MO Tested: Sidi Arcadia Tex Boots
All these beautiful new motorcycles hanging around my house all the time, combined with the need to look presentable when riding them, have infected me with another disease: I’ve developed a shoe fetish. When our friends at Motonation offered up a pair of new Sidis a while ago, I was smitten by the new Arcadia Tex on their website. In contrast to Sidi’s excellent high-tech racing boots (both road and offroad), these are a “Sidi Design Series” boot, intended for more casual riding and off-bike profiling. Fine by me; I’m not racing most of the time I’m riding. And when I’m stopping for a donut or a fish taco, it’s a known fact that 87% of women and 13% of men notice shoes first when scoping out a member of the opposite sex. It feels good to look good.
Sidi Arcadia Tex boots
| Aesthetics | 8.75/10 |
| Protection | 7.5/10 |
| Value | 8.5/10 |
| Comfort/Fit | 8.5/10 |
| Quality/Design | 8.50/10 |
| Weight | 8.5/10 |
| Options/Selection | 8.0/10 |
| Innovation | 8.50/10 |
| Weather Suitability | 7.50/10 |
| Desirable/Cool Factor | 8.5/10 |
| Overall Score | 82.75/100 |
Sidi says these have a rugged work-boot look; I’d say halfway between work and the old Army boots we used to love. In fact, the Cordura uppers even conjure up the old Vietnam-era jungle boots, and seem to keep these reasonably cool inside on hot days.
The front inner uppers are suede leather, along with the shifter panels atop both boots and the rears, and the oval Sidi malleolus cup cover is also suede leather.
The sweetest thing about these is the “dual ingress/egress system”: You can snug up and tie the laces if you want to, but you’ll probably only do that once. After that, you get in and out via the nice nylon zipper inside each boot.
So convenient, and only one small flap of Velcro at the top to snug the boot around your calf. The zipper makes them easier to throw on your feet than anything else you own, which means you’ll wear them instead of your Nike high-tops for local errands.
What you’re giving up for that convenient zipper is inner ankle protection. The Arcadias might not be serious motorcycle boots, but they’re probably far more protective than regular boots, with reinforced internal heel and toe areas, and those ankle protector cups under each suede Sidi logo on your outer ankle.
If they felt a little stiff at first, that went away with about the second wearing, and now, these are comfy indeed, riding or walking. The removable arch support pad, easily replaced by a thicker one, sits on top of an anti-vibration inner sole, and there’s a plush vented polyester liner that goes all the way up to end in a soft, padded collar that cossets your calves. Which is nice when your holey old socks droop down inside your boots.
The soles are non-slip rubber lug types, and appear to be sewn on, which should make them easy to replace should it come to that. If these last as long as my old Sidi Canyons, it might. Unlike my trusty old Canyons, though, the Tex Arcadias wear a Made in China tag, and a price tag of $179, which is about half off the Canyons. I like both boots a lot, but I wear the Texs way more often. Two big toes up.
Shop for the Sidi Arcadia Tex Boots here
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More by John Burns
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I'm ATGATT, and over the years I have developed an eye for good, better and great gear. This boot flunks.
Any boot the has laces, or bits of added metal of leather that can get caught on any part of the motorcycle is a bad design. If it's important to look like you didn't ride a motorcycle to any event, perhaps you shouldn't.
I've had a couple of uncomfortable situations with boot laces caught on footpegs or other parts, won't buy motorcycle boots with laces