Icon Patrol 3 WP boots in blue / grey

Truth be told, we don't sell a lot of Icon stuff. 

 

With the exception of Klim, perhaps, most of the gear that comes out of the US is not particularly high quality or technical. And of course there's no equivalent to EN17092 over there, so you never really know how protective the gear is. Icon, though, like Klim, sells into Europe, so most of their gear is tested to the CE standard. Yet much of what the company produces still looks a bit strange over here. 

 

But occasionally we come across something from their range that we like, and when we do we are more than happy to stock it. And the Patrol boot would be just such a piece.

 

The Icon Patrol is basically a trainer-style boot. But it has quite a refined, understated look. Matched with a pair of jeans, there aren't many places where you would feel out of place in a pair of them.

 

Icon describes the chassis of the boot as being made from 'Tectuff' leather. Now Tectuff is a polyurethane-based formula that is bonded to a product's outer fabric. It increases abrasion resistance, and imbues the substrate with added stain and water resistance. Reading up about it on Tectuff's own website left me not much the wiser. Their jargon-laden rhetoric leaves one slightly suspicious that if it really was that good we would all have heard about it by now. Yet if Tectuff does half of what it claims to do, then the Patrol should prove to be a very hard wearing boot.

 

The boot does not rely solely on its Tectuff treatment for waterproofing, however. It also has a waterproof membrane so, in theory, this should be a properly waterproof boot. Or at least as waterproof as a short, ankle boot can be. And we say this because,  in principle of course, a short boot will not be as waterproof as a tall one.

 

In terms of protection, the boot features D3O inserts in the ankles. Encouragingly, you also get a nylon shank in the footbed for torsional rigidity. And indeed the boot has a very stiff feel to it. Suffice it to say that the boot is certified under EN13634.  You also get an oil and slip-resistant outer sole.

 

In recent years, we have become huge fans of the BOA lacing system. It works so well. We have found the system to be virtually indestructible. It gives you an unparalleled ability to adjust the fit. And BOA makes getting into, and out of, boots so god-darned easy it makes you wonder why anybody would put up with those two long pieces of string with plastic sheathes at the end that we call 'laces'. They're so 1999!

 

But here's the clincher for us. We just like the way these boots look. We get presented with new, ankle boots every week. In truth, most of them do the same job; but most of them look so boring, such that even I cannot tell one brand from another. 

 

Of course, as a company, we cannot afford to let our heads be ruled by our hearts, but luckily, as it turns out, the Patrol seems to tick all the boxes it needs to. As I write this in November 2024 the boot is new to us, so we can't be sure that it will meet all our expectations, but it's certainly comfortable, it appears to be well put together, its protective qualities are all that one might expect, we like BOA, and the boot has two barriers to keep the rain out. All this augers well.

 

So we are optimistic about the prospect that not only have we come across a boot that looks the business, but a boot that will hopefully also stand up to all the rigours of motorcycling.