Icon Elsinore boots review

Hi you @Nelsom. I've recently had the chance to put 10,000 miles on a pair of the Icon Elsinore boots, and, just in case there's any interest in them, I thought I'd write up my experiences with them.

So, when they were new, they looked like this:

Really good looking boots, if you ask me. If it counts for anything, my wife liked the look of them too ? .

Here's some photos with jeans and on the bike, just for giggles:

As you can see, they had some pretty good stretch right out of the box. I was riding a VFR, so that was important. I adjusted my shift lever up to accommodate the big toe box, but that was about it.

Part of the reason I bought these boots was for their lack of a waterproofing membrane. I've never had any good luck with those (goretex or not), as my feet get horribly clammy. But, as 10,000 miles is a long way (and mother nature is cruel), I knew I was going to run into some rain. So, I treated them with some Sno-seal. Here's what they looked like after that:

They definitely wound up a few shades darker after they were treated. But, they still look pretty damn good, in my humble opinion.

My trip consisted of a big loop around the country. I went from New York to Florida, across I-10 to New Mexico, up to Reno, over to California, up the coast to Washington, and as far north as Prince George, B.C. Then I headed south through Alberta, into Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota, before heading back to New York. I was gone for 30 days.

During that time, I rode in temperatures ranging from 31 to 110. I can't adequately describe the heat across the south and southwest. It was f'ing brutal. And, my feet were fine. I was wearing SIDI coolmax socks and my feet never baked too bad (at least not worse than the rest of me). I was happy I had chosen to stay away from the waterproof lining.

When I got north along the coast, the rain started. I'm happy to report that my feet never got soaked, either. My toes got a little damp in a serious toad-strangler in Oregon, but a new coat of waterproofing and I was good as new. I can also say that my feet were never very cold, either. The boots are made of very heavy leather, and they did a great job of cutting out the wind.

So, here's what they look like after a ton of daily abuse:

As you can see, that many miles certainly adds a "patina"?. The white soles got real black with road grime and footpeg rubber and the shift pad looks pretty knackered. I also rubbed a couple of flat spots on the toes in California (awesome roads!).

All in all, these are kick ass boots. They are protective without being clunky, and they held up well during all kinds of punishment. The only real complaint I have is regarding the stock insole. Man, those sucked!!! The addition of some Dr. Scholl's made these boots quite a bit more comfortable. I walked quite a bit in them and didn't mind it.

I hope this helps you inmates in search of another pair of boots. I had my reservations about Icon gear (been burned in the past), but these really changed my opinion. Great boots, overall.