Falco Avantour 3 boots in brown

The chassis of the boot is a full-grain leather. Now real leather is still seen as the the mark of premium quality footwear. Leather breathes better than synthetic fabrics, and over time it moulds to the foot, in theory becoming ever more comfortable over time. But synthetic fabrics are tougher, more resistant to the rain, need less care and are potentially longer lasting. Leather boots tend to be a little more expensive.

 

The leather on the Avantour is interspersed with areas of other materials. These are clearly synthetics. You'll find them on the toe, in the heel and at the top of the shaft from the shin plate back.

 

The membrane on this boot comes from Sympatex. That's a well-known membrane. It's reasonably reliable, but it's not Gore-Tex. A Gore-Tex membrane is to be found on footwear at the top end of the market. Gore's membranes perform at a higher level technically. They tend to be more waterproof and more breathable. You will always pay a premium  for a boot with a Gore-Tex membrane, but the payback is a lifetime guarantee on waterproofing. And it's a warranty that works. Your retailer cannot get involved, but basically you send your boots off to Gore if you think they leak. If they do, they will send you a new pair or a cheque! Easy-Peasy.

 

When you buy a pair of adventure boots, the look is often part of the deal, but the main thing you are buying into is a higher level of protection, albeit usually in a trade off against comfort.

 

Well with the Avantours you get a ruddy great shin protector, D3O pucks in the ankles and a toe box so tough you could drive a truck over it. (This is a turn of phrase. Please do not try this at home).

 

The boot also gets a special, one-piece moulded chassis that sits inside the leather,and that adds further protection. In fact, the toe box is part of the chassis, but it also runs down the side of the foot and incorporates, or becomes, a counter for the heel.

 

In terms of securing the boot in place, you get a large, Velcro-equipped flap at the top of the shaft. You also get two, aircraft-grade, adjustable, buckles.

 

Now you don't buy a boot like this to go walking in, but obviously you still need to be able to get around in them. To make this easier, you get soft and padded concertina panelling in the forefoot and in the heel. You also get a kind of pivoting, skeleton structure that allows the boot to bend and articulate when you're walking, but without reducing the boot's strength.

 

Finally you get what Falco term a heavy-duty, textured, rubber sole. And yes it looks tough enough. There's a harder rubber on the inner edge that's designed to cope with aggressive pegs, although if you've got those nasty ones with sharp pointy bits you can still damage the soles. The tread pattern itself is not overly aggressive. And that's because a 'cross-over' boot like this is designed to work both on the road as well as off it. There are boots with soles that are more rutted, but those soles will not give you as much purchase and grip on the road.

 

Overall, this boot appears to be of pretty high quality. It ticks all the right boxes, and is going to be more than protective enough for most of us. It's not a cheap boot, but as we all know anything can be found cheaper. Put it like this, the Avantours are not going to let you down. Of course, you could pay more for an adventure boot, but you'd have to be doing something pretty extreme to need anything stronger and tougher than these. And if you go for a more protective boot, mobility will be the price you pay.