Once I got my Worse For Wear jeans for Christmas, I knew I needed a pair of not-so-motorcyle-y motorcycle boots. Sure, I love my Vendramini Lady Winna boots for trips and commuting, but they’re a little much for a quick urban ride to grab brunch or go to the art museum or whatever. So I started researching. And hunting. And stewing.
A little background – I often have a really tough time buying any boots – motorcycle, fashion, doesn’t matter. I have big feet (for a female) and I have muscular calves, thanks to walking everywhere. So many boots I’ve tried just don’t work for me, or they work for a while until I break a zipper. I’ve developed a bit of a list of required features for motorcycle boots:
- Solid CE approved protection
- Waterproof (I do live in the PNW after all)
- Adjustment features that don’t rely on a single zipper
- Leather
My feature set narrowed my options, and when I tossed in the added ‘non-stormtrooper boots that look pretty incognito’, my list got even shorter. Fortunately, the Stylmartin Rocket was on that shortlist. And they were brown. Did I mention I really wanted a pair of brown boots?
So I ordered up my pair from Union Garage – someday, I will go to New York, and when I do I’ll visit them. They showed up at my office just a few days later and as soon as I got home I was fussing with them. The Rockets have two main adjustment points – an old-school lace-up front and a zipper side entrance for day-to-day convenience. To keep your laces safely tucked away from moving bike bits, you just tuck the laces in behind the tongue and secure the front buckle flap. Once you’ve got the laces to the appropriate tightness and secured the front buckle flap, you NEVER HAVE TO TOUCH THEM AGAIN. Just insert foot, zip, and go. Super great for fitting a wide variety of lower calves, and super easy when you just want to gear up and go.
A note about sizing – Stylmartin is an Italian company, and as such, boots are sold in Euro sizes. I buy a lot of shoes in Euro sizes, so I’m pretty confident in my size knowledge – I almost always wear a 41 (and on rare occasion when shoes and boots run small, a 42). Because I have big feet for a female, I often buy motorcycle boots from the men’s section, where a 41 is on the small – average range. Technically speaking, the Rocket is a men’s boot. I’d read a number of reviews saying that the boots ran on the large size. I know from experience that most 41s have just a bit of extra toe room than my US 9.5, I stuck with my normal size. It proved to be the right choice for me.
On first wear, the leather was really stiff. So stiff that the leather dug in a bit where the boot flexes at the back of the toes as you walk the first few times I wore them around the house to break them in before going for a ride. I’d seen several mentions of that in other reviews, and they all mentioned that it went away with break-in. That has been the case for me – as the leather has softened with wear and with riding, there’s no more digging in. More importantly, during break-in that digging in didn’t result in any blisters or rubbed skin. Good socks probably helped.
Riding in these boots has been great. They’ve got a narrow profile, so I didn’t need to make any adjustments to either my shifter or rear brake. The soles are slightly lugged (check out the photo) which provides a good grip on the pavement. I’ve worn them in the rain once or twice, and my feet stayed nice and dry, and the soles kept a solid grip on slippy pavement (including the smooth concrete of my parking garage). Two thumbs up from that perspective.
The overall look of the boots definitely ticks all the boxes for me. I love the old-school paratrooper style, and I love that the brown leather is slightly distressed to start with. Wear marks just add to the patina, rather than looking like ‘whoa you shift a lot’. Bonus points – I can wear these all day at work and nobody bats an eye. Granted, I work for a creative firm, and we have a pretty flexible dress code. If I worked at a bank, it’d be tough to pass these off as work shoes. I’ve got close to 300 miles on these boots so far, and they still look mostly new, save for some additional patina on my left foot on the shifter patch. I’m looking forward to many more miles in these boots.
Fun side note: The first time I wore these, I rode to The One Show. I had no idea that Stylmartin was setting up a booth there, but they were so I had to check out their other boots in person. While I was there, their US distributor (whose name I can’t remember) noticed that I was wearing their boots and we had a great chat about their boots. He seemed really happy that I bought them from Union Garage, too. Super nice guy!
The technical deets:
- Full grain leather upper
- Waterproof and breathable lining
- Internal malleolus PU protection on both sides
- Leather gear shift protection
- Zipper closure with adjustable leg strap and laces
- Anatomic, antibacterial, and changeable footbed
- Anti-slip, anti-static, and oil-resistant rubber sole
- Made in Europe
How Stylmartin describes the Rocket:
Stylmartin’s Rocket boots are the quintessence of vintage motorcycle boots. Designed after military footwear, these boots are the symbol of Stylmartin’s desire to meet the clients’ needs and tastes. Manufactured using only high-quality full grain leather, they are not only beautiful but also comfortable, waterproof and breathable.
They’ll set you back $315, are available in brown and black, and are available at Union Garage, Revzilla, and others.
