Difference in sidi boots?

[jeremyh007]

Looking at buying a pair of sidi boots for street use and possibly track days in the future. I was looking at getting the vertigo boots. I see they have many other models, vertabra, b2, cobra......
Whats the difference between the models? Prices vary, but they look the same
How do the models rank in order?

[WakeDude]

Originally Posted by jeremyh007

Looking at buying a pair of sidi boots for street use and possibly track days in the future. I was looking at getting the vertigo boots. I see they have many other models, vertabra, b2, cobra......
Whats the difference between the models? Prices vary, but they look the same
How do the models rank in order?

Jeremy, they are great boots, whichever price point you go with. The more expensive boots in the range have more plastic which helps limit extreme movements if the worst should occur. I added a link to Motonation which is one of the primary importers and dealers. Sidi are all hand made in Italy, and fit is very true to size.

Sidi sport-on road - MotoNation

Hope this helps.

-Alex

[jeremyh007]

any recommendations of which model for street/track day?
cobra, vertigo, B2, fusion are probably the ones i am looking at so far

[jberb55]

My understanding of Sidi evolution, I think it is accurate but treat this like you should treat other internet-mined wisdom:

Vertebra was replaced with the Vertigo. Two flavors of Vertigo, the regular and Corsa, and both of those had regular and air (perf leather). Now we have the Vortice in place of the Vertigo Corsa, and the Cobra looks to have replaced the non-Corsa Vertigos. There are safety improvements on the Vortice, but one of the big advantages of the Vortice is that the soles are replaceable.

Personally I have the Vertigo Airs, and use them street/track. Easy on/off. But my next pair will be Vortice Airs, as I want the most protection possible for track.

You have to figure out how much you want to spend and how much protection you're comfortable with. Typically the more expensive the boot within a particular brand, the more time consuming it is to take on/off but it protects more. Do you intend to wear the boots all day, say for when you're commuting to work? Vortices probably not a good choice there.

Beyond the site WakeDude suggested, check out newenough.com as well as sportbiketrackgear.com; both sites sell Sidi products as well as offer some type of video or comments. Good luck.

[jeremyh007]

size-wise i heard they run small. can anyone confirm?
i wear a 9.5-10 nike sneaker. i was deciding between a 43 or 44. i was thinking 44, and just wear a thick sock, is probably better than being crammed into a too small boot.
these are just for rides, not all the time use. i am looking for something more durable and safer than the current sneakers i am wearing.

[bzr]

Originally Posted by jeremyh007

size-wise i heard they run small. can anyone confirm?
i wear a 9.5-10 nike sneaker. i was deciding between a 43 or 44. i was thinking 44, and just wear a thick sock, is probably better than being crammed into a too small boot.
these are just for rides, not all the time use. i am looking for something more durable and safer than the current sneakers i am wearing.

If I was you I'd go 44 otherwise it will be time to replace them & they'll just start to feel right. They are a slightly tighter fit..

[nathanTX]

OK, let me see if I can assist. First off, MotoNation is THE US importer. They can direct you to a local stocking dealer for fitment assistance. Not everyone likes the fit of one particular brand, so it'd be nice if you can try on/compare Alpinestars to Dainese to Sidi to other brands back to back. For your size, I'd probably recommend 44 in Sidi, either 43 or 44 in Alpinestars, and 43 in Dainese (this is primarily for their racing/sport products as I frequently recommend differently for each brand's touring models and US-foot-form models). Here is my take on the Sidi lineup:

Vertebra, Vertigo Corsa, and B2 are all older models and not really part of the comparison. So I'll start at the low end.

Fusion - good boot at a reasonable price. While they still claim to use the Vertebra system, it's really not the same and doesn't offer much by way of structural significance. It's basically a simple sport boot that has decent construction, toe sliders, and pretty much everything you need for general street and even light track use.

Cobra - better protection and materials throughout compared to the Fusion, but not really much added functionality. In other words, it does the same thing that the Fusion does, but does it a bit better with a bit more quality. I would recommend the Cobra over the Fusion. It's $50 more, but IMO, a noticeably better product.

Vertigo - Much better protection, Much better materials, Much better boot. While the Cobra and Fusion have about the same function, the Vertigo adds quite a few features. The adjustable calf area is priceless if you are trying to tuck in leather pants with some amount of shin armor, and/or if you have meatier calves. The inner materials, combined with the openable/closeable scoop vent and the amount of air circulation those two things provide makes it a very comfortable all temperature boot. Honestly, there isn't a whole lot of reason to go to the Air model, even in South Texas (where I am). This boot is an EXCELLENT street boot as well as a perfectly suitable trackday boot for even a pretty avid track rider.

ST - this is the new one that isn't quite out of the shoot yet. I like it better than the Vortice, personally. It seems to be easier to get in and out of. Has all of the track/race level feauters that you would want. It has significantly more ankle/mobility/structural reinforcement than even the Vertigo (closer to what you find on the Vortice). I might look at it seriously if track riding is a significant consideration. If you are 95% street and do a trackday a year, do you NEED the ST? Probably not. The Vertigo is probably completely sufficient. Then again protection on the street versus protection on the track is a question that always leads me back to thinking about street injuries often being worse than track. It's definitely racier than the Vertigo. So you decide if that's called for or not.

Vortice - Outstanding protective piece. If you are a club racer, it's probably a worthwhile investment. On the other hand, they are kind of a pain to get in and out of. So some street riders have a difficult time wrapping their heads around fussing with it every time they want to go for a morning ride. Sidi intends this to be a race boot and it is off-the-shelf pro quality. Lots of adjustment and absolutely storm-trooper level of reinforcement. Do you need it? The OP said street use and possibly future trackday use. So it wouldn't be the first one I'd recommend, but it couldn't hurt to have that level of equipment either.

All of that said, I'd put my best guess as to what you'd like using the most on the Vertigo. But I don't think the Cobra or ST would be bad choices either, and all around Sidi makes excellent stuff, so don't take that as a recommendation against any of them.

Hope that steers you in the right direction. Feel free to PM me if I can answer any other specific questions for you.

[moto]

+1
Advice so far has been spot on.

All the SIDI boots from the Vortice to the Fusion are very good boots. The more expensive one has more features--some of which you may not need.

For mostly street and some track use- I'd go with the Sidi Vertigo .
We have had very good reviews on that boot by our customers.

Contact Nick@motowheels.com if you need fitment help. He has been known to offer pretty good deals on apparel too...

-M

[jeremyh007]

ya i think for the money, the vertigo's are the way to go. few bucks more, but look to be better constructed for possible dual purpose.
who has the best prices? they look to be $300 retail locally or online. any place cheaper?

[moto]

Originally Posted by moto

Contact Nick@motowheels.com if you need fitment help. He has been known to offer pretty good deals on apparel too...

-M

SIDI are priced controlled. We are not allowed to advertise discounts, but
you can contact Nick@motowheels.com directly...