the rider becomes "the tester"

last saturday i met my good friend KJ who runs the Cramster gear co.... we were sitting and chatting about things in general, biking, bikers and the likes. i had dropped to his office to pick up a pair of touring gloves for my coming ride from Bangalore to Ahmedabad. well, he didn't have the gloves in stock :( phooey!

when i spotted a pair of great looking boots at his store, i asked him details about them and he said that this is the 'test pair' of the boots he is planning to launch soon! he just wanted someone to test them on a longish ride across different situations and terrains and give him an update on the same.

i guess lady luck was smiling extra hard on me that day, he offered the pair to me for testing upon the condition that i give him a proper feedback on the same....

BTW, if you want to know what all the boots endured read my travelogue here


so here is my feedback for the Cramster touring boots.

1) Quality - the build quality of the boots is pretty impressive, fits snug on the feet and rises all the way to the shins (just where the knee protector of the riding pants end) the grip is an anti-slip material, the similar we see on the tecnic boots.
2) Comfort - the boots have a breathable liner all along the inside and a water resistant 'rubbery' material on the outside so even if you ride through rains or put your foot in a puddle, there is no water slipping or seeping in your feet giving you the squishy-squashy feel.
3) Style - the most important aspect for someone like me, do the boots look good on me when i wear them? HELL YEAH! they are drop dead gorgeous! in fact, i already got too many offers from a lot of people to buy this pair from me.
4 VFM (Value For Money) - perfect! something that i'd buy and not regret later, and as far as after sale service is concerned, i've had really good experienced from this one brand so no hassles here.

a few things that i might suggest though for the coming models are:

> Toe gear shift plate - something like a small strip of rubber with deep grooves on it near the toe, so that the gears and the brakes can be engaged even with the side of the foot.

>detachable / or / smaller crash knobs - there are these 2 bulbs of plastic protuding on the external side of the boot which i guess should be detachable for the 'tourers' as they wouldn't scrape their bikes and their boots so low (IMO)i must say that these would be perfect for the motocross or the racing bikers tho.

>reflective tapes on the back - i feel that if the boots have a small reflective piece at the back of the boot just above the ankle, it might be really helpful for those who ride without a decent pair of riding pants, the reflector not only looks good but increases all the chances of visibility (which is very important for night riding)

well, i honestly can not think of more suggestions for this product, it is something you just want to wear and start riding.

kudos to Cramster once again!