Sidi Taurus review | Flagship adventure touring motorcycle boots

Date reviewed: January 2026 | Tested by: John Milbank | Price: £489.99 (RRP) | sidiuk.com

Before you say anything, YES the Sidi Taurus boots are expensive, and YES they are available in different colours. Though I do actually like this ‘Lego desert’ colour-scheme.

These are the Italian brand’s flagship adventure touring boots, designed to offer excellent protection while still being comfortable on almost any bike and to walk around in. At the price, you’d expect Sidi to have managed it but properly protecting your feet, ankles and shins usually comes with some kind of compromise.

I’ve been wearing – and falling off in – the Sidi Taurus GTX motorcycle boots for three months on my 2019 BMW R1250GS, a 2025 Triumph Scrambler 400XC and a 2001 Honda VFR800 to find out if they’re worth the money…

Pros & Cons

Construction and features

With a synthetic microfiber and TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) upper, the Sidi Taurus boots don’t use any leather, which isn’t unusual in many motorcycle boots as the microfibre (a composite material) offers good abrasion resistance (if potentially not as good as a quality leather of the same thickness), ease of cleaning and durability. Of course it can also be cheaper to use in production as it requires less processing and is guaranteed to have a consistent thickness and quality throughout.

These boots are big, but they’re not overly bulky so they’re surprisingly wearable. Sidi says they’re designed for ‘adventure touring and off-road’, being ‘built for endurance, comfort and all-terrain control’. What does that mean? Well the gist is that they’re a cross between an adventure boot like the Sidi Adventure 2 and TCX Drifter, and a highly supportive motocross boot. With a pinch of touring boot thrown in.

Other colours are available

While they’re not going to be seen on the feet of many people riding bikes like the VFR800, it was revealing to find that I had no problems changing gear. A dedicated off-road boot can have a very thick toe section, and such little movement in the ankle that it’s really hard to change gear on anything much more than an adventure bike with the gear lever’s position adjusted up. That’s just not the case here, though it can take a little getting used to, especially on a bike with a quick-shifter as if you don’t completely clear the switching mechanism after a change, the next upshift might not engage. But again, for boots this protective, they’re very impressive.

First look at the Sidi Taurus

This was the first chance we'd had to check out the new boots, at EICMA in 2025

Protection and certification

When most people buy motorcycle riding kit, they want to consider the protection it offers… otherwise, why not just buy a pair of trainers or a cheap jacket from Mountain Warehouse? There are various safety standards for bike kit, but they don’t have to be confusing: all you really need to know is that, in the same way that more ‘A’s in your jacket and trousers means more protection, higher numbers in your boots mean they’re safer.

And these are really safe.

If you want to get a bit more geeky about it (and why wouldn’t you if you’re thinking of spending nearly £500 on a pair of boots), the Sidi Taurus meet the highest Level 2 for shin coverage (height), impact abrasion resistance, impact cut resistance and transverse rigidity. That’s what the four ‘2’s on the label mean.

You can also see ‘IPS’ and ‘WR’ on there, which shows they’ve been tested and certified as offering impact protection at the shins, and for water resistance. There’s no IPA label to show impact testing was carried out on the ankle so we can’t know how much safety is added by the dense padding and the TPU shell in this area, so my only criticism would be that Sidi should really quantify its claim of ‘impact protection with natural range of motion’ at the ankles.

That flexible ankle support – which rotates around two points at the sides while restricting backwards flex with a rigid tongue in the rear – is what allows that impressive freedom of movement while also supporting the ankle if for instance, you drop a bike on it. Which I did.

I’d like to say I did it deliberately because I’m so dedicated to testing, or that it was an impressive crash but neither are true.

The tyres on the Triumph Scrambler I had on test just couldn’t find any grip on a slippery, muddy byway so I demonstrated my lack of off-road skill by tumbling off like a toddler falling off a tricycle. While I can’t say that these boots definitely saved my ankle, the fact that my leg was caught underneath with my foot upright and supporting the weight of the bike is enough to convince me that at the very least, the Sidi Taurus boots helped me avoid a nasty twisted ankle.

Sidi has been making boots since 1960, but since I started riding in the mid 1990s, they’ve been renowned for their squeak when walking about. And it’s still a ‘feature’. In this case it seems to be on the sides around the pivot points that get vocal, though keeping them clean or even a squirt of silicone spray can ease it.

Sidi Taurus fastening

The top of the Sidi Taurus boots fasten with a large section of Velcro, which keeps the tops compact enough that they’ll fit under everything I’ve tried them with – the Rukka Hybrid R, Oxford Hinterland 2.0 and Roadskin Paranoid X jeans. The Hinterlands are snug, so if you have particularly large calf muscles, do check with whatever trousers you have.

When wearing jeans under the boots, the shin flap could benefit from a little more reach to the Velcro sides – again, do make sure they work for you if your legs are a bit thicker than average, though there is a good degree of stretch in the upper back panel.

It’s the Nuun 001M dials that are the star of the Sidi Taurus boots. Like Boa and other wire-based retention systems, they’re tough and reliable, but quick and easy to secure and release. In this case, lift the flap and twist to tighten. To release, press the two side buttons and lift up on the dial. You only need one hand to do this, and you should be able to with anything but winter gloves on, but accessing the upper one will probably mean lifting your trouser leg a bit. You’ll need to be nimble to do it while sat on the bike, but using your thumb and middle finger on the buttons, and hooking your forefinger under the dial makes short work of slackening them off when you want a break.

That’s not to say that these boots feel restrictive when cinched up tight… they don’t. But they do hold your feet and ankles reassuringly securely.

The very real benefit of these dials is that when you get off the bike – or even if you want a more relaxed fit while riding on the road – it’s easy to slacken them off. The buckles typically used on off-road boots do have a ratchet system built in, but it’s a fiddle to adjust and not really designed for constant tweaking. In a boot that’s meant to be easily wearable for a day-long adventure, the Nuun 001M dials are well worth having.

Comfort

The comfiest motorcycle footwear is usually a pair of high-top-style boots. There are plenty out there that offer the highest levels of abrasion and tear resistance, transverse rigidity and ankle protection. But they can’t protect the shins or from twisting injury.

Then there’s touring boots, a good pair of which can score the highest level 2 across the board, and provide shin and ankle protection. They can be fairly comfortable to walk around in too.

Beyond that is a pair of adventure boots like the TCX Drifters, but these don’t offer that much in the way of additional twisting protection. For that you should look at the Sidi Adventure 2s.

And finally we have full-on motocross boots, which should offer the absolute best protection from twisting and impact, but are the hardest to walk in.

Which leaves the Sidi Taurus sitting somewhere between the a pair of touring boots and motocross boots: They’re not as flexible and comfortable to walk in as, for instance, the Daytona Roadstars touring boots, but the quick-release fastening dials make them easier to adjust, and to loosen off when you’re off the bike, or just don’t need them quite as tight.

Everything is a compromise, but the Sidi Taurus allow you to ride with impressive levels of protection and support – even in tough off-road conditions – yet not be desperate to whip them off when you stop for a coffee. Just release the two dials and your feet gain more space and you can sit in comfort.

You won’t have to clump around like you do in motocross boots, or even in Adventure boots that have a traditional buckle system that’s not as quick and easy to adjust, so you can wander around for a bit in them without any problems.

But make no mistake – these aren’t all-day-off-the-bike comfortable. I walked about a mile and a half in them through some woodland and while I was fine riding again straight after, they were starting to rub at the ankles and hurt the sides of my feet on my stroll. A compromise, but a well-considered one for anybody who wants this high level of protection.

Sole and Grip

The soles on the Sidi Taurus boots are Sidi’s own ‘Materiis’ rubber compound, which seems hard wearing so far, but also offers superb grip on a variety of surfaces, whether or not they’re wet. This is one of the key features of these boots, with Sidi claiming the soles offer the best possible performance for things like wet rocks in river crossings. I haven’t been able to test dabbing my foot down onto a rocky riverbed while wading with a heavy adventure bike, but my experience on wet and dry surfaces from Tarmac to ceramic tiles (and mud and grass, not to mention wet rubber footpegs), is that Sidi has nailed it.
Equally important is that these boots grab onto metal footpegs – like those on my R1250GS Rallye – really well, keeping the foot safely in place whether standing or sitting.

Hot and cold weather use

The heavy construction, extensive use of plastics and the waterproof membrane mean that the Sidi Taurus boots aren’t the most breathable. But neither are any other highly-protective adventure boots I’ve tested.

The ability to loosen them off will help, and they’re not that much hotter to wear than a decent touring boot, but beyond Sidi offering a perforated upper version, which – let’s face it – would be pretty pointless in a boot designed for off-road riding unless you’ll never go beyond dry gravel tracks, I don’t think there’s much that could be done differently.

Waterproofing

As a top-of-the-range pair of boots, and given the price, it should be no surprise that the Sidi Taurus have a Gore-Tex waterproof lining that doesn’t let any water past; you can dunk your feet in as many rivers as you like, up to about the gap between the two tabs on the shin flap, which is roughly where the membrane stops and the tongue separates from the sides. The microfibre outer also doesn’t soak up water anything like leather can, so they don’t get as heavy or cold as they could, and they dry out almost instantly.

Sidi Taurus repairability

Sidi says that it uses replaceable parts among its ‘fully serviceable design’, and that it’s ‘built to last’. As this is such a protective yet comfortable boot I’ll be wearing it a lot, so like all of our reviews, this will be kept updated if anything changes over time.

Repairability is great, and while the Sidi Taurus boots are covered by a two-year warranty, it’s great to know that you can buy spare parts in the future if needed. Here’s what’s available:

It should be easy to change all the parts yourself, besides the outer soles. A good cobbler should be able to fit these, but Feridax – the UK importer – will recommend a UK specialist that has great experience with motorcycle boots.

Three alternatives to the Sidi Taurus boots

Adventure boots should offer good twisting protection and support, while touring boots need to have more flex in them. The Taurus strike a balance without compromising on protection, but here are some others to consider…

• Sidi Adventure 2, £349.99. These microfibre and suede boots offer Level 2 protection across the board, along with a similar rotating ankle support system as seen on the Taurus. They’re lacking the quick-adjust Nuun dials, but they’re a solid boot that’s well worth considering. Read the full review of the Sidi Taurus boots here.

• TCX Drifter, £329. Tall adventure boots that offer a very good level of protection, but that don’t have quite the resistance to twisting as that offered by the pivoting ankle support featured on the Taurus and the Adventure 2. Great looking though, and worth trying on, you can’t fine-tune the fit as easily as the Taurus Nuun dials allow. Read the full review of the TCX Drifters here.

• Daytona Roadstar Pro, £479.99. Expensive, but if you’re in this price range then consider these as they’re a very high quality, well-made pair of touring boots that will last you a very long time. Great protection, but more flexibility than the Taurus so the trade-off is a lack of resistance to twisting: these aren’t designed for off-road use. Read the full review of the Daytona Roadstars here.

These are just three of many alternatives – you can find all the boots we’ve tested here and be sure to regularly check for the discounts available through Bikesocial membership.

Sidi Taurus review: Verdict

The Sidi Taurus are an impressively solid pair of boots with some great features. Yes, they’re expensive, but these are the top of the range from the Italian brand. The level of protection offered if very impressive… even more so when you consider how flexible and usable they are.

They do take a little breaking in, and can feel a little clumpy at first, but that soon passes and there’s no loss of feeling or control whether you’re standing up or sitting down on the bike. My main comment on the fit is that Sidi boots aren’t always great for those with wider feet. Still, taking my usual size 44 I’m getting on well with the Taurus as long as I don’t go for a big hike in them.

Whether you like the ‘Sand Ocher’ colour as much as I do, or want something more subdued, if you have the budget and want some of the highest levels of protection, there’s very little not to love about the Sidi Taurus boots, so they come highly recommended.

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Falling off in the Sidi Taurus

A short review of the Triumph Scrambler 400XC, wearing the Sidi Taurus (and Daytona Roadstars)