if so, it would probably be less harmful than a screw). Still, no news from the distributor until now (I e-mailed them as well, of course), as to the approval and level, so ...

I am starting to think of buying the TCX Infinity, at least for touring purpose... and maybe complementing it with other boots for trail use, a little bit later (which ones is another question : the Scott Genius still seems overkill for my use... but it still seems the only offroad boot to be approved up to level 2 - tough decisions : maybe more offroad-ish level 2 models will come sooner or later, like we are now seeing with racing models, from XPD these days - if racing models begin to be approved at level 2, it would be a shame if offroad models were not to follow the same way, wouldn't it?)...