Triple J got it right on.  Docs are better than nothing, but a moto-specific boot is a good idea. 

Here's an example--I highsided last year and broke a bone in my foot.  It was a spiral fracture, which means the foot and boot twisted and snapped the bone. 



I was wearing high-end boots--Sidis Vertigos, which are designed against twisting and impact.   My ankle, which was not injured--took quite a beating from the crash, as evidenced by all the damage to the plastic protector and the bruising around my foot and ankle.  I imagine my foot injury would have be much worse had I been wearing something other sort of boot with less protection.  Even with those boots, I decided to purchase a new pair with better protection against twisting. 

My experience is not a byproduct of being on the track and/or racing.  Any time you come off the bike and roll--as opposed to slide--it's your feet, ankles and arms that are flailing about.  They get twisted and/or whacked into the pavement pretty hard.   And here's a broken thumb to prove my point.   

To echo some of Spidey's comments, my personal risk assessment puts good moto boots above leather on my bottom half.  Road rash may suck, but make the beast with two backsed up feet and ankles can be devastating.

Head, hands, ankles (in that order).  Those are things that could kill me or put me out of work for a while.   Then jacket, then pants.

Boots have come a long way in the last ten years (as has everything I guess).

I felt like I have been rolling dice since boots were my last piece of gear I picked up. I had been wearing some HEAVY leather red wing boots that are EXCELLENT for riding horses and just functional for riding motorcycles. As far as steel toes - I made sure to not wear my steel toe boots on the bike because the toe is the least of my worries (as posted before - it's the ankle). I'm paranoid about the steel getting bent into my foot in a crazy impact. that's not the kind of force the boots were engineered for.

That said, steel toe docs are certainly better than a lot of what I've seen people ride with.

I plan on keeping a pair of shoes at work and changing there so as not to have to carry shoes. Having storage space in my classroom is a nice luxury.

Good point about the torsional resistance, Spidey and Triple J. I know from experience that Docs have plenty of abrasion resistance, but I guess I was fortunate not to injure my ankles.

Spidey, what did you switch to, as I was thinking about Sidi Vertigo's for a track boot?

Quote from: metallimonster on January 05, 2009, 08:47:56 AM
Thanks swamp.   I feel better now.  I guess I do see the upside (ventilation and better feel) now.  I wouldn't mind a better feel when shifting but I like the fact that I can take off my leathers and put on jeans and don't have to worry about carrying around a different pair of shoes. 

The Sidi Streetburners I use now are easy to walk around in. I've worn 'em for 8 or 10 hours at need, though they're not as nice as Docs to walk in. Also don't look as good. 

Quote from: swampduc on January 05, 2009, 09:43:33 PM
Spidey, what did you switch to, as I was thinking about Sidi Vertigo's for a track boot?

The Sidi Streetburners I use now are easy to walk around in. I've worn 'em for 8 or 10 hours at need, though they're not as nice as Docs to walk in. Also don't look as good. 

+1

I never thought boots were THAT important but the idea of messing up my ankle or breaking the bones in my feet (plus seeing your X-rays) has got me thinking otherwise.  I guess i should have figured walking is pretty important 

My next gear purchase will definitely be boots.

So now I am wanting to get a new pair of boots.  I was thinking about these

http://www.newenough.com/boots/sport_street_touring_boots/icon/field_armor_motorcycle_boots.html

Anyone tried them.  The review says the feel for the shifter is not great but I wear steel toes now.  They just look better to me than most race boots and seem like they would offer comparable protection.

They don't seem to have any real ankle protection. Weird, considering they're beefy everywhere else.  The toe looks huge...but if you're used to steel toes then probably no biggie.

These look better IMO since they have ankle pieces. They lack the shin protection though.
http://www.newenough.com/boots/sport_street_touring_boots/joe_rocket/big_bang_motorcycle_boots.html

Nothing beats a good pair of moto-specific boots.
Some companies make inbetween stuff, for those days you go on that short ride to work (i know i know, thats when most of the bad shit happens, but sometimes your SIDIs are a little bulky for the office..).
Puma makes the Ducati "Shifter" in a "Hi" style boot. They are leather, not super thick leather, but leather. They have some soft ankle padding, and a semi-rigid heel cup. They are interesting, but hard to find apparently.
Here's a pic

Quote from: metallimonster on January 06, 2009, 09:53:40 AM
So now I am wanting to get a new pair of boots.  I was thinking about these

http://www.newenough.com/boots/sport_street_touring_boots/icon/field_armor_motorcycle_boots.html

Anyone tried them.  The review says the feel for the shifter is not great but I wear steel toes now.  They just look better to me than most race boots and seem like they would offer comparable protection.

meh, never been a fan of icon stuff.  It always looks so overbuilt for purely asthetic purposes while the actual areas that need protection are lacking.

If your feet are important to you, the Daytona EVO Sports are some of the most robust boots that you can buy.  They also just happen to be quite comfortable.  I switched to these after quickly wearing out a couple pairs of the more popular power ranger style boots.  They are expensive, but I really believe that these boots will last me for the rest of my life, although I might have to have them reconditioned at some point.

There is an inner and outer part of the boot.  The inner part is a rigid plastic shell, but it is hinged to allow your ankle to flex a limited amount.  The outer part of the boot is REAL leather (calf skin to be exact).  You can buy the outer part separately, and they can be resoled (using the original factory soles) and made just like new.  AFAIK, Helimot is the only place in the US that sells them:

http://www.helimot.com/shopexd.asp?id=83

Quote from: corey on January 06, 2009, 02:33:32 PM
Nothing beats a good pair of moto-specific boots.
Some companies make inbetween stuff, for those days you go on that short ride to work (i know i know, thats when most of the bad shit happens, but sometimes your SIDIs are a little bulky for the office..).
Puma makes the Ducati "Shifter" in a "Hi" style boot. They are leather, not super thick leather, but leather. They have some soft ankle padding, and a semi-rigid heel cup. They are interesting, but hard to find apparently.
Here's a pic

The Puma store in Austin carries these, haven't tried them on as I would prefer more protection personally. I imagine that you could try them on in most Puma outlets that carry footware and they could order a size if you needed to. Probably not the cheapest way to go, but likely the most reliable.

^^^they're only $136 bucks Not bad for something to wear to work.

my B-2s arrived today and I am shocked about how light and comfortable they are. If only this snow would go away!!

Quote from: swampduc on January 05, 2009, 09:43:33 PM
Spidey, what did you switch to, as I was thinking about Sidi Vertigo's for a track boot?

Daytona Evo Sports imported through Helimot (see Ivan's post above).   They're about $550.  With the Evos, I've seen a buncha people walk away from truly horrifying crashes with no foot injuries whatsoever, including Tigre jumping off his bike at triple digits, datv eating it at about 110, and another friend going down at near 100 with his ankle pinned underneath the bike, and have heard many other rave reviews/crash horror stories about the Daytonas from local racers and riders.  That said, I just couldn't spring for the $1000 Daytona Security Boots.  The Evos are about the same thing, and like Ivan described, the inner part will last forever.  If the boots get trashed, you can just buy a new outer shell for $250 and you have a new boot.  I expect they'll pretty much last forever.   I went/wore/crashed through my last pair of Sidis in about 3 years. 

Don't get me wrong--those Vertigos are absoslutely awesome boots.  I raced in them for two years and crashed in them more times than I'd like to repeat without any injury to my foot.  Until that last one.  They just have a little too much twist around the foot than I'd like.  If I cup the heel and hold the bottom of the sole and try to twist like I'm giving the boot an Indian burn, they twist too much.  I dunno if that contributed to my injury or not.  Since it was time to replace my boots (they got melted by a flaming exhaust at the start line of a race and were held together at the top by duct tape at the time of my high side.), I considered getting a pair of Vertigo Corsas or the new Sidis (Veloce or something) or some of the new Pumas.  But at prices between $425-$500, the extra $50 or $125 for the Daytonas was a no brainer.  I also thought about a new pair of Vertigos ($325), but decided to spend more.  Seriously, I woulda paid an extra $200 in advance not to break my foot.  I figure that for boots, if you can afford it, spend the $. 

That said, I don't think people have to run out and drop a bizillion $ on boots.  Any moto-specific boot is gonna be better than work boots, and a work boot is gonna be a billion times better than a sneaker.  There are plenty of good deals around on moto boots that will provide a ton of protection in almost any crash.

I hope that helps.