Venom Traction Long Touring boots review
It has been three months since I first slid my feet into the Venom Traction Long touring boots. They incorporate the same elements and look strikingly similar to the Alpinestars Andes V2 Drystar boots, but cost a lot less. I have been using them almost every day for my commute. They also went through a gruelling test during a recent motorcycle ride through Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir. Here are the things we liked about the Venom Traction Long, and a few shortcomings –
What we liked
Break-in is one of the important steps of getting accustomed to a pair of boots. It is also a period where you realise how well you are going to get along with each other. Fortunately, it took me just a week to get used to the Venom Traction Long, that too without any painful shoe bites. Now it hardly takes any effort to slide in my feet or remove the boots.
Comfort is something that a sports-touring boot has to excel at. Unlike with race boots, you end up spending a lot of time wearing touring boots. The inner liner on the Traction Long is soft and I spent long hours riding them without any problem. It is a different story when you walk around, but more on that later.
Rains in Mumbai can be ruthless. My way of dealing with these so far was to keep an extra pair of sneakers in office so that I don’t have to spend the day roaming around in wet shoes. However, things have changed since I started using Traction Long. I just have to ensure that the rain pants drop below the shins, and the Traction Long ensured that my feet remained dry. While touring in the North, there were times when I was riding for eight hours straight, through water crossing and rains, and the worst I suffered were damp socks.
Getting a good grip on the footpegs is an important step in keeping your bike in control. And the sole of the Traction Long does a good job of this. Be it cheap rubber-covered ones on commuter bikes, grippy ones of superbikes or the claws of an adventure bike, I never lost my footing with these boots. Walking on tarmac, mud, rocks and gravel wasn’t a problem either, but it is nowhere as grippy as regular sneakers.
The heat wasn’t bothersome either. The Traction Long, being waterproof, does not have any venting. Even so, the inner liner is breathable and ensures that your feet do not get too hot. On the other hand, they offered a very good insulation in the freezing weather of Ladakh.
Shortcomings
Avoid walking on wet and polished floor like the plague, I learnt this the hard way. The sole doesn’t grip on wet marble and other polished surfaces.
The Traction Long are no replacement for sneakers, and aren’t comfortable for walking around in. And even though my feet remain dry even after I reach the office, I still ditch these to wear the spare pair of sneakers.
Water will eventually enter your boots if your feet are immersed in water for too long. Interestingly, as I was being photographed here, water seeped only in to the left boots. This might be down to a problem with the build quality of the boots rather than the design, as my right foot remained bone dry.
The quality is not up to the mark. The inserts which are part of the sole have started to come off and the surface around the right boot's toes shifter has developed a crack. Mind you, we are quite ruthless when it comes to testing out riding gear.
Verdict
They are not as comfortable to live with as I would have liked, and there are some other areas which need looking into. Nevertheless, they do a good job of keeping your feet dry and are comfortable while riding. I haven’t been involved in a crash yet, but they clamp onto the ankle very well and seem robust enough to keep me worry-free. Besides, at Rs 8,499, they offer very good value for money.
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Venom Traction Long Touring boots
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