Waterproof boots that are actually waterproof

[Rumbo Sur]

I'd rather buy one excellent pair of boots that afford awesome wet weather protection over a couple pairs of lower priced boots that only offer decent protection. When I'm on an 8 +hour ride home from mom's in the pouring rain I have no desire to have wet feet.

The toucans have kept my feet dry. Always. Even that time 101 and the road through leggett were closed and I had to ride over 36 at night and back down 5 to get home in time for work the next day. God, that sucked. But my dry feet after 13 hours of rain riding were appreciated.

There is no question the Toucan's get outstanding ratings from world travelers doing "real" adventure rides going RTW, lots of serious off road in the mix.
I've read a couple good endorsements.

I've never worn the boot but have handled them. I would not buy such a boot at this point in my riding career. Too stiff. Clearly serious off road oriented boot. Having owned many off road only boots (SIDI, Gaerne, Alpinestar, I can see the Toucan's are in this vein. Of the three brands, Alpinestar always rated a definite LAST. But the Toucan model seems to be the exception ... so lucky you. I had two Alpinestar soles come completely OFF the boot.

My SIDI Crossfires (great!) were not horrible to walk in ... and I'm sure the Toucan's aren't bad either. But after half an hour walking they may not be great. But if you can have them on your feet 12 hours straight, well, that's saying a lot.

If you are doing serious off road touring (not just fire roads) I'd say great. But for mostly road riding, IMO, there are more comfortable, less expensive and just as waterproof boots out there.

And how much did you say the Toucan's cost you?

For some, price is an important part of the equation. Some of the lesser priced boots may surprise.

 

[U26A1]

Any decent Gore-tex boot will be reasonably waterproof. My issue is that I also want good protection out of a waterproof boot, and that is harder to find.

Behold, the best waterproof commuting boot in existence, the Dainese TRQ Tour:

It's got great protection, it's got an ankle hinge, it's comfortable, and it's very good at being waterproof. I've logged a hell of a lot of miles in mine (and crashed in them!) and they've been great. Two or three friends of mine have also picked up a pair and have had similar reports of success.

If you want even more, they recently released a Gore-tex version of their full Torque Out boot.

 

[Rumbo Sur]

My Dainese are something similar but a few years older. They have the hinged ankle, lots of TPU everywhere, including great Achilles protection and fantastic toe box too. A real road race boot ... yet totally walkable.

Very protective, never tested in serious rain.
Comfortable for sure, but not quite as comfy as my Forma's on longer walks.

New cost was around $400 or so. Not cheap! (I found mine USED (like new except for scrapped up toe slider) for a song!)

Interesting to note that Dainese are yet another Italian boot maker whose product is made in Romania. So, now it's Dainese, TCX and
Forma ... all made in Romania. They must be doing something right!

My Dainese boots display the finest workmanship and attention to detail I've seen in any boot. These are serious top of the line boots.

My Orthopaedic surgeon was impressed!

 

[wally]

Those are great boots (actually made by Sidi), but not waterproof. They have to be treated.

While that's true, they might as well be. I've had mine for 5 years now and my feet have yet to get wet in them. I mink oil them once or twice a year.

Regarding the "lace" system, you don't have to tie them, you just slide the slider up to tighten them or down loosen them. very quick.

 

[ZCrow]

If the boot is goretex you should be good to go. Most Italian brands are for elves only (Sidi, I am looking at you). TCX is a great fit. My commute boot is a TCX X-Five Evo GTX Boots and haven't leaked once. The inserts do suck though, so plan on replacing them.

 

[Rumbo Sur]

If the boot is goretex you should be good to go. Most Italian brands are for elves only (Sidi, I am looking at you). TCX is a great fit. My commute boot is a TCX X-Five Evo GTX Boots and haven't leaked once. The inserts do suck though, so plan on replacing them.

Agree! Many Italian boots are made to fit very narrow Euro foot ... not wide cave-man-like foot on many in N. America. Spot On with TCX. Good fit on ALL the ones I've owned going way back to Oxtar's. Best Gore-tex deal on the market, from what I've seen.

 

[RightCoastBias]

If the boot is goretex you should be good to go. Most Italian brands are for elves only (Sidi, I am looking at you). TCX is a great fit. My commute boot is a TCX X-Five Evo GTX Boots and haven't leaked once. The inserts do suck though, so plan on replacing them.

The Sidi ADVs fit my big wide American foot. I believe they also sell it in a few different widths.

 

[LittleBigGirl]

Maybe they have improved the Daytona's protection, then? Mine are super hard as rocks in the right areas and were nearly $430.00. They definitely don't have the plastic shell piece that my A* have, but they are higher than my A*s and way more comfortable. Overall, better quality than my A*s.

I owned the male version of the GTX some years ago. A very comfortable boot to walk in but I was less than impressed with the protection. Everything, everywhere on that boot is ... IMHO ... too soft to protect you well in a crash.

But I totally believe you wore yours all day at work ... but at the price they get for them, I'd not want to wear them out as office attire.

How much are the those Daytona's now? My Forma "Jasper" Outdry boots were $229. Super comfy, very good protection, WATERPROOF (so far!) Very easy to put ON and OFF.

 

[zixaq]

I have been happy with the TCX goretex boots I have. The first pair started leaking after about a year of really hard use and TCX replaced them with minimal fuss. The replacement pair has been crash tested twice and is still going.

The insoles are pretty bad though.

 

[ZCrow]

The Sidi ADVs fit my big wide American foot. I believe they also sell it in a few different widths.

Every time I have tried their boots it has been an uncomfortable experience. The ADVs are way more Franken boot then I am willing to ware for daily use.

 

[davidji]

So today my new Dexshell Coolvent waterproof socks kept my feet dry although one of my boots got wet inside. There are other waterproof socks, and I couldn't tell you which is best, only that these worked for me today. Seems like a good alternative to a new pair of boots.