Category Archives: Dehner Boots

Observations: Cops Wearing Dehner Boots

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Here are a few photos of dress instep Dehner boots on some motor officers. I took these pictures during the staging of Law Ride, which was held on Sunday, May 8, in Washington, DC.

The boots shown in the pride above (i.e., a group of lions is a pride, as is a group of boots worn by proud motor officers) are double-soled. The officers who wear them are from a county police force in Virginia. They have double soles added by a cobbler.

The boots to the right are well cared-for. Some cops know how to take care of their boots, although he didn’t break them in correctly (see the left boot?  Bad ankle break; betcha it’s painful sometimes.)

…and some cops do not care for their boots (like these on a cop whose jurisdiction includes the county where I live). 

Ouch! The sagging at the ankles! That cop didn’t break them in correctly, and is making them worse by bending his ankles that way.

More to follow….

Life is short: know your Dehner boots.

Random Boot Shots

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While organizing photos on my computer, every now and then I see some pics from the past that for whatever reason, recapture my attention. Here are a few which have appeared on my website and this blog in the past. I am reposting them for no reason other than I like ’em.

Above, my Chippewa Firefighter Boots, which are a favorite for hot-weather motorcycle riding.

Above, Chippewa High-Shine Boots with Lug Soles that I saw on a cop in May, 2008 (this photo). I had lug soles added to a pair of them for myself. Great boots!

My old Wesco Boss Boots that still look and feel great, even after 20 years.

My newest pair of custom Wesco Roughout Harness Boots that are burgundy and brown in color. Very different boots that get many comments when I wear them.

My All American “Blue Knight” patrol boots. Very well-made and rugged boots made completely of leather.

My newest pair of Dehner Field Boots that a buddy thinks are “the bomb.” I like them too!

My Dehner patrol boots with Vibram 100 lug soles. While these boots have shafts made of that plastic stuff called “Clarino Leather” (aka “Dehcord”), they still have a classic appearance that I enjoy wearing from time to time.

A random pair of Dehner motorcycle police patrol boots that I have seen among hundreds of pairs at police motorcycle competitions.

Life is short: wear boots!

Dehner Field Boots

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When I served as a judge at a police motorcycle competition this past September, I strolled around during the lunch break to see what various vendors were peddling.  I avoid the guns and ammo, but may stop to talk to vendors who have products such as motorcycle gear and boots.

One of the vendors was a small shop purveying motorcycle gear, including Dehner boots.  I own and wear a number of pairs of Dehners, and wasn’t interested in any more… until two things happened:  I saw a very different and interesting pair of boots on display, and I got to talk to Jeff Ketzler about them.  Mr. Ketzler is the President of the Dehner Boot Company.  It’s not often you get to meet the “head guy” and talk boots.

We talked about the various materials from which Dehner boots were made, and I expressed my opinions about that “Dehcord” stuff on the shafts of patrol boots.  Mr. Ketzler wasn’t defensive, but he explained that he had heard the complaints about this plastic product melting, discoloring, and cracking, and told me that they have redesigned it so the color goes all the way through.  Okay, fine — so when it cracks (and it will) — you won’t see white cracks, but black ones.  For cops who go through a pair of boots a year, that’s fine because they dispose of the boots when they are damaged.  For people like me (not a cop) who wear Dehners and keep them longer than a year, the cracking situation isn’t so good.  But overall, it’s a balance between cost ($400/pair for the Dehcord shaft boots vs. $700+/pair for the all-leather variety.)

While European calf leather is their finest — and most expensive — Dehner boots can also be made with “Voyager” leather, which is a good grade of leather but not as expensive as European calf.

Long story short, while Mr. Ketzler was there, he measured me for custom boots.  Nothing like having the Company Big Cheese do it!  (You know the measurements will be right!)  And another good thing, there was no charge for taking the measurements, as there tends to be when you deal with them directly.  Further, I got a good discount by making a commitment to buy during the event.

Last Wednesday, the UPS guy was busy — he delivered not one but two pairs of boots to my door.  I had to wait 11 weeks for these brown beauties, but aren’t they cool?  

These boots are called “Dehner Field Boots” (more photos here) and I specified them as follows:  18″ tall, made entirely of brown “Voyager” leather, and a Vibram®100 big lug sole (great for motorcycling).  The other features of this boot are that they open across the front and close with three straps and buckles.  They also have a bal-laced instep which, because the boots are custom-made and fit closely, I actually have to untie so I can put them on, then tie them again to close the fitting.  (I wonder if eventually they will break in and I won’t have to untie and tie them each time I wear them. Doing that is a pain in the butt.)

I really like how these boots look, and their unique design.  I do not know anyone else who has them, so once again, I will set the example in my home crowd of having among the most unique and diverse boot collection around.  🙂

Life is short:  wear boots!

Comparison of Tall Chippewa Boots

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Several weeks ago, a motorcycle police Sergeant from a U.S. county sheriff’s department wrote me an email and asked a number of questions comparing Chippewa boots with each other, and with Dehner patrol boots as well. I thought the email exchange that we had was interesting. The Sergeant complimented me in the last email we shared by saying, “you are factual, unbiased, and well-informed. Thank you for helping me in deciding on my next pair of boots.”

Well, you’re welcome. I’m glad that you found my website and our email exchange helpful.

In response to that, I took some time last week to create a video where I compared and contrasted various tall Chippewa boots:  Hi-Shines (model #71418), Trooper boots (model #27950), and oil-tanned engineer boots (#27908 and #27909).  I also compared the Trooper (patrol) boots with stock Dehner patrol boots.

I hope you find this video interesting and helpful.

[Note: this blog post was written several days ago, and was scheduled to appear today while I continue to heal from surgery.]

Life is short: know your boots (and wear them!)

First Time for Dehner Boots?

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So you made the purchase of a cool pair of Dehner (brand) police motorcycle boots. Very handsome boots, for sure! Congratulations on your selection of a great pair of boots.

As a Dehner-boot wearer myself (see my collection), let me share some insights on how to break in these boots properly, so you can wear them for years, comfortably, and laced right. (I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen non-cops wearing bal-laced Dehner boots that are laced wrong — either tied like sneakers with laces in an x-pattern, or tied at the top, not in the middle.)

Dehner boots are classics, but the stock boots, which are most common, have plastic shafts (the company calls it “Dehcord,” but plastic is plastic) which if not broken properly at the ankle, may break wrong and cause problems with comfort by rubbing and causing sores on the back of the ankle.

I have created a tutorial video that explains what to do right after you open that Dehner box, pull out those tall black boots, admire them, but before you put them on for the first time.

Yep, that’s right: don’t pull them on your feet right away. Watch this video, follow these procedures, then be very happy with your new boots.

Life is short: break in your Dehner Boots right!

If your browser does not handle this embedded HD video well, See it on my YouTube Channel.

Oh Officer?

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Ooops… it finally happened. I had someone confuse me with a motor officer. Here’s the story…

Last Friday, I rode my Harley while going about errands and grocery shopping for my aunt. I also wanted to break in a new pair of lug-soled Dehner patrol boots. It was comfortably warm, so leather breeches would be too hot to wear. I chose a pair of cloth breeches instead. I wore a t-shirt and a vest on top. Nothing I was wearing had insignia of any law enforcement agency on it. However, I do realize that striped breeches inside motorboots gives a message that others may misinterpret.

While in the grocery store, I was moving rather quickly up and down the aisles to get the various items that my aunt needed. After gathering all the items, I went to the self-checkout register and began using it.

A woman came up to me, and said, “gee, you’re fast. I saw you and kept trying to reach you, but you moved to fast to catch up with. Officer, I have a question….” then she prattled on about something regarding what the police do with mentally disturbed people. I swear, she didn’t even pause to take a breath.

I finally had a chance to get a word in edgewise, and said, “Ma’am, I’m not a police officer, but I understand the breeches and boots might have confused you.”

She stopped, then looked me up and down and said, “well, I thought you were, because my brother is a motor officer and wears a uniform like that.”

I really didn’t want to get into a prolonged discussion, so I just said, “well, again, I’m sorry for any confusion. These are indeed police motor breeches and boots, but you see, I am not wearing any insignia and I’m not a cop. I ride a motorcycle almost every day, and find this clothing to be comfortable and practical, which is why cops wear it. It just works for me, that’s all. Again, sorry to cause confusion.”

She replied with, “well, you even had your sunglasses propped up on your head like cops do, your hair is cut like theirs, and you walk the same way they do, so no wonder I thought you were a cop.” Then, believe it or not, she kinda bopped me on the shoulder and said, “I wish you were a cop. You have a nice smile, and you’re making time for this old lady to ask you a dumb question.” With that, she spun on her heel and walked away. … left me with my jaw dropped and wondering what just happened.

The customer in the lane next to me said, “hey, man, those are nice boots. They look good with those … what’d you call ’em? Breeches?”

Hmmm… he was a very nice looking guy.

I finished checking out as he did, and he walked with me to the parking lot. He admired my Harley and asked a bunch of questions about the bike and the boots.

I mounted up and rode off with a smile on my face, yet with some bewilderment, too, regarding the incident that started the whole series of events.

Life is short: wear what you like, but don’t intentionally misrepresent. If someone makes an assumption, clarify!

Dehners’ First Ride

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For a long time now, a boot store that I like was offering a great price on Dehner Patrol Boots. I figured that the sale would have to come to an end, so I decided to buy a pair of these boots with a 1″ wider calf and lug soles on them. The boot store does not carry Dehner Boots with lug soles, but can arrange to have the Dehner Company put them on and have the boots shipped to the buyer directly.

I like big lug soles on my boots because they help a lot when I need to maneuver my big, heavy motorcycle in tight spots. For example, yesterday I went to our local post office, and the only parking space available was on a slight downgrade. There was so much traffic around, I couldn’t back myself into the spot. I knew when I came out, it would require a lot of strength and traction to move the bike out of the space. These boots performed superbly: like a snow tire, the soles gripped the pavement and helped me to push my bike out of the space. Had my sole slipped — even a little bit — it would have been very likely that I would have dropped the bike. That’s enough of a reason why I wear lug-soled boots when I ride my Harley.

Now… to the video. Some readers may be “of a certain age” (like me) to remember the TV show “CHiPs” that was aired from 1977 to 1983. The show featured a couple of Dehner-booted bike cops. Every now-and-then, they would have a camera trained on one of the cop’s boots from behind, as he was operating his bike — usually chasing a bad guy.

I have that image in my mind — of a Dehner Boot on a bike while riding. I have produced similar videos like this before, but this is the first one while I am actually wearing “Dehner” (brand) boots (not something else) on this model of Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

Enjoy the “bootcam” video. Try to figure out where my camera was. I assure you, though, that my hands remained firmly on the grips, and I didn’t let go. Also, I didn’t have a passenger or someone riding beside me. Okay — go figure where my camera was. I’ll reveal the answer later.

Life is short: get booted and ride!

Getting Reacquainted with an Old Pair of Dehners

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Dehner Motorcycle Patrol Boots, called “Dehners” for short, are well-known and highly admired by many. Lots of motor officers around the country wear these boots. While there remains controversy in their price (about the highest of all patrol boots), and the composition of stock boot “Dehcord” plastic shafts is also causes many discussions, there’s nothing like the appearance and the feel of these boots on your legs.

The boots shown here are an old pair of all-leather Dehner Boots with Vibram big lug soles on them. They are “traditional” boots, with a bal-laced instep. I have had them for well over 15 years. They were getting tight on the calves, though, so I had to either fix them to fit me again, or not wear them any more. I didn’t want to give up a pair of boots like this, so I got out my boot stretcher. Over the past month, I slowly stretched the calf of both boots, and now they fit great again! Woo-hoo!

I spent some time shining them up with good quality boot polish and slow, steady strokes with a fine brush. The foot shows a little wear where my shifter of my old Harley rubbed against it, but to me (and some cops I know), that’s a sign of well-worn boots.

I’ll be riding my Harley with them on again in leather or breeches. Nothin’ like a good lug sole when riding the bike… great traction.

I was dressed in a pair of leather jeans tucked inside these boots with a sleeveless leather shirt when my partner got home from work last night. He thought the boots looked great and complimented me on being able to wear them again. He thought, though, that the full leather gear was a bit much. Even though it wasn’t all that warm, I did get a bit sweaty during my “greeting.” (LOL!) The smell of leather & sweat added something to what became a spontaneous sharing of tenderness and intimacy.

Whew… gotta find some more “old” boots and get them all shined and in good shape for more such “encounters.”

Life is short: wear boots!

Even Cops Have Trouble with Dehner Boots

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I posted instructions on how to break in Dehner patrol boots about six months ago, here.

It is unfortunate that motor officers, much like anyone else, just pull on a new pair of Dehner boots when they get them, rather than take the time to break the ankles properly. Photos of this post are of motor officers wearing Dehner boots. (Real cops in their actual boots.)

One of the cops whose boots are shown below told me that his boots were very uncomfortable. I can understand why. The sideways-turned bend at the shaft of the boot where it meets the foot must rub his ankle on the inside and cause sores.

Anyway, if you get new tall police patrol boots, take time to break them in correctly before wearing them. Otherwise, you’ll be very sorry with the permanent, uncomfortable results.

<==== sideways ankle break         =====>
boot shafts not wide enough for calf circumference, causing the boots to sag badly at the ankles because they cannot be pulled on all the way up, as well as the fabric of the breeches to bunch up at the boot tops because the fabric cannot fit inside the boots due to lack of adequate room.

Life is short: wear Dehners well!


How Heat Damages Dehner Boots

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Shown here and below are photos of boots worn by motor officers who participated in the Law Ride that was held in Washington, DC, on May 9, 2010.

Look at the areas on the side of each officer’s right boot that is inside the red circle. You will see that the boot shaft in that area is a dull gray. That dull gray area on the boot demonstrates what happens to Dehner’s Dehcord (Clarino) product when it is exposed to heat of a motorcycle engine.

I have often pointed out that such damage occurs, and now can show visible proof.

It’s kinda a love-hate thing about Dehner Boots. They style is great. The quality of the material on the shaft of stock boots cannot withstand ordinary exposure to the heat of motorcycle engines. Why? It is plastic, not leather. The change of color and loss of shine is due to the plastic slightly melting and changing its composition just a little bit. Unfortunately, once damaged, the material cannot be repaired, fixed, or restored to its once lustrous shine.

Many cops have told me that they like stock Dehner boots because they are easy to care for. A quick spray of furniture polish and a wipe-down restores the boot shafts to a very shiny appearance. All except the area exposed to the hot engine, which dulls out rather quickly. Some cops don’t care, and some do. Those who do replace their boots quickly enough that it doesn’t matter to them if the boots “show character” from such damage incurred when worn on a police motorcycle.

I have to point out, while I am a Harley guy (thus the name), this damage occurs to Dehner boots worn on a Police Harley. The other manufacturer of police motorcyles — BMW — has its engine, engine guard, and exhaust pipes configured in such a way that the rider’s boot shaft doesn’t get close to the source of heat, so the boots do not discolor like they do when worn on a Harley.

If you like Dehner boots but don’t wear them while riding a Harley, then the stock version should suit you well. They are much less expensive than the all-leather version, which costs more than twice as much.

Life is short: know your boots.