Excuse the click baity title but it is legitimately concerning how people just assume the companies trying to sell you a product have your best interests at heart and are making a product that does what it claims. Everyone loves to exclaim all the benefits of motorcycle specific safety gear.....with no certifications, testing or anything concrete bar marketing material to back it up. And when I mention this I immediately have a bunch of keyboard warriors telling me how their boots saved their wife from breast cancer. I don't care if you thought your motorcycle boots saved you, I care about cold hard data.

This isnt to say you shouldnt wear gear, motorcycle safety gear has its purpose and there are many many scenarios where motorcycle gear will either reduce your injuries or save your life. But its important to understand what they can and can't do regardless of what the marketing material says.

Recently if anyones watched the video Fortnine made on the best adventure gear for 2024 where in it, it mentioned EN13634 which is the European certification for boots. There are 2 passing levels, level 1 and level 2.

So the requirements for the better level 2 are;

Abrasion resistance which any thick leather will easily pass. (12s slide)

Impact (of a knife) resistance. (Max pen of 15mm @ 2.8m/s) as Ryan joked, this is good if your name is Achilles.

Transverse rigidity NOT and I repeat NOT torsional rigidity. Lie the boot on its side and compress the widest part (the sole) by a peak higher than 1.5kN until which it deforms. Which is like dropping a 32kg weight from a metre if my calculation is correct. An amateur boxer punches with a force of 2.5kn for reference. 1.5kn is not a large force at all. Its also entirely on the sole, NOT the ankle.

And then there's a bunch of various construction related tests, which are important to have but again I'm willing to bet if you got the average red wings boots they would pass with flying colours.

Then there is the optional testing with a bunch of stuff that would be nice to have tested.....yet I'm looking at the top of the line used in MotoGP™ Dainese Axial 2 boots....yet....I don't see any of the optional tests being advertised.

In summary your boots are not certified to; protect your ankle from being twisted, protect your ankle from impact (unless optionally tested), bending your ankle too far etc etc. The standard for boots is honestly a joke but the thing is, people can live without a foot so it isn't considered as high a concern as say helmets which have far more complicated tests and requirements.

Will <insert moto gear manufacturers> boots protect your ankle as claimed? Well....they don't actually have to do that, I mean they aren't being held to any reasonable standard. But chances are they aren't going to make moto GP riders wear shit for no reason. Or they might idk, it makes them money. You can't say.

You have to keep in mind though, it's just boots, anything beyond Abrasion is really really hard to do. Regardless of exoskeleton claims.

Just buy whatever makes you sleep well at night. Personally I buy motorcycle specifc boots because they are comfy, look nice, aren't bulky, don't have dangling laces, they atleast attempt to go past the safety requirements and most importantly they are of verified build quality. Am I going to guilt trip someone for wearing work boots after their foot is torn off. No, because you fucking don't have the data to say it would make ANY difference at all. Boots are NOT certified to protect against torsion.

Please just ignore marketing. Marketing is for idiots. Companies don't care about your health either.

/rant.