I have blogged a lot about how much I like the pair of All American Blue Knight Patrol Boots that I bought last year. And there continues to be a passionate following of Dehner Motorcycle Patrol Boots of which I own seven pairs and have worn for many years.

I made a video comparing both pairs of boots, noting the features and qualities of each. In an overall summary, I think both manufacturers make great boots. The style, quality, and most of all — appearance — is excellent.

The All American Boots are made of all leather, and have a thin plastic top coat, which some people call “patent leather.” Thus, they keep a great shine with little maintenance by a light spray and wipe of furniture polish (not waxy shoe polish). The coating is thin enough that the boots breathe, so they don’t get inordinately hot. The big lug soles provide great traction when I ride my Harley. Having ridden with them a lot, I have noticed that the sides of both boot shafts that face the engine have worn and discolored, and polish won’t return the shine. That’s a distinct problem with boots (including Chippewa Hi-Shines) that have a thin plastic top coating. The cost of these boots, which are all made custom, is about US$320.

Dehner Boots can be made custom of all leather, but the cost to the average Bootman is well over US$700. Stock Dehner boots are comparable with the All American Boots. The boots have a plastic shaft (called “Dehcord”) which can discolor and even crack when worn a lot, particularly when exposed to a hot motorcycle engine. The stock boots are available from many retailers and from the manufacturer.

If you can deal with the plastic shaft issue, the rest of the features of Dehner Boots are superb. They are comfortable, even after a long day (on the bike or when I wear them, pants over, to work.) The soles are non-lug rubber, so they do not provide as much traction as lug soles do. However, the company would change the soles if enough cops complained, and apparently they do not. And nothing can compare with the appearance.

Here is the video comparing the two manufacturer’s bal-laced patrol boots. Enjoy!

Tall black patrol boots worn by motor officers are eye-catching. Even to non-boot guys, I see lots of other people, male and female, young and old, watch motorcops and look longingly at their boots.

I have dozens of pairs of motorcycle police patrol boots, including six pairs made by the Dehner Boot Company. The company has received some criticism for making stock boots with plastic shafts (they call “Dehcord”) but I’m told by a lot of cops that they like the boots that way, since they are very easy to maintain a nice shine with a quick spray of furniture polish and a wipe-down.

Most cops have boots provided for them by their employer, so if they damage a boot with a plastic-shaft while wearing them for duty, the boots can be replaced at little or no expense to the officer. Other guys, like me, who are not cops but like the boots, aren’t as fortunate. Therefore, we have to be careful not to damage stock Dehner boots by exposing them to hot motorcycle pipes or excessive wear.

I’m a strange booted leather dude — I actually wear all the boots that I own. I don’t put on a pair of boots for the occasional leather fashion parade or fetish event and then wear dress shoes to work and sneakers around home. I ride my Harley, walk a lot, do construction, work in the yard, and go about daily life booted all the way. However, when I may be doing work that would expose boots to heavy wear, water, dirt, mud, or excessive bending, then I choose boots other than Dehners to wear.

Some guys have very strong preferences on the style of police patrol boots that they like. Some admire the traditional bal-laced instep. Some like an instep on a boot without laces — it’s called a dress instep. I like both. I really have trouble deciding if I prefer one over the other. It really depends, I guess, on what boots catch my eye when I visit my boot closet.

Anyway, here are a couple of recent videos that show these styles of boots. You decide.

Life is short: wear your boots!

The most important thing to do when you get a new pair of motorcycle police patrol boots — especially the combo plastic/leather stock Dehner patrol boots — is to break them in at the ankle correctly. When you do that, you are “training” the boots. You want them to bend at the ankle in such a way that they don’t form folds, or dimples, that go diagonally inward. If that happens, it can cause the inside of the boot to rub against the soft, tender flesh of the ankle and generate blisters or bleeding sores.

Believe me, I know from experience how this can happen. In the early ’90s, I bought a pair of all-leather custom Dehner patrol boots. I was thrilled with them when I got them. I put them on and hopped on my Harley for a ride. I walked in them a lot, thinking I was breaking them in.

Problem was, I did not take time to train the ankles of the boots before I put them on. I didn’t know that you had to do that! Unfortunately, those boots developed a “bad break” at the ankle. The leather at the fold where the boot shaft meets the foot folded diagonally. The result: agony. I started to experience bleeding sores on the back of my ankle.

I tried to “re-train” or “re-bend” the offending area and folds of the leather. I learned, though, that once the folds get set in place which happens by walking in them, the leather will not be “retrained.” I even soaked the offending area in water and stuffed the boots with kraft paper while they dried. I waited a week, then tried to “train” the fold at the foot. But it was a “no-go.” The boots creased at the same bad places. Now when I wear those boots, I have to put in a protective piece of plastic between my sock and the back of the inside of the boot to prevent rubbing. It’s odd to have to do that, and wastes time. But it’s the only way I can wear those boots without causing pain.

If you already have boots with a “bad break,” I am sorry — you can not “retrain” boots. Learn from my experience! When you get new boots, train them right. This is why I created this video, titled Training the Ankles of New Dehner Patrol Boots. I hope you find it helpful and learn from it.

I observe what people enter into search engines that drive them to my website and this blog. A frequent question or keywords entered are along the lines of “how do you tie or lace up bal-laced patrol boots?”

You want the laces to go straight across from eyelet to eyelet, meeting in the middle where they are tied together in a simple bow tie.

Some guys have made the process seem to be very difficult or complicated. Heck — for this guy who almost failed knots in Boy Scouts, I can do it. If I can do it, anyone can.

However, seeing pictures of the results works for some people. Seeing the process actually done in moving pictures — a video — will be more helpful to others.

This is the reason why I produced the following video and posted it on YouTube. Hope it helps!

Life is short: wear your boots!

The following is courtesy of the Dehner Boot Company website.