I read in the Interwebs (so it must be true), that the majority of injuries when adventure/off road riding occurs at our lower legs. I have also met a number of seasoned adventure riders, and have a few friends, who got injured off road, and yes, the injuries occurred down there. Please, no pictures or descriptions of your own injuries! Let's keep this strictly PG rated. 
Just recently, I crashed my beloved KLR, which pinned my knee for a few moments, slightly spraining my knee due to hyper extension, and on another occasion, a low speed drop pinned my left foot under the bike! Luckily, no injuries on that one. Clearly, someone up there is trying to tell me something. So I decided to up my gear just a tad. After years of happily riding around the simplest CE approved knee pads tucked in my riding pants, and Touring "Adventure style" boots (Forma Cape Horn), I went shopping for more serious boots.
Let me make one thing perfectly clear now so nobody is wondering: it is NOT possible to find the most protective riding boots AND have flexibility, comfort, and control feel, in equal doses. The most protective are MX boots. And they offer the least amount of control feel, and you won't walk normal with them.
There are a number of really good boots out there with a great balance of protection, comfort, control feel, reasonable flexibility AND waterproof lining. If you spend enough, you will find enough. After a short and sometimes uncomfortable search/testing, I settled on a set of Forma Terra X
Forma Terra EVO Dry X boots at Revzilla
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These are hybrid boots, in that they combine many of the protective qualities of a MX boots, and some of the more desirable qualities of an Adventure Boot. Protection at the footbed, shin, toes, and heel, as well as limiting ankle movement in all directions. Yet, Forma was able to trim down the height of the toe box, which allows easier shifting. This is a big thing on my Gen 3 KLR, as shift lever adjustment is limited before the shifter starts to contact the case on the upshift. So my boots must fit under the shift lever. These Forma boots do fit. It's a tight fit....but they fit and I can shift up and feel the lever even in the standing position. Forma boots are known to have a wide footbed, and the Terra EVO X do have that wide footbed. Finally, it is waterproof! It uses the same WP lining as my Cape Horn boots, which I have tested multiple times in driving rain for hours on end.
Oh and I can walk like a normal person with them. Sort of. They're big and heavy with a stiff sole. But I can walk on them without looking like I'm wearing Ski Boots!
Here they are in the flesh. Note the wide Toe Box. Thank you Forma!
Untitled by rogue_biker, on Flickr
Untitled by rogue_biker, on Flickr
Just recently, I crashed my beloved KLR, which pinned my knee for a few moments, slightly spraining my knee due to hyper extension, and on another occasion, a low speed drop pinned my left foot under the bike! Luckily, no injuries on that one. Clearly, someone up there is trying to tell me something. So I decided to up my gear just a tad. After years of happily riding around the simplest CE approved knee pads tucked in my riding pants, and Touring "Adventure style" boots (Forma Cape Horn), I went shopping for more serious boots.Let me make one thing perfectly clear now so nobody is wondering: it is NOT possible to find the most protective riding boots AND have flexibility, comfort, and control feel, in equal doses. The most protective are MX boots. And they offer the least amount of control feel, and you won't walk normal with them.
There are a number of really good boots out there with a great balance of protection, comfort, control feel, reasonable flexibility AND waterproof lining. If you spend enough, you will find enough. After a short and sometimes uncomfortable search/testing, I settled on a set of Forma Terra X
Forma Terra EVO Dry X boots at Revzilla
These are hybrid boots, in that they combine many of the protective qualities of a MX boots, and some of the more desirable qualities of an Adventure Boot. Protection at the footbed, shin, toes, and heel, as well as limiting ankle movement in all directions. Yet, Forma was able to trim down the height of the toe box, which allows easier shifting. This is a big thing on my Gen 3 KLR, as shift lever adjustment is limited before the shifter starts to contact the case on the upshift. So my boots must fit under the shift lever. These Forma boots do fit. It's a tight fit....but they fit and I can shift up and feel the lever even in the standing position. Forma boots are known to have a wide footbed, and the Terra EVO X do have that wide footbed. Finally, it is waterproof! It uses the same WP lining as my Cape Horn boots, which I have tested multiple times in driving rain for hours on end.
Oh and I can walk like a normal person with them. Sort of. They're big and heavy with a stiff sole. But I can walk on them without looking like I'm wearing Ski Boots!
Here they are in the flesh. Note the wide Toe Box. Thank you Forma!
Untitled by rogue_biker, on FlickrUntitled by rogue_biker, on Flickr
