
Motorcycle Boots
For years, Sidi’s Discovery Rain boot has been my primary footwear for both adventure motorcycle riding, as well as light off-road excursions.
While they are not the most protective motorcycling boots on the market, the Discovery boots are extraordinarily comfortable and lightweight, making them ideal for adventure touring.
However, Sidi is not a company willing to leave well enough alone. Boasting a fresh skill set, Sidi’s new Adventure Rain boot takes on the class-leading Discovery.
The Adventure Rain offers far more armor than the light-duty Discovery, but retains the comfort level with high-end features like the Single Flex Upper.
With roots in ski boot technology, the Adventure’s Single Flex Upper is a pivot point at your ankle that greatly enhances the ease of movement for functions such as shifting, braking, and even walking your motorbike.
I became a fan of that design when it was so successfully used in Sidi’s superb Crossfire motocross boot, and am fully satisfied with its transition to the adventure discipline.
You get a great sense of the foot controls with these boots. Taller than the Discovery, the Adventure offers more upper-leg protection, which is welcome when an errant steel-serrated footpeg comes looking for your shin.
The Adventure Rain embraces the features I consider to be essential for adventure riding. It is highly water-resistant, an important attribute, as I’m much more likely to go riding in the wet on a bike designed for off-roading.
The sole is lugged, a huge help when pushing a bike through inhospitable terrain, as well as general strolling. They offer great support to my ankles-I quite like the secure, click-down buckles-as well as the high-quality toe-box protection and Lorica guard for my shift toe.
The styling is clean, rather than gaudy, so I do not feel out of place off the bike, mixing it up with the real world. And, of course, they are comfortable over the long haul, though not quite as slipper-like as the Discovery.
A mixture of both top-grain and split-grain leather, the Adventure Rain is stiff where it needs to be and flexible where you want it to be.
Sidi has perfectly placed the Adventure Rain between the Discovery and Crossfire alternatives, coming up with a motorcycle boot and a name that could not be more appropriate.