New Boots

Well I completed my Aerostitch ensamble` last week with a pair of Combat Touring Boots or, CBT's as us 'stitch guys call 'em...Not them Nancy-boy Combat Lites either, these are the totally cool 14 inchers !

First impressions after wearing them on the bike to commute and all day at work for a week including two 16 hour days was..............................................

F****n' A these things are great! workmanship, fit and finish and ease of getting them on and off are first class all the way, real quality boots. The last pair I had were SIDI On-Road Sympateks which lasted 6 years under pretty much the same conditions. These are made for Aerostitch by SIDI and should last way longer than that, plus they are re-soleable (?) which the On-Roads were not.

The inner lacing on these are permanantly laced with a sliding toggle that you use to tighten them up, then snap over a plastic and metal buckle, two hook and loop straps and off you go, takes less than a minute to pop them on and off. The outer leather is thick and appears to be good quality as does the inner liner, the bottom is padded well enough but I would have prefered a little more heel cushion if you're going to be walking or standing much.

Overall they are very stout, well made boots that should last as long as you want to wear them. Like any heavy duty boot, they take some breaking in. If you're used to wearing tennies or thin boots these will feel like planks but they loosen up with use and a little Hubbards Boot Grease, I just adjusted my shift lever up a little to accomodate them being not as flexible as the ON-Roads.

I haven't tried them in real rain yet though it sprinkled a little this morning and they were fine as would be expected. As you can tell I'm pretty happy and impressed with these, they're not as well armored as pure sport riding or racing boots but are much more practical for everyday riding or commuting, and they go on and off quickly enough that if they were impracticle to wear at work changing into something else would be a non-issue.

Excellent boots and worth the money IMO.