digest number 10280

[David Critchley]

One of the enduring legends in this neck of the woods about steel toed boots is that they somehow "draw the cold" in the winter and will freeze your feet that much faster. Long since proven to be false, but still an article of faith for some. DC E.L. Green wrote:

> --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com > , "nakedwaterskier" > wrote: > > > > They saved my toes; they didn't amputate them. Proof happened a couple > > of years ago on ESR when a giant boulder attacked my right boot and > > rear brake lever, mount, and master cylinder. The rock destroyed it > > all except my boot and toes and foot. > > Indeed, OSHA would not require/allow steel toed boots if they would > amputa > > . > >

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[Tumu Rock]

Having worn steel toed and regular work boots in temps below 20 F (some as low as -20F), myth or not, me feet do not stay as warm in steel toed boots (even tried it in the same make of boot) I'm a big fan of composite toes now. Of course that's for work. For riding in the dirt I use moto-specific boots. No matter how comfy your shoes are, you can't hike if you can't walk. I can only imagine how bad my foot would have been had I crashed wearing regular boots. It's been well over a month and I can just now shift with my toe again... da Vermonster

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, David Critchley wrote: > > One of the enduring legends in this neck of the woods about steel > toed boots is that they somehow "draw the cold" in the winter and will > freeze your feet that much faster. Long since proven to be false, but > still an article of faith for some. > DC >

[Alan L Henderson]

One thing about steel toed boots, once the steel toe cap gets cold it doesn't heat up very quick. I think that they seem colder over all. You get in the truck to warm up for a few minutes and your toes are still cold when you get back out. Alan Henderson A13 Iowa who is glad he doesn't have to go out on trouble calls anymore. Tumu Rock wrote:

> Having worn steel toed and regular work boots in temps below 20 F (some as low as > -20F), myth or not, me feet do not stay as warm in steel toed boots (even tried it in the > same make of boot) > > I'm a big fan of composite toes now.

[Jud Jones]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Alan L Henderson wrote:

> > One thing about steel toed boots, once the steel toe cap gets cold it > doesn't heat up very quick. I think that they seem colder over all. You > get in the truck to warm up for a few minutes and your toes are still > cold when you get back out. > Alan Henderson A13 Iowa who is glad he doesn't have to go out on > trouble calls anymore. > > > >

In steel-toed boots, my toes hurt all the time. What's worse, toes that hurt a little bit all the time, or toes that might hurt a lot, once? That's a rhetorical question, no need to answer it. Since I find them cold and uncomfortable, I'm glad I don't have an occupation which requires them.

[E.L. Green]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "Jud Jones" wrote:

> In steel-toed boots, my toes hurt all the time.

If your toes hurt all the time, you have the wrong size boots. Work boots are available in a variety of half-sizes and wide sizes, there is no reason to go through life with uncomfortable boots just because you were a cheap b***** and bought the first boots you encountered at Wal-Mart rather than quality boots. I once did have a job that required steel-toed boots (electrician in oil refineries) and quickly found that a good boot was worth every dollar I paid for it given that I spent all day on my feet. Dump the Wal-mart crap and buy quality. It's the same reason my head sits inside a $400 Arai helmet instead of a $50 Wal-Mart helmet. Both will protect my head in a crash, but the Arai fits my head like a glove, while the Wal-Mart helmet is like putting a square steel box on my head (pressure points everywhere, agony after 15 minutes).

[Jud Jones]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "E.L. Green" wrote:

> > --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "Jud Jones" wrote: > > In steel-toed boots, my toes hurt all the time. > > If your toes hurt all the time, you have the wrong size boots. Work > boots are available in a variety of half-sizes and wide sizes, there > is no reason to go through life with uncomfortable boots just because > you were a cheap b***** and bought the first boots you encountered at > Wal-Mart rather than quality boots. > > I once did have a job that required steel-toed boots (electrician in > oil refineries) and quickly found that a good boot was worth every > dollar I paid for it given that I spent all day on my feet. Dump the > Wal-mart crap and buy quality. It's the same reason my head sits > inside a $400 Arai helmet instead of a $50 Wal-Mart helmet. Both will > protect my head in a crash, but the Arai fits my head like a glove, > while the Wal-Mart helmet is like putting a square steel box on my > head (pressure points everywhere, agony after 15 minutes). >

You assume too much. My old steel-toes were Red Wings in my size, made in Red Wing, not China. They weren't cheap, and I have been well satisfied with every other pair of Red Wings I have owned.

[E.L. Green]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "Jud Jones" wrote:

> > --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "E.L. Green" wrote: > > > > --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "Jud Jones" wrote: > > > In steel-toed boots, my toes hurt all the time. > > > > If your toes hurt all the time, you have the wrong size boots. Work > > boots are available in a variety of half-sizes and wide sizes, there > > is no reason to go through life with uncomfortable boots > You assume too much. My old steel-toes were Red Wings in my size,

made in Red Wing, And a Shouei helmet makes my head feel like it's being compressed by a nut cracker, despite being $$$. I have to wear one size larger boot in one line of my preferred brand than I wear in another brand, no two boots are the same just as no two feet are the same. The point is that simply buying a boot off the shelf without test-driving it first is like buying a helmet off the shelf without test-driving it first, the result is not predictable, and that if one boot is uncomfortable, the solution is to find a boot which *is* comfortable -- not accuse all boots of that general type of being uncomfortable.

[Alan L Henderson]

The utility I used to work for decided that all climbers had to wear steel toed climbing boots. I couldn't find a pair off the shelf that anyone made that I could wear. I finally had a pair custom made by White Boot Co ( http://www.whitesboots.com/ ) and they still bothered my feet at times. Check out the price, they're not cheap. They used the biggest steel toe cap available at the time. I also had a non steel toed pair which were comfortable all the time. The White's were the best boots I had in my life. Alan Henderson A13 Iowa E.L. Green wrote:

> --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "Jud Jones" wrote: >> In steel-toed boots, my toes hurt all the time. > > If your toes hurt all the time, you have the wrong size boots. Work > boots are available in a variety of half-sizes and wide sizes, there > is no reason to go through life with uncomfortable boots just because > you were a cheap b***** and bought the first boots you encountered at > Wal-Mart rather than quality boots.

[Charlie Yahrmarkt]

And just ~try~ asking the salesperson if you can have a size 10 1/2 left and a size 11 right.

> no two > boots are the same just as no two feet are the same. The point is that > simply buying a boot off the shelf without test-driving it first

[Doug Pippin]

Don I've made 2 trips to Moab in Mid April 2005 and mid April 2007. I belong to the HSTA and there's a group of members that meet in Moab each April for several years now. We stayed in at the Portal RV Resort that had small cabins to rent so we really didn't camp. http://www.portalrvresort.com/ They are changing the park to more of a motor home based park so the group I went with have switched to the Moab Rim Campark & Cabins for 2008. http://www.moab-utah.com/moabrim/campark.html It can be cool at night in April but the days warm up nice. I've been told it gets very hot in the summer months. It doesn't rain much in Moab but there's no guarantees on the weather. It didn't rain on either of my week long trips. I used my KLR650 for exploring the Moab area on both these trips after trailering it from Asheville NC. The KLR worked well for the area and most of the trails we rode on were 2 track trails. There are however some areas where you wouldn't want to take the heavy KLR. If you have a lighter real dirt bike it would likely be more appropriate for Moab if you want to ride all the trails. That said you can have a ball on the KLR and there are so many trails it would take months to ride all of them. I use a Garmin GPSmap 60CSx and have many routes and tracks that we rode saved. If you'd like some of them e-mail me off list and I'll be glad to send them. As I said there are many many trails but here's a few I'd recommend that the KLR will navigate with no problems. Chicken Corners Onion Creek White Rim Trail Onion Creek Thompson Canyon Loop Lockhart Basin Gemini Bridges Below are a book and some maps I'd recommend for finding the trails in the Moab area. I like the Latitude40 maps better than the National Geographic maps. Guide to Moab Trails http://4x4books.com/mub.htm Moab West Trails http://latitude40maps.com/moabw.html Moab East Trails http://latitude40maps.com/moabe.html National Geographic Moab Maps http://4x4books.com/ngtmoabew.htm If you're using a Garmin GPS the US TOPO 24K National Parks, West v3 maps have great coverage of the Moab area and a bonus of allowing you to route on the trails. http://tinyurl.com/yokm9n Doug ---------- At 07:30 AM 1/11/2008, you wrote:

>Moab Riding - What's the good stuff >Posted by: "KLRDON" klrdon@... klrdon >Date: Thu Jan 10, 2008 6:28 pm ((PST)) > >I'm looking for suggestions and information on planning a ride for a >group of my riding buddies, the Nawth Jaja Rat Pack (Georgia), in >the Moab area. >It might even include some camping out on the trail. What time of >year is the best for this kind of trip, not scorching hot and not >likely to rain much? What are the camping spots to utilize and what >scenic routes are recommended? >Thx in advance, >Don M

---------- Doug Pippin 828-684-8488 d_pippin_89@... ---------- [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]