MCN's guide to the best motorcycle touring boots: Safe, rugged footwear for long-haul riding

There are a lot of different types of motorcycle boots to choose from, all focused on different purposes and features. For riders who want to travel any real distance – whether it’s a long day-trip, a hefty commute or for a longer, multi-day tour – a pair of sturdy motorcycle touring boots is essential.

They should offer exceptional comfort as you will be spending a lot of time in them, as well as waterproofing to keep your feet dry – there’s nothing worse than getting wet feet on the first day of a long tour – and keep your feet protected as well.

Best touring boots at a glance

• Budget touring boot – DXR Skoga boots
• Best overall touring boot – Daytona Roadstar Pro GTX
• Best ladies touring boot – Daytona Lady Star Pro Gore-Tex boots
• Best budget ladies touring boot – RST Axiom Mid CE Boots

What to consider when buying touring boots

In comparison to sports boots, motorcycle touring boots will probably be a little more supple to allow you to not only operate the bike’s controls easily but also, move around off the bike comfortably, which is particularly useful if you’re on a tour and want to get off and explore en-route. You may end up sacrificing a little outright feel for the controls but it’s a small price to pay for day-long comfort.

Ideally, you’ll be looking for a pair of waterproof boots with a membrane – Gore-Tex is the obvious one but manufacturers may have their own.

Jump to:

• Safety and protection
• Best touring boots we’ve tested
• Frequently asked questions
• How we test kit

Safety and protection

You’re also likely to see less external bracing, toe sliders or huge areas of TPU armour on touring boots as you are on sports boots. The thinking is if you do have an accident, you are likely to be travelling at a slower speed than in sports boots, where you may be on a track for example.

However, you should still expect strong heel and toe cups, and shin and heel armour of some description. Just like other boots in fact, you should also look at the protection. They should be CE rated to either a 2015 or a 2017 standard. Basically, each will rate several areas and give either a score of ‘1’ or ‘2’. Look for as many 2s as possible for an indication of higher levels of protection. These results will be printed on the label in that order, along with a pictogram of a bike and rider to show that the item is intended for use on a motorcycle.

For the 2017 standard, the first digit indicates the height of the boots – 1 is a short or ankle-height boot and 2 is a full or shin-height example – but this is absent from the 2015 standard. After the first digit in the 2017 rating, both are then the same and show a rating for abrasion resistance, impact cut and transverse rigidity.

Abrasion resistance – The ability of a boot to survive during a slide
Impact cut – how well the construction holds up to penetration by a sharp object
Transverse rigidity – the structural strength when subjected to a sideways crushing force

Manufacturers can also request that their boots are subjected to additional tests in order to receive further accreditation. If a pass is achieved, the relevant marking codes from the following list will appear on the label.

IPA – ankle impact protection
IPS – shin impact protection
WR – resistance to water penetration
FO – resistance to fuel oil
WAD – water absorption/desorption of the insole/sock
B – upper permeability to water vapour (breathability)
SRA, SRB or SRC – slip resistance

The best touring boots that we have tested

Frequently asked questions

Can I ride a motorbike with normal shoes?

We wouldn’t recommend it. How you ride is up to you, and that includes whether you want ride with motorcycle boots or not. It can be tempting to go without, but if things go pear shaped, you could find yourself in trouble; I have a friend who made the mistake of wearing casual shoes while riding and when he unfortunately came off, he lost a toe to the central reservation.

Safety aside, normal shoes can be more uncomfortable to ride in compared to a good pair of motorcycle boots. Shifting gears can without a reinforced toe pad can be pretty unpleasant and the heat from the exhaust can get rather warm too.

Do I need steel-toe cap boots for motorcycling?

They’re often nicknamed “safety boots”, but steel toe cap boots aren’t designed to protect against motorcycle related injuries – they’ll work well enough if you run over your foot while wheeling your bike into the garage, but not if it traps your leg in a high speed slide down the motorway.

Safety boots are tested to a different CE standard, and that means they aren’t rated for abrasion resistance, impact cut, or transverse rigidity, which makes them more dangerous to ride with than a dedicated pair of motorcycle boots.

Lots of motorcycle boots today borrow protective elements from safety boots, such as steel toe caps, non-slip soles, water resistance, and more. But, they aren’t the same thing, and shouldn’t be used interchangeably.

How should motorcycle boots fit?

Motorcycle boots need to fit snugly in order to protect you, and the additional protective elements mean they can feel a bit tight at first – especially when they haven’t been broken in yet. This is normal for a lot of motorcycle boots though; as long as they’re not restricting blood flow, it’s nothing to worry about. They should feel secure, without strangling your toes, when the fit is just right.

If your motorcycle boots feel more like ski boots at first, try adjusting the laces and/or straps a bit – that might be all they need to start feeling comfortable.

How MCN tests touring motorcycle boots

At MCN, our team of expert journalists have decades of experience gained over hundreds of thousands of miles in order to provide you with opinions and evaluations you can trust, alongside news of the most significant developments in motorcycling safety gear. We want you to stay safe, enjoy your riding and hopefully look great while doing so! 

We don’t test our kit to destruction; we use it exactly how you do, in the real world and in all conditions.

That means we can deliver impartial buying advice you can rely on. To make it onto this list, these touring motorcycle boots must have been worn for thousands of miles by our team of experienced testers, show no major flaws, and meet modern safety standards as well as offering decent value for money. 

Each of our expert reviewers tests their products for a variety of things, both subjective and objective, and these boots are no exception. Factors assessed include the boots’ ability to keep the rain out, what level of protection they offer, how comfortable they are to wear and walk in, how they look, how easy they are to put on and anything other features they may have.

We cover thousands of miles in these touring boots and regularly compare them with one another in the office, so collectively we’ve built the sort of knowledge base you can trust.

If you can’t see a review against a pair of boots on this page, it’s because we haven’t tested it yet. These will only be included if we think they’re important and relevant in the market, and rest assured, we will be working on bringing you a review as soon as we’ve done the miles.

When we review a product, we award it a score out of five. In the ratings tab of a given pair of motorcycle boots, you may also find more specific scores for the different aspects of a product’s performance to help you make an informed decision. We test against criteria like how comfortable it is, how protective is it, does it look good and if it is good value for it’s price tag. Here’s a guide to what each number score means:

• 1 star – Poor performance in this category or overall. A product with a single star rating has fallen below the expected standard and should be avoided.
• 2 stars – Basic performance in this area or overall. A product with a two-star rating has managed to perform to a barely acceptable level and there is room for improvement.
• 3 stars – An average performance in this area or overall. A product with a three-star rating has achieved a basic level of performance and is deemed adequate.
• 4 stars – A product has performed over and above the accepted averaged in this category or overall. A product with a four-star rating has surpassed expectation and delivered in a particularly impressive way.
• 5 stars – A product has performed at the highest possible level in a particular category or overall. A product with a five-star rating has delivered to the highest possible level, impressing the tester with its performance. We would happily spend our own money on it.

To find out more, head to our dedicated page explaining how we test motorcycle products.

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