My boyfriend and I recently rode our motorcycles from California to Ushuaia, Argentina. Our route was roughly 15,000 miles through every kind of terrain and environment imaginable.
For the trip I had a lot of gear choices to make, but one of the most important was what boots I was going to use. I needed something that would stand up to every possible weather condition and thousands of miles of wear and tear.
After weeks of reading online reviews and consulting with more experienced riders, I found and bought the Alpinestars CR-4 Gore-Tex XCR Boots
This suited me just fine because I figure I needed something that offered some protection but would also allow me to hop off the bike and go for a walk without my feet being reduced to a bloody mess of blisters.
During the trip these boots were with me as I scaled a volcano in Nicaragua, navigated rivers in Costa Rica and crashed while off roading in Colombia. They kept me dry in rainstorms and dried out quickly after each river crossing. What I really appreciated, though, was their performance in the Andes during the late fall.
The ride through the Andes was one of, if not the coldest experience of my life. I wore every layer of clothing I had under my riding suit, doubled up on gloves, and kept my hand grip warmers turned on high the entire time. Even then, I couldn’t ride more than 10 minutes without loosing feeling in my hands. My feet, however, were a different story. On the coldest days there was a slight discomfort, but for the most part my toes stayed happy with the minimal addition of ski socks.
The Elements
- Great riding boots, but you can also climb volcanoes in them as well
- They keep the water out and the heat in
- Held up over 15,000 miles of abuse on a motorcycle
