Decisions Decisions...

[Jims]

Hi Guys!

I'm still alive and now need some advice...

I've finally got around to face the fact that blue Sidis and a red 748 really don't go... went out boot shopping this weekend and have whittled my choices down to two boots and need some help deciding which to go for...

Should I go for the super comfortable Puma's or do I go for the super cool Oxtars?

http://i4.ebayimg.com/04/i/000/a6/f7/24a6_1_b.JPG

http://i14.ebayimg.com/07/i/000/a6/f7/1838_1_b.JPG

[kasandrich]

Function over form every time, if the Pumas are more comfortabl get those.

[dellboy]

im also looking for new boots, (seeing as cheaper boots snap ankles) and i reckon theres 2 choices

the pumas (as pictured above)

alpine star smx (tho they look a bit fiddly inside)

ill probably go for the pumas, anyone got a pair? thoughts and opinions would be great, and save some cash if they are crap

[Jims]

The Pumas are the most comfortable boots I've tried on by far! I tried on the SMX Plus' and they're comfy too, but pretty much as tricky as the Puma's to be honest... nowhere near as awkward as the Supertechs though! Oh my God! They were shockingly difficult to put on! Although one thing I did notice (and have read about) the build quality on the Alpinestars has deteriorated massively! The ones in the Hein Gericke I was in had fraying stitching and well... that's just not good! I think it might have something to do with them now being made in Croatia... =S

[v8-powered]

Not from personal experience but have not heard good things about the Puma boots - More of a fashion item rather than functional.

I'd go for the Oxtars

[Gixxer-TeZ]

(seeing as cheaper boots snap ankles)


Maybe you should take a look at my leg then if you think it's just cheap boots !!

I was wearing £300 boots when I came off on the track and broke both the fib and tib clean in half.

It's not how hard you come off either. A lot is how you land and what you hit before you stop.

[Lateshift]

If you are going to pay that much for a pair of boots i find it strange that you looked at SMX Plus and not Alpinestars Supertechs (okay you mentioned they are difficult to put on, i too found that for the first err errr 10 minutes :D but after that its seconds :D )

I have a pair of both, the SMX Plus is a comfortable boot alright but it isnt in the same league as the Supertech ;)

[Jims]

err... I looked at both the SMX Plus and the Supertechs... I just really can't see the Supertechs being as quick and easy to put on as other boots regardless of how many times you put them on. The build quality issue has really put me off the idea of Alpines as well...

[dellboy]

the reason i looked at the smx was purely because of the ankle protection, the other alpines do have protection, but not as strong (or maybe im just being over paranoid):grin2

[the captain]

Oxtars squeak.......lots!!!!!!!

[Lateshift]

Jims, what do you mean by build quality? :)

I have been wearing the same pair of Supertechs for the last year to ride to work in, once they are broken in they fit really well and are a doddle to do up :)

The only problem i have ever had with Alpinestars was the velcro on the SMX 3 boots, absolute garbage and was next to useless within 3 months :(

The SMX Plus boots are a good fit but if you think the Supertechs are too fiddly to put on then i wouldnt bother, they are good build quality but its a pain doing the laces up on them, at least on the Supertechs its just a case of pulling the cord, doing up the zip and snapping the strap shut :)


Although out of the two boots you have here, the Oxtars would win for me, the Puma boots i see as more of a fashion concept to be honest, and as far as build quality goes i heard more about them than any Alpinestar or Sidi boot (have to admit to having not heard anything bad about the Oxtars and in truth i only bought another pair of Alpinestars purely because i bought new leathers and gloves from them at the same time :) ).

[Lateshift]

Oxtars squeak.......lots!!!!!!!

yeah but no more than Sidi or Alpinestars ;)

thats what Silicon grease is for :)

[Jims]

Yup! Silicon grease does the trick on any boot! Not a problem!

Hmm... I suppose you're right about the Supertechs, but you still have to put each foot into two boots each time... unless of course you don't have to once you're used to them/broken them in...?

Yeah, I don't know much about the history of A*'s, but if yours are a year old there is a possibility they won't have come out of Croatia...? I'm just saying that a pair of boots that have sat on a shelf not doing a great deal with stitching coming undone and fraying really didn't score Alpinestars any brownie points with me.

The theory behind the Pumas seems to make sense, but I have to admit I was sceptical about a company more known for their fashion clothing than motorcycle equipment. I've also not heard much about them (I figure because they are relatively new) so that's useful information about them.

Decision time is going to be tough now that you've made me re-think the idea of Supertechs!

[The Guvnor]

Wouldnt buy puma.............cos there puma.........they should stick to trainers !!! Buy someone that knows about bikes ! If they did.............they would have sponsorship on a bike somewhere !!!!

[Lateshift]

they would have sponsorship on a bike somewhere !!!!

they do from what i know ;)

well in so much as De Puniet, Cardoso and Hoffman wear their boots ;)

However Puma have been until recently, more involved with 4 wheeled motorsport for years :)

[The Guvnor]

However Puma have been until recently, more involved with 4 wheeled motorsport for years :)

I rest my case.....:grin2

[Jims]

everyone has to start from somewhere though...

[The Guvnor]

everyone has to start from somewhere though...


Very true.............but they have to prove themselves before I trust my limbs to them !

[Jims]

Very true.............but they have to prove themselves before I trust my limbs to them !

Haha! Fair point! Although De Puniet was pretty beaten up a couple of weeks ago wasn't he...?

[The Guvnor]

I learnt my lesson when I crashed last year. It was 50/50 when I got to hospital as to wether I would end up in a wheelchair. If it wasnt for the fact I had chopped a cheap pair of hein gericke for a decent set of Wolf the result could have been different.
Everyone has there own opinion and whatever you buy I hope it does the job, but because of my experience I would only buy tried and tested. Puma still have a lot to prove and a long way to go.........but hey............what do I know !:grin2

[dellboy]

thats why im being so picky, my anlke broke because of insufficent protection, so if i can bend a boot with my hands sideways, i wont buy em

if it means i ride with mx boots on, so be it

[v8-powered]

May be worth putting a post on the PBmag forum.
I beleive that Dale from the mag had the Puma's and thought they were pretty poor, hence gone back to A*'s. Guessing he does not have to pay for them though....

[Lateshift]

For what its worth i came off at Snetterton (not in a particularly spectacular fashion but it was only by luck that nothing serious came from it), i was wearing the very same Alpinestar Supertech boots that i am still using now, not a mark on them from it either ;)

When you mentioned about them being made in Croatia, i checked and these being the 2005 boot are indeed made there, but the quality of them has been outstanding, my SMX Plus were made in Bosnia (again cant fault them) and my SMX 3's were made in Romania and were crap (nasty Romanians! :D )

But then again how many of the top clothes manufacturers use Taiwan and Korea, China and anywhere else for that matter without people turning their nose up at them ;)

[Perilous]

But then again how many of the top clothes manufacturers use Taiwan and Korea, China and anywhere else for that matter without people turning their nose up at them ;)
__________________


Dainese, Alpine stars to name two, both sown up in china. I have my own opinions on Dainese having seen a brand new set just peel away at the stitching in a minor spill and having suffered had damage everytime whilst wearing their gloves but most people still consider them the dogs do das.

[Perilous]

Maybe you should take a look at my leg then if you think it's just cheap boots !!

I was wearing £300 boots when I came off on the track and broke both the fib and tib clean in half.

It's not how hard you come off either. A lot is how you land and what you hit before you stop.

If you're gonna break your tib and fib you'll do it what ever boot you are wearing. (Been there done that too. :rolleyes:) The difference is that a good quality boot is much more lilkely to move the break up away from the ' distal third part of the bone where none unions are much more likely.

[fall off]

it realy depends what you want them for ? the race track or to pose down the pub, my self i would go with the ones with the best ............
Protection

[NinjaMad]

100% protection nothing else other then prtection u should look for at end of the day style dont save your ankles

[Tark]

Always wear Alpinestar as I find them the most comfortable and they are a good price. Saved my feet a few times..

[JayGates_SP1]

Based only on the fact that puma boots look the absolute nads.... Providing you are talking about the £250 ones. They are exceptionally hard to get on and off but offer alot of protection!

However the oxtar boots I have fallen off in like 5 times and never had any dammage to my feet.

Alpinestars GP Techs I fell off going slow and broke my foot! lol

[NinjaMad]

I only have ever had sidi's i swear by them to be honest!!!

[Lateshift]

thats fine if you have birds feet, my feet are too wide to go in them :D

[harriebird]

i love my sidis but the zip broke on them so i had to fix it with a cable tie :grin2

i'd like to try some oxtars next but i'm not sure if they go little enough.

PLEASE don't buy the orange pumas they're hideous!

[Jims]

Yeah, my Sidi's have been good, but I mean apart from a couple of spills on track they've not really been tested all that much...

And don't worry! I won't get those orange puma's!!!

I didn't find the Puma's a problem to get on and off really...

Although the general consensus has to be the Oxtars out of the Puma's and the Oxtars I think... although having just checked the poll results it is neck and neck!!!

[Perilous]

thats fine if you have birds feet, my feet are too wide to go in them :D

So do I wear a bra or walk around quacking. :grin2

Later Sidis aren't so bad but I must admit they are a bit narrow even for my sparrow's feet.
They are however rather cheap from Sarah Jordan which is rather handy as I've just worn through a set.

Early ones allowed my leg to break right in the wrong place when a bike ran over it but the later ones have been really good. I've been across curbs and all sorts with my foot trapped under the bike with no real damage.:)

[gixer400]

thats fine if you have birds feet, my feet are too wide to go in them :D

Haha, even my girly little 7.5 feet are too wide for my sidi's. My new alpinestars are much more comfortable and wider.

[Jims]

That's it! Bought the Oxtars!!! =) Just got to wait for them to arrive now...

[The Guvnor]

That's it! Bought the Oxtars!!! =) Just got to wait for them to arrive now...

Good decision !:clap