Thoughts: Rev-It Apache Boot & Dainese Virlunga D-Dry
After my Desmo’s packed in, the Airtech GTXs disappointed and the Sidi Rain Evo’s got sold on eBay (times are tight) I had nothing left but to get the Alpinestars Effex GTX back out of retirement, complete with mud and cobwebs from working in the garden with them on.
The only issue however is now the Effex boots are wasted. There are still two holes in the shift patch and the sole (the reason for the retirement) and the sole is compacted to a wafer, so comfort isn’t really what you would call comfortable. Not only that, they are cold and leak like a pair of boots with two holes in them.
So I got thinking about what was out there now that could possibly fill the void left when my Desmo’s packed in. What kind of boot could be worn day in day out, in Scottish winter weather, as well as walking about in them, washing my bike in them and generally living in them. What boots are there in the market RIGHT NOW, that could possibly fit the bill?
What do you think of these then?
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THAT!! Wow.
I stumbled across these boots when searching for another boot that I liked the look of. I’ll come to those in a minute.
These Rev-It Apache boots are precisely what I would imagine a boot to look like, should it fit the requested spec I mentioned before. It looks rugged. But it also looks comfortable. It looks solid. Most of all, it looks really quite smart.
These retail for around £160 in the UK. There’s a variety of tech going on in here, including a sole that was derived from hiking boots. WebBikeWorld calls them a “Mashup” in that they merge off-road boots with hiking boots with touring boots and racing boots. It’s a best of all worlds type boot.
I am really intrigued by these. Could they be the answer to my Scottish boot nightmare?
The other boot I mentioned was the Dainese Virunga D-Dry boot. It looks like this:
These boots look like comfy bams I have to say. I also like the combination of soft materials combined with ratchet style closure as an extra security feature.
They don’t look as solid as the Apaches but I prefer the softer look.
I’m going to try and get my hands on either or both of these boots and give them the YamYam review treatment. Fingers crossed because I am really starting to tire of having cold wet feet.
Stay tuned!
Review: TCX Airtech Gore-Tex Boots
One month off. A whole month of non-yamyam action. That’s bad.
Let’s rock.
I give you, The TCX Airtech Goretex boot
So after a while of waiting and various calls to J&S, I got the TCX Airtech Gore Tex boots through in the mail. Upon initial inspection I noted to myself that these were nowhere near the effortless cool of my beloved Puma Desmo GTX.
The boot felt stiff in the hand and the rubber was really…rubbery. It reminded me of something that perhaps a fireman would wear, or a fisherman… After a few moments of visual disappointment, I unzipped those suckers and stuck em on my feet, after all it’s more about what they feel like…right?
There's only so much rubber you can take...
After struggling to get the massive velcro patch off the boot, I slipped my foot in to a very vacant feeling interior. Vacant in the sense that the boot didn’t really fit my foot, it more hovered around it. There was a lot of space for my foot to move horizontally, waving a stick in a cave…what…oh. The boot also felt really hard, rigid and not very pleasant. Nevertheless, I soldiered on and zipped them up…oh dear.
Initial feeling was “oh, that’s not really good” as the interior fabric that’s fashioned around the lip of the boot scraped against my leg. I unzipped it again thinking I had messed it up but sure enough, at the top of the boot was a ragged edge that was rough to the touch. I am not enjoying this experience.
Walking back in forward in my kitchen I was completely turned off by what my feet were saying to me. Absolutely no movement in the shin area forcing an awkward cowboy stride and moon-landing plant of the feet, albiet with a “SLAP”.
As you can see, I took photos on my wet patio table. After doing this, I put them on in my kitchen and immediately my grip was lost, due to some moisture being left on the sole. This was not a good indication of the available grip for say, when you put your foot down at the lights when there just happens to be some diesel spilt on the wet road…
Bugs eye toe cap...mmmm. Not.
There is a natural “That’s enough” point in a products design. With the Puma Desmo it wasn’t ever crossed, I wanted more of it and would have lapped it up with a squint face.
With the TCX Airtech GTX, the point at which “that’s enough” was reached happened as soon as the box was opened and eyes were rested upon the feast of rubber and mesh.
It may be slightly harsh to say it, but I will say it. On a web shop with the Airtech at a 45° angle and the right lighting this boot looks pretty good. In reality, this boot should never have left the design office. It’s an over stiff, non-user-friendly lump of hard rubber and mesh that makes you partially vomit in to your mouth, and then, after you have wiped the barf off the floor, you try the boots on and you suddenly have the urge to scoop your eyes out with a spoon, only after you have picked yourself up from slipping on the slightly damp floor.
A boo-boo if ever I saw one, and a real shame. I never wore these on the bike. I made the pose of being on my bike, using my kitchen bar-stool as a make shift peg and I immediately knew this was a no-go. And to top off all this lovin’, you then have that annoying rubbing on your leg from the really really reeheeheeeelly (too much Scrubs) bad craftsmanship and materials choice.
Bad one.
Sorry TCX, you’ve blown it.
Update: Puma Desmo 800 GTX. Done. Gone.
Well now…
Firstly, thanks to Alex @ J&S Accessories for her help. I appreciate it.
My favourite pair of boots, my Desmo 800 Gore-Tex boots, my babys…gone. Forever.
I had sent them back well over 5 weeks ago to J&S Accessories due to the zip busting and the unbreakable Gore-Tex liner leaking. I sent them back and waited. And waited. And waited. Until it was too much and I called them up.
“Ok…hmmm. I’ll have a look and get back to you.”
That was Friday, and hadn’t received a call back. So today (Wednesday) I called up again.
“Yeah, we sent them back to the supplier and I’m waiting back on them calling me about the status. Hold on, I’ll call you back and I’ll find out.”
Sure enough 30 minutes later a call.
“The suppliers say that they have given us a credit for the boots so you can get anything you want from our store.”
“What, you can’t get them anymore?”
“No, they have stopped making them. But have a look in our store. You can get the Sidi Evo’s? They are our best selling boot?!”
“Hmm Bums… I’ll call you back once I’ve had a look at them.”
So I had a quick look at their store and no boots were Gore-Tex apart from some TCX Competizione boots at £200…doubtfull she’ll allow that to fly.
I called back and suggested it and although she had said that I could have whatever boots I wanted, there was obvioulsy a bit of no-way-jose before I was told that the boots on the web were only the most popular and that she’ll check to see if they do any other GTX ones.
No call back, but again she was quick to get a hold of. She apoligised with the reason that she was doing two jobs at once due to someone being ill. No problem.
“There’s some Daytona ones.”
No. They were pretty basic and not very nice looking.
Whilst I had been waiting for the call I had checked online at various brands again, thinking various things like, perhaps the Alpinstars Effex would be good again? They were bullet proof and comfy as feck as well. Hmm. Nah. What about any other Puma versions? No. Puma seem to have pulled out of the motorcycle boot industry altogether!!
Well what about TCX then? Hmm.
I had a wee swatch on their website and immediately drew myself to these:
Now. I know what you are thinking. And it probably isn’t “They are smarter than X”
I like the look of them definitely. But my rational was this: Winter.
I have the smartest boots around. The Desmo non GTX variety remember. I had 2 sets. Now I still have the normal Desmos, so getting winter boots smarter than the Desmos isn’t possible. Add to that the fact that during winter, my mind isn’t on how good I look, it’s on getting to work with the most number of body parts still attached to my body. These boots look like they will be comfy (going by the pretty sparse reviews of them) and warm. They also crucially have Gore-Tex.
Aye they may not be made of hard plastic to protect from crushing, but apparently they last ages, are instantly comfy (no break in) and are warm.
So I suggested to her if it would be possible to get these? She said that she would call the supplier and see.
10 minutes later a call to say that aye, that’s no problem, but there is a problem with price as these are £150 and I had paid £126 for the Desmo GTX. Of course I had paid £140 for them back then. She realised the mistake and said, no worries, she’ll get them ordered and sent out asap.
So there you go. I am really looking forward to trying this new boot out, but at the same time I am gutted about my Desmo’s. The fact that Puma don’t make them any more is also disappointing. But more than gutted or disappointment, I am really beat up about the fact that they only lasted 9 months. I was sure they would last at least as long as my AStars Effex, but I was wrong. Such a shame. I guess I’ll just have to take ultra good care of my normal Desmos if I want to keep them for longer.
Updates on the TCX Airtech Gore-Tex when they arrive!
Thanks for checking out YamYam folks. I am always reading and enjoy your comments.
Check out my Flickr for a constantly updated photo stream.
All the best
Gordon
Update: Puma Desmo 800 GTX Boots Review
Hey All
After my beloved Alpinestars boots broke, I fancied getting a pair of pumas. I had already bought a set of them off ebay thinking they were Gore-Tex as advertised, but unfortunately they weren’t.
Instead of getting some Desmo’s I decided to try another pair, called the Brutales. These were pretty uncomfortable and I really didn’t like the blue leather.
After a week of sending the boots back and forward, I decided that I would go for the Gore-Tex version of the Desmos. I knew how comfortable they were i.e slippers, and they looked smart as feck.
I bought them last August and wore them from then until now, so here is how they are fairing. Bearing in mind that they had…big shoes to fill. My Alpinestars didn’t flinch for over 1 and a half years of constant riding, walking, washing bikes, laying paths/grass and generally getting abused. (Click the images to see the larger ones over at my Flickr account)
As you can see, they are not so daisy fresh. But from August 08 until now, they have proved to be an excellent boot, standing up to some of the most torrential rain I have ever experienced.
The toe sliders are scuffed to bits, with the plastic the same. However on this boot (left) there is now a leak where the outside of my toes are. I suspect it’s something to do with the bolts securing the toe slider to the boot, but I am not sure.
The rear of the boots used to be nice and shiny, but after some pretty heavy use, you can see how worse off they are. This is from a multitude of things that I can think of right now. When Em sits on the back, her feet sit in a way that they hug the heel of my boot. This is probably the cause of the scuffs, with perhaps taking the boots off helping out.
As mentioned before, this little metal bit serves two purposes. The first is to make the boot look smart. The second is to assist in getting the boot off. You stick your opposite toe on this wedge, then suck your foot out the boot. It works wonders in the wet, I can attest to that. Note how pitted the metal is. This is Scottish winter road salt at it’s finest.
And now we come to the reason I have stopped wearing the boots for the past week. The zip burst. These boots are really snug, they hug your feet and offer tremendous feel. The downside to this is that when you are putting the boot on, you really have to use the zip to bring the two sides of the boot together and sometimes this puts a bit of strain on the zip. Unfortunately it put a bit too much strain on it and it split. I continued to wear them, just securing them with the massive velcro patch above the zip. It worked ok, but the zip issue, coupled with the leaking left boot called for a return to the shop.
The shift patch is quite obvious now. The rest of the patch is still shiny but the area I shift with has turned matte.
I often walk about in my boots, I did it with my A-Stars and I do it with my Demos. These boots are the comfiest things I have ever worn in my life, so it’s a joy to keep them on. However I walk like a dork, so the heel is starting to show signs of wear, and so is the outside of the sole.
So compared to my Alpinestars Effex Gore-Tex boots, how do the Puma Desmo 800 Gore-Tex fair?
Comfort: The Desmos are the comfiest things to put on your feet whilst riding a motorcycle. Compared to the Effex, the Desmos are far better.
Looks: Again, the Desmos are the smartest boots I know of. They offer something a bit busier than the Effex, but a long shot away from the squeeky Sidis. These are the pinnacle of effortless cool.
Durability: The Desmos have lasted since August 08. That makes it 10 months. The Effex lasted since January 07 until August 08, that makes it 18 months, so the Effex win hands down. The Effex were also really basic looking, just leather, no shift patch (where one of the holes developed) and the sole was the othe rhole. The Desmos are made up of lots of different materials, leather, plastic, metal. For this reason the Desmos look a lot rougher than the Effex did.
Effectiveness: The Effex were solid perfomers, offering dry feet up until the hole developed in the shift patch area. This wouldn’t have happened had there been a man made material (rubber, plastic) here. The Desmos have also been solid performers, but are now letting water in around the toe slider area.
Price: The Effex when I purchased them were £110. The Desmos £150. The price difference reflects the complexity and safety of boot I think, and they both sport Gore-Tex, so I think the Demos are well worth the extra dollar. The Effex didn’t have any shift patch, rugged heel armour or toe sliders. It also didn’t have the height of the Desmos.
So to conclude, the Puma Desmo’s are a superb boot, offering fantastic comfort, protection from the weather, feel on the gear shift/pegs and have gorgeous looks to boot (sorry). My boots are going back to the shop I bought them from to get the zip and leak fixed and I will continue to use them until they fail.
You can find the Desmos here for £128! An absolute bargain now! I think I may just have to invest in another pair for when these go bang, they are really that good.
Thanks for reading all,
Gordon
Holey Moley: Alpinestars Effex Gore-Tex “Final Review”
Wow, what a bum of a week.
The weather has been miserable. Someone at work said the other day, “did you come in on your bike?” and I said, “Yeah?” She looked a bit confused and continued, “is it not really difficult in these conditions?” “Yeah it is but you choose your own path I guess.”
And I wouldn’t change it for anything. I love my bike and I knew when I signed up for this what the negatives would be. I like being able to miss out on the queue on the way to work. I like not having to worry about it. I like being able to sleep longer in the morning because I don’t have to beat the queues.
So yeah, it is difficult and I do end up soaking through, and at the time I think, “this is shit” but then I remember why I do it and it’s ok.
Anyway, this week is over and in a special way. It’s the 8th day of the 8th month of the 8th millenium year, 08-08-08. This will NEVER happen again until…actually I dont know when. What happens when we get to 2100? What do we call it? 00? 100?
Oh well.
The news
My boots, my brilliant Alpinestars boots have broke. I am devestated. These were the boots that were with me from the start. The beginning of YamYam. And now they have big holes in them. My camera is dead so I will post pics up when I get home, but there is one great big hole in the sole of the boot and another where the shift patch has worn through. These boots have kept me dry for….well over 600 days of sun, rain, wind, ice, snow, poo, sand, walking to the shops, cleaning my bike in and digging holes in the garden. They were mine. Moulded to my exact foot shape and I knew they were brilliant because I never thought about them. I guess that’s when you know your gear is good, when you don’t notice it. But now the impenetrable Gore-Tex forcefield has been rendered totally useless with 2 great big holes in it. Oh well 
What they arrived like:
Taken from Alpinestars official site
And this is what they departed like:
Used and abused
Shift patch is worn through
Holey Moley in the bottom of the boot
These boots, for £118 or whatever I purchsed them for, are pretty much bullet proof. They offer superior comfort, water proofing, looks, durability. Yeah they dont have much protection or plastic bits but they are a great commuting boot and absolutely perfect for what I needed them for.
This will be the “Final Review,” the first one ever on YamYam, and it’s really sad that these are gone.
A lot of you may be reading this and thinking, “He’s a bit sad to be so upset about a pair of boots!” And you are right. But when these boots have taken you through 4 countries, every single weather condition imaginable, 2 accidents, cleaning my last 4 bikes every weekend and walking up to the shops in them when it’s been raining (which in Scotland is quite a lot) you can start to hopefully see why I am so attached to them.
So anyway,
I should just get another pair right? Well no. I know it’s silly as I would have another pair of these in a second, but I fancy a change.
I am not straying too far from what I am used to though.
May I present my new choice of mega boot:
Image taken from www.gearzone.fi (Google Image search)
So when thinking about replacements for my absolutely brilliant Alpinestars Effex Gore-Tex boots I summed up what I wanted.
I wanted a comfortable, warm, waterproof, durable boot with improvements over the A-Stars boot, namely the shift patch and the sole.
As you know, I bought the Puma Desmo 800′s a while back and I absolutely love them. I actually thought I purchased the Gore-Tex version but sadly I was cheated. Never the less, they are a great warm/dry weather boot and supremely comfortable. So instead of NOW getting the Desmo 800 Gore-Tex version, I had a wee browse of the other Puma boots.
I think I actually saw the Brutale’s in Hein Gericke when I nipped along at lunch one day and they were £120 for the Gore-Tex version. I wanted to buy them right there and then but at that time my Alpinestars were fine.
The Brutales are nice, they look similar to my Desmo’s but come in black with a black velvety swoosh and black metal bit at the back, black boot with blue bits or brown boot with copper bits.
If they had a black boot with copper version I would have bought them, but I dont want a brown boot so went for the blue to differ from my Desmos.
So yeah!
If I am being honest I actually have a pair of the Brutales right now. This is because I ordered the non-Gore-Tex version (again) but have spoken to J&S and they are sending out the Gore-Tex ones to swap.
So instead of posting up the review now, I will wait to give them the usual in depth YamYam treatment.
I am really excited about them. Puma make some of the comfiest boots you can wear and that’s some achievement given my Effex comfort levels were 10/10.
I hope that they are good. I hope that they perform well for the coming 20 months or longer. One things for sure, the Brutale’s have a big boots to fill.
Thanks for visiting folks,
Gordon
