Daytona Boots. Made in Germany. By hand

Daytona makes the best motorcycle boots that money can buy. Nobody who has ever owned, or ridden in, a pair would argue with this assertion. But the range can be confusing, and as the boots are not inexpensive, you will want to know that you're buying the right model. Which is why we have put this brief review together. We did something similar before Covid, and although Daytona's product range is almost glacial in its progress, enough years have probably gone by to justify a re-examination of the range.

Daytona's boots

The Frey brothers opened their shoe factory in Eggenfelden in Bavaria in 1957. Today the company operates from the same factory; and they still only manufacture boots. And whilst the product has changed significantly over the almost 70 years they have been in business, the philosophy behind them has changed very little.

Some 50 years ago, Helmut Frey wrote: "With some years of experience now behind us, we know that our approach is right. We are not a cheap manufacturer. We know that we can never be. And we know that we never want to be. What we make is a high-quality product, that is put together using only the very best ingredients. For us quality and workmanship come first".

That still describes the Daytona company in the 21st. Century. Daytona stands for the highest levels of protection, durability and comfort. Their boots are still made by hand, by time-served craftsmen and women. In the words of the current head of the company, Reinhard Frey: "That's how it was then. And that's how it will remain".

And this last observation is telling. Daytona has no desire to brand extend, or to broaden the franchise, as the marketing wonks would say. They don't want to make gloves, jackets, helmets or T-shirts. They are not set on world domination. They don't sell direct. They just want to make the best boots. Their capacity is limited, and demand will always outstrip supply, so the price is the price. If you don't think you can afford a pair of Daytona boots, that's a shame but understandable. But Daytona is not going to change the product it makes in order to broaden its appeal. Sorry!

What makes a Daytona boot?

The starting point for any boot is its leather. And Daytona only uses the best. Supple, yet strong, all the hides that are used by Daytona are hydrophobically treated for water repellency at the tanning stage.

In terms of protection, you will always get plastic ankle protectors padded on the inside with open-cell foam. There will be counters in the toe and heel, although Daytona is ever mindful of the need for a motorcycle boot to be comfortable to walk in as well as comfortable to ride in. You will nearly always get a foam-backed, PU gearchange pad on a Daytona boot. On taller boots you will get a wide, shaped, shinbone protector that is padded on the inside with latex foam. And on such boots there will normally be an adjustment mechanism for the calf.

But what you always get with a Daytona that you don't get with most motorcycle boots is a re-enforced, plastic inner sole that incorporates a hot-dip, galvanised, steel inlay for transverse rigidity. It is that will help prevent your foot from becoming crushed if something should drive over the boot.

Of course, there are these days lots of different styles of boot in the Daytona range. Short ones, tall ones, taller ones, more sporty ones, off-road ones and more classic ones, but whatever the boot Daytona will only ever use the best components. So YKK zips, Gore-Tex membranes, Scotchlite reflectors, and so on.

As a result of all this, Daytona's boots are incredibly reliable. They go on and on. My own Roadstars are almost 30 years old. But if, after years of abuse, bits do start to fall off, you don't throw a Daytona boot away. Daytona will repair it. They can change zips, replace membranes, replace gearchange pads, apply new soles, and so on.

Now when it comes to waterproofing, nobody does it better. There cannot be many weeks here in the shop where we don't have somebody complaining that their motorcycle boots leak. But rare is the occasion where somebody claims their Daytona boot is leaking. It can happen, although it's rare. But when somebody tells us that both their Daytona boots are leaking, we tend to fall about laughing. Because it just doesn't happen. It would be like winning Euromillions two weeks on the trot. And if ever a Daytona book does genuinely leak, say 10 or 20 years down the road, then you have the backing of Gore's lifetime, waterproofing guarantee. If the membrane leaks, they will send you a cheque for a replacement pair!

So what are the downsides with Daytona boot? After all, there must be some.

Well, there's the cost obviously, but there's a big difference between cost and value. The most popular boot in the range is the Roadstar, and it comes in, at today's prices, at a little under £500. But the fact is that you will be wearing them in five years' time, however much you abuse them. Even with just a modicum of care, you'll still be upshiftng in 10 years' time. Look after them properly, and you'll get 20 years or more out of them.

But there's no two ways about it, you can buy a similar-looking, waterproof, touring boot from somebody like TCX for half the price of a Daytona. But frankly, you will be lucky if you get more than three years of regular use out of such a boot. So you do the math. The way we see it, Daytona makes the best value motorcycle boots out there!

Another consideration is Daytona's warranty. It's not the most impressive. Boots that don't have the word 'Pro' in their name are warranted for just one year. And that just seems a little out of kilter given the pricing. Boots with the word 'Pro' in their name have three years, although you do have to register the boot with the importer within four weeks. With a product this well made, one might have expected a longer warranty, but the reality is that Daytona's boots don't often fail, so it is perhaps a bit of a moot point. But all I can say is that I would be upset if I spent £500 on a pair of 'non-Pro' boots, only to have a zip failure after 18 months. Just sayin'!

There's one last thing to say about Daytona's boots. They're never going to win a fashion contest. Functional yes. Stylish and attractive? Not so much.

Deconstructing the Daytona range

There are, as we have said, lots of different boots in the Daytona range.

We are not going to go through them all here because it would be very boring. Instead we have talked about every boot in our video review. Potentially, this is a bit less boring!

So for the full picture, click on the image at the top of the page.

If you don't want to hear Chris repeating what you've just read, then you can scroll forward to about seven and a half minutes. Good luck.

You can buy Daytona motorcycle boots with free next day UK delivery online, or visit our store in Guildford to try on a pair.