Sidi Crossfire 2 TA Boot Review

ENDURO AND ADVENTURE BOOTS WITH STYLE

Words by Drew Rohde

The Sidi Crossfire 2 TA dirt bike boots are Sidi’s latest evolution of their premium off-road and enduro boot line. Since we spend all of our time riding singletrack, and enduro trails in the high deserts and forests of Central Oregon, we felt the advantages of the TA boot would be a better fit for us compared to the Sidi Crossfire 2 SRS boots. Let’s get into what these boots share with their SRS siblings and what makes them different. Over the last few months we’ve grown to love these boots, and the Crossfire 2 TA boot is now one of the best enduro and off road motorcycle boots we’ve ridden yet.

THE LAB
As you could imagine, the Crossfire 2 TA boots share more than a name with their SRS sibling but we’re going to focus on some of the differences first. Despite Sidi’s reputation, the Sidi Crossfire 2 TA boots fit wide. Especially in the toe box, which is wider than the SRS boots. The Crossfire TA boots also use a stitched-on rubber, welt sole. If you’ve ever ridden a welt sole then you know the difference in comfort and traction, on and off the motorcycle.

Not only does the system offer better traction while walking over challenging obstacles and terrain, but welt soles also reduce price and can extend the life of the boots as a cobbler can easily replace the sole. Another one of our favorite advantages of welt sole boots is the lip on the edge of the toe. The lip has a protective metal cap and offers just enough purchase to shift easily without having to put your whole foot/toe under the shifter.

The Crossfire 2 TA boots are slim, cool and don’t use an inner bootie. Sidi claims the new boots will fit rider’s with much larger calves than earlier models, so bigger riders and those who use knee braces shouldn’t have any concerns with comfort here. Sidi’s exclusive and patented adjustable calf system will accommodate riders with up to a 22-inch calf diameter.

Sidi’s Dual Flex system is another highlight that broke in rather quickly. The hinged, dual position upper is free from stitches and is made from injection-molded plastic. The combination of the rubber sole, Dual Flex upper and slim heel all worked together to make this boot comfortable and impressive in terms of on-bike feel.

THE DIRT

Our first ride in the boots wasn’t the dream ride we hoped it would be. Then again we should have been prepared for a break-in period on such a performance-oriented piece of equipment. We reached out to Sidi North America’s distributor, MotoNation and found out that Sidi uses a memory foam type of material in the heel and it takes about 50 miles to fully break in and conform to the rider’s heel.

Before our next ride we installed a pair of insoles to fill some of the void in the wide boots and set out for our second ride. By the end of the day the boots were already feeling a lot better. The Dual Flex system was working smoother, the leather and buckles were settling in and the insoles greatly helped keep our feet in place.

As we mentioned above, our normal rides in Oregon involve navigating ancient lava flows, technical rock gardens and lots of wooded singletrack. These rides require plenty of time walking to remove downed trees, scouting lines up rock falls and taking pictures at scenic overlooks. The traction both on and off the bike are incredible on the Crossfire 2 TA boots. Foot peg and brake pedal feel are also impressive. We are fans of stitched-on welt soles not only because of the added traction and comfort, but because of the ease of shifting. In quick shift situations simply get the lip under the shifter and you can focus more on dancing between trees and your next braking point instead of pivoting your foot to get your entire toe under the shifter.

The outer construction of the boot is classy, as one would expect from an Italian footwear company. The molded, anatomically shaped and thermoplastic treatments give the boot an almost futuristic look. Sidi covers high-use areas like the toe with plastic guards to protect the boot and improve shifting performance.

When it comes to comfort and protection from the elements, the Sidi Crossfire 2 TA boots perform and promised. One of our biggest critiques from boots like the Alpinestars Tech 7 Enduros we reviewed a few months ago, was the lack of water resistance. Our Crossfires did a very good job of keeping our feet dry on wet days, when walking through snow or splashing through creek crossings. If the boots did get soaked through however they would quickly dry out and resisted both mold and funk.

As the trails dried out and caked mud turned to dust, we noticed the cam-lock buckles got harder and harder to snap closed. After a recent pressure washing we sprayed some Maxima SC1 on the boots to dress them up and lubricated the cam-locks and were pleased to see how much it improved the feel.

The Wolf’s Last Word

Over the last two years we’ve spent a lot of time riding in Gaerne SG12s, SG10s and Alpinestars Tech 7 Enduro boots. The Sidi Crossfire 2 TA boots would probably be our top choice if we had to just choose one boot to keep as our own. We like the Tech 7’s slim profile and ease of getting the foot under the shifter and light weight. However the fact they weren’t water resistant at the time (the new Tech 7 Enduros claim to be water proof) was a deal breaker for winter rides in the Pacific Northwest. We like the stout, protective feeling of the Gaerne boots and how comfortable they are, but they’re definitely heavier and not as slim as the Sidi Crossfire 2s.

Sidi has done a great job of blending the slim fit and size of modern boots with the welt sole comfort and traction offered from traditional style boots. The Crossfire 2 boots are a great union of traditional performance with modern tech. The use of Cambrelle, Teflon, Microfiber and thermoplastics compliment the TA rubber sole perfectly. The boots have held up well in a variety of conditions from mud and snow to dry, our Central Oregon’s desert volcanic dust and all we’ve needed to do was lubricate the cam-lock system. Overall these are great boots and we’d recommend them to any of our riding brethren.

Price: $445;
Website: motonation.com

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