I’m currently in Germany, and I bought a pair of Sidi ST Air boots to take back to a friend. It is such a crying shame boots like this are not available to buy in India at all. The perforations on this thing are so beautiful, and like helmets have vents that you can open/close this also has a small vent to increase or decrease airflow. I am in love.
The reason however, why you can’t buy this thing in India, is not because the gear market is absolutely fucked since the ISI certification thing happened. It is also not because dealers don’t want to stock costly items like this. The reason is because people don’t buy vented boots.
When I was in the market to get my first boots 10 years back, I ended up buying the Tarmac Venom boots. They sucked ass, but I used them until they died. Here is why they, and all other non-vented boots, suck ass:
- India is a hot country, if you haven’t noticed. These boots provide no ventilation for your feet at all, and that gets uncomfortable quick. I once had to stop on a ride and take my boots off or I thought I’d faint, that’s how hot they can get.
- Because there’s no ventilation, within a couple of hours of riding your feet are swimming in a pool of your own sweat. Because there’s no ventilation, the sweat doesn’t evaporate away.
- Because your boots are sweaty all the time, they stink. They stink so much they’re now classed as a biological weapon and you are jailed as per the Geneva convention.
- You might think the boots being waterproof would make up for all the discomfort and the smell, but after only a couple of rides the waterproofing gives up entirely.
- As a bonus, whatever water does manage to get into your waterproof boot never goes away, because no ventilation.
I’ve said it in many old articles as well, but it begs to to said again, unless you plan to live permanently in Ladakh, never buy non-vented or waterproof boots. Vented boots are more comfortable, they dry quickly, and with waterproof socks can be used even in wet/cold conditions.
But nobody buys them, so nobody sells them. Nobody buys them because Indians have that psychological compulsion to extract the maximum value out of a single product. They will buy a waterproof boot because it’s also waterproof in addition to being a boot. A vented boot is in fact missing small parts of the leather where the holes are, so you’re paying more money for less boot. There’s this weird thought that if they buy a non-vented boot, they can use it all over the country and in any weather, when in reality it will keep them uncomfortable and unhappy everywhere all the time, but that’s just a price they are willing to pay.
It is absolutely ridiculous a hot and humid country like India doesn’t get a large selection of ventilated boots to buy from, it’s kinda like going to to a shop in Norway and finding out you can only buy sleeveless shirts and slutty shorts.
This same principle applies to other shit too. Again 10 years ago when I bought my first jacket, I bought a DSG Triton. If your grandma made a jacket for you from the fluffiest wool out there, it would still not be as warm and fat as that thing. Thankfully the inner thermal liner was removable, but even without that it was basically a furnace. I bought it because I am an Indian, I decided to sacrifice comfort for the value of multiple layers.
With this jacket I bought a Spartan Odysseus pant. Both the jacket and the pant came with inner waterproof layers, which I was of course using in Ladakh. I realized the “value” of these layers when at Tanglang La pass I felt the trickle of ice cold water around my balls.
Same shit for gloves, you can buy full gauntlet race prepped stuff from any manufacturer, but the entirety of the Indian gear industry seems incapable of making a good pair of mesh gloves. It is true that for a cold ride you will need to buy some thermal gloves, but that’s the only exception to the general rule.
This is partly our fault, we bikers decide what the manufacturers make, with our wallets. We need to change our “value” mindset and move more towards a “comfort” frame of mind. The value you think you’re getting out of your triple layered gear is mostly an illusion, it’s just an overcomplicated product that can’t do anything well.
So the next time you’re in the market for some gear, ask yourself what the most comfortable option available to you, and get that. Personally I would even compromise on safety to an extent in favor of comfort, but never ever will I sacrifice comfort for “value” again.