Review Summary
- The Street & Steel Square Toe Boots are the perfect choice for riders of Cruisers, Touring, Custom, or Cafe style bikes.
- They offer a stylish Harness boot look, but they also provide excellent protection and style with their full leather construction and TPU reinforcements.
- The Goodyear rubber sole ensures a confident ride and solid footing at a stop.
- These square-toe boots are a must-have, offering style, protection, and an affordable price that deserves serious consideration.
Street & Steel Square Toe Boots
Street & Steel is a house brand that is within the Cycle Gear family of products. They primarily target the Cruiser, Touring, Custom, and Cafe crowd with lots of leather and traditional styling. These Square Toe boots stay true to the traditional Harness boot style favored by bikers since the dawn of time.
First Impressions
I concede that I do tend to have some preconceived notions about house brands, especially those that tend to offer items at entry-level price points. You got me Street & Steel, when I first lifted the box lid, these boots looked far better than I expected.
In my head, I was prepared to open the box and find these boots were made from something that more closely resembled a Weather Tech floor mat than any proper hide from a cow. I am happy to report I was totally wrong.
See Also: Motorcycle Boots Buyer’s Guide
Features
Design
Street & Steel has designed these boots along classic motorcycle harness styles. With an 11” rise, classic squared toe, and 1 5/8. inch walking heel. The harness straps are fitted with solid rivets and nice chrome rings.
Street & Steel provides additional reinforcement around the toe box and the heel, plus there is a midsole shank which helps significantly on the footpegs.
Material
2.0 mm Cowhide is used throughout the body of the boots. It was more supple than I expected and has formed in nicely to my foot after just a few rides and walks into the pub.
The sole is high-traction Goodyear rubber, perfect on both floorboards and pegs. The insole is listed as anti-vibration, and I found it was adequate but I would prefer a little more cushion.
Protection
I cannot 100% confirm, but the midsole shank and the toe and heel reinforcements are most likely made from a Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). It is a very common material for this type of protection and works quite well.
TPU toe caps are much lighter than steel or alloy toe caps. They provide the same level of protection as steel and alloy toe caps without the extra weight.
Fit and Comfort
Harness boots, much like cowboy boots, can be a bit of a challenge to get on your foot when they are brand new, and I had that issue with these. What I discovered is due to my foot width, even though for many they are true to the size chart, bumping up one size gave me a perfect fit.
Streel & Steel wisely provides 2 hefty pull tabs and they are very well sewn in. Trust me I tested it. With each use as the boots broke in, they became easier to slip on. I appreciate the harness strap for the secure feeling it provides when wearing a laceless boot.
If you choose to order these boots online, just keep this in mind. The size guide is quite good for those with a standard-width foot. If you are on the wider side, consider ordering one full size up.
Build Quality and Construction
Upper Boot
The opening at the top of the 11” uppers easily accommodates larger calves, and still fit nicely under my riding jeans. The 2.0 mm leather has a hand-polished finish that softened nicely as I wore them, but didn’t develop excessive wrinkles, or collapse.
Reinforcement
There are added layers of leather on the top of the foot and around the heel area, to provide additional protection and durability. I was quite happy to notice zero initial wear after 3 rides, and multiple gear changes. Not a scuff to be found from my gear selector.
Stitching
Street & Steel has overlaid the heel and forefoot sections nicely. As with most lower-priced boots, multiple segments of leather are required to be stitched to complete the product, but Street & Steel delivers an overall high level of finish.
Sole
The Goodyear rubber sole of the Street & Steel Square toe boots is designed to provide exceptional traction and durability for long-lasting wear. The rugged tread pattern ensures a stable grip on various surfaces, and besides the armor, is the best reason to purchase these boots for riding, over a standard harness or cowboy boot. The grip improvement over the smooth sole of most cowboy boots makes a huge difference on the pegs, and especially on wet floorboards.
The sole of the boot is stitched into the first rubber layer, and then the final layer is glued on. You will also see that the heel section is both glued and nailed on. There is a reinforced TPU shank running up the midsole.
Insole
I can’t really praise or knock the insoles of these boots. They are basic, but have a reasonable amount of cushioning. Although listed as “Anti-vibration cushioned replaceable insole” I didn’t notice any significant reductions in vibrations off the pegs of my Harley. I will continue to wear them as they are, but I do like how they are easily removable and I can then choose to upgrade later on if I wish.
The Weight
These boots weigh in at 963 grams (a bit over 2 lb) in a size 11, on my scale. As a comparison, my Composite toe, Dakota 6” construction boots weighed in at 1103 gr and my Ariat cowboy boots are 831 grams. Overall the weight never became a noticeable issue in either a positive or a negative way. They felt just right.
Safety Certifications
I can find no listing anywhere on the packaging or any online listing related to the boots, indicating they meet any CE ratings or any other safety certifications. Having noted that, the full leather construction and TPU reinforcements certainly offer greater protection while riding than standard fashion boots.
Riding with the Street & Steel Square Toe Boots
I tried the Street & Steel boots on all of my bikes, and I have come away much more impressed than I expected to be.
Far more at home on my Harley Davidson, and my Goldwing, the boots offered a good feel on both pegs and floorboards. I like the tread design and the give from the rubber soles. When coming to a stop regardless of what was underfoot, I felt stable. I purposely sought out loose gravel and patches of water or oil to place my feet while stopping. Every time these boots found the grip to give me confidence.
The feel on both my shift lever and my rear brake was not overly subdued due to inflexible materials. I suppose the best praise I can give is the boots never felt like something I had to focus on because they were new and a different shape.
I did ride them in some light rain, and the grippy sole again proved its worth. The boots didn’t slip on a wet floorboard and they never lost grip on wet asphalt during stops.
Final Verdict on the Street & Steel Square Toe Boots
I am really impressed. These boots come priced under $150, and for that, you get full leather construction, a nice grippy sole, and a boot with classic good looks.
I was happy how they quickly broke in, and they looked the part while riding, and kept those good looks when just walking around. These are an excellent choice that ride well and provide the exact kind of look most of the cruiser crowd will appreciate.
Room for Improvement
- The boots are narrow. Some added width may open these boots up as an option for more bikers.
- I will always ask for better insoles.
Favorite Aspects
- Fit and finish are excellent
- The chrome rings and rivets look fantastic
- The hand-rubbed finish looks and wears nicely
Pros
- Full Leather Construction
- Great Looking Boots
- Grippy Rubber Sole
- TPU Reinforcements
- Great Price
Cons
- A Bit Narrow For Some
- Only Come In Black, No Brown
- Insole Is Basic
Specs
- Manufacturer: Street & Steel
- Price (When Tested): $149.99
- Alternative models & colors: Black
