Daytona Road Star Pro GTX wide fit boots in black

Okay, so most people accept that the best, most reliable, most waterproof and most comfortable motorcycle touring boots are made by the german brand Daytona. Their boots are not works of art in terms of their aesthetics. Indeed, some might suggest that they were just plug ugly. But they do the business. And for a whole host of reasons that we will come on to explain. The fact is that once you’ve had a pair of Daytonas you never want to ride in anything else. And of course if you buy a pair, for many, many years you won’t have to.

There are lots of different boots in the Daytona range, although the range is much smaller than you might expect of a company that has been churning motorcycle boots out since 1956.

The core boot in the range is the Road Star. Like many of Daytona’s boots, the membrane is supplied by Gore-Tex. the Road Star incorporates pretty much all of the features we have come to expect with  a Daytona. Hydrophobically-treated leather. Twin zips. Foam-backed ankle protectors. A calf adjuster system. A reinforced gearchange pad. 3M Scotchlite reflectors. A shinbone protector padded with latex foam. A plastic reinforced inner sole that conceals a galvanised steel inlay for torsional rigidity. And so on.

You can buy a taller version of the Road Star, known as the Travel Star. Or an even taller version known as the Traveller. But the most popular boot in the Daytona range is this one, the Road Star. It has been around for years. And it comes in more width fittings than any other Daytona boot.

Now, there’s a new version of the Road Star that has been made specifically for the UK; and it’s called the Road Star ‘Pro’ GTX. It’s not really very different to the original Road Star. We have been told that it has a thicker shin protector. Well maybe, but we couldn’t tell when we put the two boots next to one another.

The real difference is the warranty. The weakest part of the Daytona proposition, in our view, is its warranty. It’s normally just one year, which is disappointing given the quality and price of the boot. The truth is that things very rarely go wrong with Daytona’s boots. Well rarely in the first ten years, anyway! But given this surely it means it’s easier for Daytona to back the boots with more than a year’s warranty. But this is a company that does things its own way; and that’s how they do a warranty. In truth, if you are suspicious and want more reassurance, buy a Held Gore-Tex boot. They too are impressive, they cost less, and you get a five year warranty on all components. Nonetheless, in the margin, they are not Daytonas!

Anyway, you get a longer warranty with any Daytona boot that is in their ‘PRO’ series. In fact, you get three years on everything, including waterproofing. But remember one thing. Gore guarantees its membranes for life. So if ever your Daytonas start to leak, send them to Gore. They will sort it out; and often that will mean buying you a new pair!

We do the Road Star in three widths, but only two of those widths are ‘Pro’ boots; specifically the standard and wide fittings. The narrow fit is not in that series, so you only get one year. Annoying in principle, but in most instances not usually an issue, especially as the waterproofing is covered by Gore. For life!