A riding buddy of mine was assigned to a motorcycle police unit and has worked as a bike cop for many years. He also owns a personal motorcycle and we ride together from time to time. He’s a really great guy. We have enjoyed many rides together over the years.

He recently was promoted to Detective, and shed his regular uniform and tall patrol boots for a suit and dress shoes (yuck!) He told me that he always considered his patrol boots as part of the uniform. When we rode our motorcycles together, he always wore some kind of short tactical boots.

Due to his promotion and change of uniform, he asked me a while back if I knew if his six pairs of Dehner boots might have some future use for others. Um, yeah! He is not a “bootman” as I claim to be. He really wasn’t aware of, nor wanted to know about, the boot fetish community out here. What he doesn’t ask, I don’t tell. But over the years, he has seen me riding my Harley in all sorts of boots, tall and short, inside and outside of my jeans or leathers. He hasn’t said much about my boots, other than to give me a half smile and say sometimes, “new boots?”

He gave me his old boots and asked me to manage their sale on eBay. As my “sellers fee,” I could keep one pair for myself. Isn’t it fortunate that they’re my size! So here is the pair I chose to keep: the newest ones (to him) which he got just a few months ago. They are Dehner dress instep patrol boots. They’re stock, meaning that they have a leather foot and Dehcord (plastic) shaft. They have a standard Nitrile rubber sole. They are a 10.5D, which is a little bit larger than my usual boot size. However, they fit me just fine — especially since they have a 1″ wider calf circumference, which accommodates my muscular calves quite well.

The rest of his pairs of boots are sold — don’t come begging, please. Interestingly, they sold to five men in the U.K., who bid more for them than anyone else. I gave the net proceeds of the sale to my riding buddy, who put it to good use to take his wife and children to see his in-laws in California for Christmas.

This was a “win-win” for both of us. I really like these new-to-me-boots, and my riding buddy receiving an unexpected windfall.

Life is short: wear your boots!

Over the years, I have learned a thing or two about motorcycle police patrol boots. These boots have been worn by officers on horseback and on motorcycles for more than a century.

I own more than a dozen pairs of tall, black police patrol boots. I have worn them for more than 20 years while riding motorcycles. While I am not a cop, I like these boots for their appearance, performance, style, and design.

The Dehner Boot Company has a large share of the market for these boots, followed closely by Chippewa. The “Chip Hi-Shine” is seen much more often on more cops — at least on the East Coast where I live. Chippewa also makes a bal-laced style patrol boot, but because of its low-end quality, is not worn as much as the others.

There are other manufacturers of police patrol boots, as well. Whoever wears them wants them to be functional and perform as expected. The boots should be comfortable for all-day wear, and withstand hard use from being worn while operating a motorcycle.

I put together a Guide to Motorcycle Police Patrol Boots and posted it on my website to answer questions that I frequently receive, and also to share some of what I know. I had the Guide reviewed by motor officers on the East and West coasts. One officer who reviewed it for me said:

“I am sincerely impressed with the thought, information, sheer amount of work and dedication involved in your Motorcycle Officer Patrol Boots review. I have been an officer since ’95 and I know for a fact that there isn’t anyone half as knowledgeable as you about such a large variety of motorcycle officer patrol boots in the industry and that includes motor cops and Bay Area Police Uniform Shops personnel alike.”

Check it out on my website: It is posted here. I hope you find it informative and helpful.

Bootmen around the world visit my website and look at the photos of my Dehner Patrol boots. I’m not surprised, but if guys really knew more about these boots, they might choose alternatives.

My first priorities for boots are that they function as designed. A patrol boot is supposed to provide protection to a motorcycle operator, be comfortable for all-day wear, sustain regular hard use, and have a good appearance.

The good things about Dehner Boots, in my opinion, is that they do function as designed, and they have a striking and commanding appearance. No wonder many bike cops from years ago (and today, like CHP officers) bought and wore them. If broken in properly, they are comfortable for all-day wear. And when fitted properly, they feel good on the legs.

The bad things about these boots, though, override the good. Today, like all companies, Dehner looks for ways to save money when making boots. They use a material called “Dehcord” made by Clarino on the boot shaft of stock boots. Beware: Dehcord is not leather; it is plastic! It cracks and breaks easily with normal wear in a relatively short time. More than a crease, those cracks cause white crevasses to appear starting at the ankle and then work their way up. Also, Dehcord can’t take the heat — a hot motorcycle engine will cause a Dehcord boot shaft to become discolored (causes it to turn gray) and the discolored areas can not be returned to their black and shiny appearance. A cop buddy of mine told me that he saw that as a “badge of honor.” Well, that’s one way to look at it; to me, a damaged boot is a damaged boot.

And worse, the stock boots made of this plastic stuff are still very pricey — going for about US$400 MSRP.

Then it gets worse, price-wise, from there. Dehner offers upgraded real leather for their patrol boots, either “Voyager” which has a matte appearance, or European Calf leather. The calf leather is excellent, looks great, doesn’t discolor, takes a great shine, and holds up well. The major issue I have with a pair of boots made from this leather is that they currently retail for well over US$700. What cop with a limited uniform allowance or Bootman on a budget can afford that? Especially cops who wear their boots every day and the boots are subjected to daily stresses of walking, running, and frequent stops >> foot down>> starts >> foot up motorcycle operation.

One other consideration of Dehners is that the boots come in a fairly narrow calf width, made for spindly-legged guys. If you are like me, with muscular calves, you require a larger calf circumference. Dehner now offers a 1″ larger calf circumference option at no additional charge, as this had been a problem for many years.

I’m all for supporting U.S.-based companies, which Dehner remains, still based in Omaha, Nebraska. But boot buyers also have to consider the affordability. That’s why, today, you will see so many cops wearing Chippewa Hi-Shine Engineer Boots. They’re much less expensive, all-leather, and made in the USA as well. The major difference is that they are an Engineer Boot, which is quite a departure from the patrol boot style.

UPDATE OCTOBER 2008: Click here for a Guide to Motorcycle Patrol Boots.

UPDATE JULY 2009: Click here for instructions on how to break in a new pair of Dehner boots.