So Excited! Women's Motorcycle Boots with Real Ankle Protection

 

As soon as the temperatures come back up and it's time to go riding again, I'll be upgrading my everyday riding boots to these beauties, the Dainese Women's Torque D1 Boots. With my tiny Size Euro 36 / US 6.5 feet, it's incredibly difficult to find motorcycle boots that offer real ankle protection. What this means is full lateral support, and that these boots will make it nearly impossible for your leg to bend sideways at the ankle. Hopefully it should minimize the injury to a sprain or fracture vs. the need for major surgery.

Although you can't 100% prevent every injury, you can drop it down to the best possible outcome. When I crashed last June, I got lucky when I lowsided because although my foot was pinned underneath the bike for a bit, I only walked away with a fat bruise. Every accident is different, and you have no idea what can happen to you in each circumstance. Some people wear absolutely nothing and get up without a scratch, who knows how? But then there are many riders who can't get up at all. I don't want to be one of them, and rather than gamble with the ability to walk comfortably without pain, I'd rather wear a better boot.

 

I do *adore* my Sidis, but I have to give in to the extra protection that these offer. They're too good to pass up.

I just hope they fit me as good as my Sidis do. I only got to try the 36 (barely, since my feet couldn't get into the opening!) and not the 37. I put on a 38 and definitely had enough room to add my amazing insoles.

So FYI, these do run narrow especially at the instep. The opening is rather narrow.  So I recommend ordering a size up unless you have narrow feet.

Smaller Motorcycle Boots for Men?

Reader Jason needs help finding a pair of boots! :-) 

Hello there, I have just recently started riding and had a question about boots. I have very small feet for a guy and would need to look at women's boots and was wondering what I could get away with without them being too girly looking. I wear size 7.5 in women's.

-Jason

Dear Jason,

This is no problem! TCX is one of my favorite brands, as they offer many boots in Euro 38 which I think is the size you're looking for. The TCX Infinity Evo GTX dual sports above are a prime example, if you're looking for a Gore-Tex adventure style boots:

They also have a couple of good city sneakers like the X-Street WP (available in waterproof, non waterproof and air versions) and S-Sporttour EVO if you need a good sport touring boot. But take a look through all the TCX boots, because many are offered in Euro 38.

Alpinestars is another company that offers many boots in Euro 38 as well! If you need a sporty boot, many of their race and sport boots are offered in 38 including the SMX-6's below (which I wear).

On the touring side of things, in addition to the Monofuse boots I linked above, they offer the Web GTX boots in 38:

And of course if you're looking for city sneakers, they have quite a few in 38 too. I think you'll find plenty of options in both these brands in your size in various styles!

Technical Riding Sneakers for Women

Another video from yours truly! Check out my recommendation for women's riding sneakers in another Geek Speak from Revzilla.com.  Keep in mind that riding sneakers are meant for low speed, city riding conditions (~15-35mph). I wouldn't recommend these for any type of backroad or highway / freeway riding or commuting.

Alpinestars SMX-6 Womens Motorcycle Boots

 

As much as I adore my Sidis, I had to change my boots recently due to a change in the size of my tiny feet. 

When your feet are size US 6.5 / Euro 36 (Euro 37 for really narrow shoes), there aren't many options for truly protective motorcycle boots. When I say truly protective, I mean boots that have full ankle protection to keep your ankle from twisting like these from Dainese. For me, these are the best compromise to achieve a better fit and still have a higher level of protection.

My Sidis (size 37) offer lots of impact protection. And in fact, I can attest to this by the accident I had 2 weeks ago where I lowsided due to hydraulic fuel in the entire right lane of a right hand curve. I only had bruising on my right foot. No broken bones or fractures. And that definitely saved my foot. I absolutely would buy another pair if my feet were just a half size larger!

Somewhere in the last few years my feet have changed sizes slightly. I wear 2 different insoles in my Sidis because my ankles and heels are skinny. Without them my ankles and heels are swimming, and then my toes smush into the toebox and then I'm in pain. I also added a couple of foam pads to the inside of the boot above my ankle to further stabilize that area. I also have shorter slightly wider toes so the Alpinestars also give me a better fit in the toebox.

The SMX-6's  in a 36 fit much better, slightly shorter and more fitted and secure in the ankles/heels. It's a slight compromise since I lose some impact protection but gain a piece of ankle support on the outside of each boot (the long plastic looking piece running vertically along side the outside of my ankle).

I think these are going to work better for me, given how much better they fit my tiny feet. And for me, a really good fit has a slightly higher priority. If you're looking for a great summer boot, these are also available in a vented version!

I can't wait to test ride them this Sunday and on a nice long, weekend getaway. Stay tuned for a review.