Why you should wear Leather Boots

[macknife]

Even we are all eaten in the end. Suck it up!

I wear 'TCX move' boots. Very good for Thailand. Not heavy at all. They felt a bit stiff at first but after a while they were just fine. Available at Pandarider 7500B I think.

[ggt]

You wear boots in Thailand...to keep the BS from rolling over the top of your shoes and soiling your socks...

[CharlieH]

Numerous way off topic posts removed.

[wooloomooloo]

Why you should wear Leather Boots and Lycra is a good question.

[ozyjon]

Went camping once, in Chiang Mai hills with some Thai friends

nearly froze to death

moral of the story

"don't go camping"

in Ciang Mai or any Gay club in Bangkok

[H1w4yR1da]

Kennypowers, thanks for the videos and lecture on the evils of meat-eating and wearing of leather. Appreciated!

On a side note, as this is the Bike Forum, mind sharing with us which bike you ride?

[JohnPark]

Kennypowers, thanks for the videos and lecture on the evils of meat-eating and wearing of leather. Appreciated!

On a side note, as this is the Bike Forum, mind sharing with us which bike you ride?

[JohnPark]

Back to boots. I wear Sidi - synthetic leather before anyone starts

[wantan]

Noone needs a bike to write in such bike forum. This is stupid elitism

[nikster]

Thanks for the suggestions, I'm looking for Water-resistant boots. I think Panda-Rider must have some.

With steal around of course will be good. This boot is ditched already.

The guy stopped, I called him to come look at the results, he said sorry, then I just left to continue the journey, nothing else to say. his bike was probably worth 5K.

just another experience learned. cant trust bad gear, and other drivers. I got saved by this amazingly thick leather boots.

dont trust blind spot in stopped traffic, in Thailand this is so common.

cheers

It's because you didn't expect a bike to shoot out in-between cars in stopped traffic!

I T-Boned a guy on a scooter once that did just that he just took off, I guess nothing major broken on his bike. The sudden stop made me wobble and I very nearly dropped the bike, it took all my strength to keep it upright. I was lucky it wasn't too far leaned over. Impact was all on my front tire, no damage to the bike.

Now I always look, and if I can't see, say a Van, I go very slow. Passing stopped traffic is hazardous.

Two similar incidents:

- U turn on fast road. Invariably, some scooter will pull from all the way on the left lane across the highway to the u-turn without looking, or not looking enough to see a fast bike coming. Hit one of these guys once, he fell off the bike, I stayed on mine but still had to give him money for hospital costs and inconvenience. It was actually my fault as he had his indicators on. He wasn't looking at all, and his indicators were as faint as could be on this old bike - but I was coming from behind so yes, I should have seen him.

- Passing a car while accelerating. Some crazy scooter barely going faster than the car crossed the car's path, he couldn't have been more than a meter from the bumper, to emerge on my side. That was unexpected. Same as with stopped traffic when passing a car that blocks visibility you just have to go really slow (relative to the car)

[DeepInTheForest]

Other members have posted similar provoking statements before.

kenny for sure practises what he/she preaches - respecting the life of animals, even the life of "productive livestock" (wow, what a disgusting term).

I am no vegan, but i respect people being that strict. You can make jokes about them, call them "tree huggers" or whatever - it only shows your lower level of maturity

Its not about killing one animal to be able to feed your family the next weeks, its about todays industrial livestock farming, which is cruel and additionally destroys the planet we all live on.

You may think leather is just a byproduct and the animals would have been killed anyway. But if you are honest to yourself you know thats not the whole truth - consuming animal products usually means animals have to suffer. We all should not forget this when shopping. And maybe we should ask were the product comes from and how it is produced. Thats all kenny wanted to say i guess. BTW, a lot of (mostly cheaper) leather products contain toxic chemicals. And the people producing the leather in third world tanneries often suffer too and get slowly poisoned.

I buy and use leather myself. I also eat meat. And i know i should not. Its like a bad habbit, hard to get rid of it.

nikster has a good point. It often makes sense to go slower.

kudos for thoughtfulness, wantan.

Those who are interested may want to google "leather tanning toxins" to get acquainted with the toxic waste involved in the production of leather. Of course there are toxins involved in producing synthetic boots as well, but the lucrative leather industry pumps out a lot of bad stuff.

These polluting factories are particularly dangerous for the developing world and its people...and ultimately for us all.

An excerpt from http://www.worstpolluted.org/projects_reports/display/88 , below. They have a great map where you can view where a lot of the tanning operations take place worldwide. As you might suspect, many are in places like India and Bangladesh, Central and South America, Africa... yup, that's where our leather comes from. The toxic waste, mostly involving hexavalent chromium, can be treated to render it essentially harmless, but smaller operations cannot afford this, and many people still are exposed.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The two main types of tanning are chrome tanning and vegetable tanning, with chrome tanning making up a large majority of the industry. Chromium compounds are applied to protect hides from decay.... Other materials that may also be used in the pretreatment and tanning processes include sulfuric acid, sodium chlorate, limestone, and limestone soda ash.

Due to the repeated processes of soaking raw hides and wringing them out, the tanning process creates large amounts of wastewater that may be contaminated with many different chemicals.... However, chromium contamination and high chemical oxygen demand are typical problems associated with tannery effluents, both of which can pose serious risks to the environment and human health.

In addition to creating potentially toxic wastewater, some tanneries also produce large amounts of solid waste that contain chromium, including: hide scraps, skins, and excess fats. Toxins from this waste can leach into nearby soil and water, placing nearby residents at risk of contamination.

Edited July 9, 2014 by DeepInTheForest

[metisdead]

Some more off topic posts and replies have been removed.

[RubberSideDown]

Both these boots are extremely protective not just for abrasion, but for impact- they both have braces that enhance torsional rigidity to reduce the possibility of ankle injuries, and they absorb the force of the impact to lower the stress that your knee might suffer (forces transmitted from your feet hitting the ground is actually the main cause of knee injuries rather than the knee itself hitting the pavement).

The Sidi Vortices on the left are synthetic leather- you practically need to take a class in how to put them on (the new Mag-1 boots are supposed to be an improvement on that;)), but they have a 'Blade Runner' look that not everybody likes (those monofilament adjusters allow the boot to be as close to a custom fit as possible, but they're not actually securing the boot on your foot)- they're also not bad for comfort, but you wouldn't want to run a marathon in them. The Alpinestars Supertech R boots on the right have an inner bootie system that keeps the protective features on the inside so they have a cleaner look- they're actually very comfortable, but the bootie makes them run warm.

If you want the best level of protection, these are pretty much it, but obviously they're not good for every riding scenario, especially if you're commuting.

Edited July 9, 2014 by RubberSideDown

[ll2]

i have a Sidi Vertigo and yeah, hard to wear them but the feeling of protection on my foot is at magnificent level, i like them a lot. They are also comfier than i expected after some break in.

they are not leather too:)

[brfsa2]

I've been watching several reviews on the SIDI ones, with synthetic leather.

looks like they are the best deal here in Thailand for the prices.

Yesterday morning I got a temporary leather boots with steal caps, really strong and thick leather.

Same brand as the old boot, "Heavy".

It was only 2000 baht after 30% off from some talking. got it at The Mall.

I was not very confident riding on my Tennis sport shoes, even if it was just for a few days. it was making me nervous.

This long weekend I will go to Paddock to get on of those SIDI that LL2 and RSD suggested.

I will be using it at least 3 days a week, for the long commuting (40Km/day) and for trips outside Bangkok.

The "SPORT RAIN SHORT BOOTS" at 5500 baht looks great for the daily commuting. but maybe not enough protection.

but the "Vertico Goretex" at 5000 baht looks like a great deal to me.

Edited July 10, 2014 by brfsa2

[ttakata]

I love Sidi having owned 3 pairs now, their price is fully justified.

OK, I had casual rain boots by Sidi similar to above and they felt too flimsy for a bigbike, but they would be great for scootering or maybe a chopper.

I always rode with Sidi Vertebra Race boots on a big bike because I felt safer and more confident with them on.

I kept them in case I get a bigbike again, but the 15 year old rubber sole is hard and slippery now.

I still have Sidi Crossfire SRS but no dirt bike to ride them with.

They are by far the most protective boot I have owned.

A few times my DTX250 would pin my leg down when off roading and without those boots I am positive I would have broken my legs.

I don't think a boot needs to be made of leather, just properly designed.

[mania]

Sidi makes very nice boots

They also make great cycling racing shoes that I used

for decades back in the US. Never a problem with quality

Edited July 11, 2014 by mania

[DILLIGAD]

Nice to see a thread about boots has now been hijacked by the veggies.

You wanna eat veggies, do it, just don't try to convince others to all the time!

Why do they make food taste and look like sausages & hamburgers?

Just a random thought

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[ll2]

I've been watching several reviews on the SIDI ones, with synthetic leather.

looks like they are the best deal here in Thailand for the prices.

Yesterday morning I got a temporary leather boots with steal caps, really strong and thick leather.

Same brand as the old boot, "Heavy".

It was only 2000 baht after 30% off from some talking. got it at The Mall.

I was not very confident riding on my Tennis sport shoes, even if it was just for a few days. it was making me nervous.

This long weekend I will go to Paddock to get on of those SIDI that LL2 and RSD suggested.

I will be using it at least 3 days a week, for the long commuting (40Km/day) and for trips outside Bangkok.

The "SPORT RAIN SHORT BOOTS" at 5500 baht looks great for the daily commuting. but maybe not enough protection.

but the "Vertico Goretex" at 5000 baht looks like a great deal to me.

sidi vertigo is great deal for 5000 tub!

I bought mine for 6000 tub from paddock and it has no gore tex. Just go for it and hope they have size.

These are good boots easy to wear but they are not perforated still they don't make your feet sweaty much surprisingly.

Also check sidi cobra there. They were cheaper, less space trooper looks and perforated.

[Shurup]

Real reasons why you want to wear boots:

(Warning: graphic pictures)

http://i373.photobucket.com/albums/oo173/Hayabusadoc/OR%20Pics/initialwound.jpg

http://i373.photobucket.com/albums/oo173/Hayabusadoc/OR%20Pics/000_0006.jpg

[Garry]

Real reasons why you want to wear boots:

(Warning: graphic pictures)

http://i373.photobucket.com/albums/oo173/Hayabusadoc/OR%20Pics/initialwound.jpg

http://i373.photobucket.com/albums/oo173/Hayabusadoc/OR%20Pics/000_0006.jpg

Whoa, dislocated ankle? That would have taken some force...

Sent from my SM-T211 using Tapatalk

[Garry]

Bought these boots just recently after retiring my Oxtars boots of many years. Not one piece of leather used in the construction, surprisingly. Even more surprising is that RST Gear is made in Pakistan of all places.

The Tractech Evo CE- EN13634 race boot is built with protection and comfort in mind.

Tractech Evo is constructed from micro tech, a special 2mm microfibre with PU coating that is superior to leather (being nearly 70% lighter, tear and age resistant with easy care properties).

Loaded with protective features that provide a really competitive boot for the fast road/track rider who demands protection, high performance and style to top off the incredible spec list the Tractech Evo is independently CE certified to guarantee the best level of protection.

CE certified EN13634

Sent from my SM-T211 using Tapatalk

Edited July 11, 2014 by Garry

[JohnPark]

Bought these boots just recently after retiring my Oxtars boots of many years. Not one piece of leather used in the construction, surprisingly. Even more surprising is that RST Gear is made in Pakistan of all places.

The Tractech Evo CE- EN13634 race boot is built with protection and comfort in mind.

Tractech Evo is constructed from micro tech, a special 2mm microfibre with PU coating that is superior to leather (being nearly 70% lighter, tear and age resistant with easy care properties).

Loaded with protective features that provide a really competitive boot for the fast road/track rider who demands protection, high performance and style to top off the incredible spec list the Tractech Evo is independently CE certified to guarantee the best level of protection.

CE certified EN13634

uploadfromtaptalk1405072301233.jpg

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I have the RST leather trousers, good quality from what I can see and not too bad fit. Didn't feel to hot wearing them driving around Bangkok last month.

[Garry]

Bought these boots just recently after retiring my Oxtars boots of many years. Not one piece of leather used in the construction, surprisingly. Even more surprising is that RST Gear is made in Pakistan of all places.

The Tractech Evo CE- EN13634 race boot is built with protection and comfort in mind.

Tractech Evo is constructed from micro tech, a special 2mm microfibre with PU coating that is superior to leather (being nearly 70% lighter, tear and age resistant with easy care properties).

Loaded with protective features that provide a really competitive boot for the fast road/track rider who demands protection, high performance and style to top off the incredible spec list the Tractech Evo is independently CE certified to guarantee the best level of protection.

CE certified EN13634

uploadfromtaptalk1405072301233.jpg

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I have the RST leather trousers, good quality from what I can see and not too bad fit. Didn't feel to hot wearing them driving around Bangkok last month.

My first taste of RST Gear was the RSTPro touring jacket & trousers. Very good quality. I used the same jacket in Germany and with the cold weather liner in place and just wearing a tshirt under it, I was warm as toast in -4°C snow conditions. The jacket with the list removed and vents open was okay for use in Thailand.

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