Dress Instep and Bal-Laced Dehner Boots

Tall black patrol boots worn by motor officers are eye-catching. Even to non-boot guys, I see lots of other people, male and female, young and old, watch motorcops and look longingly at their boots.

I have dozens of pairs of motorcycle police patrol boots, including six pairs made by the Dehner Boot Company. The company has received some criticism for making stock boots with plastic shafts (they call "Dehcord") but I'm told by a lot of cops that they like the boots that way, since they are very easy to maintain a nice shine with a quick spray of furniture polish and a wipe-down.

Most cops have boots provided for them by their employer, so if they damage a boot with a plastic-shaft while wearing them for duty, the boots can be replaced at little or no expense to the officer. Other guys, like me, who are not cops but like the boots, aren't as fortunate. Therefore, we have to be careful not to damage stock Dehner boots by exposing them to hot motorcycle pipes or excessive wear.

I'm a strange booted leather dude -- I actually wear all the boots that I own. I don't put on a pair of boots for the occasional leather fashion parade or fetish event and then wear dress shoes to work and sneakers around home. I ride my Harley, walk a lot, do construction, work in the yard, and go about daily life booted all the way. However, when I may be doing work that would expose boots to heavy wear, water, dirt, mud, or excessive bending, then I choose boots other than Dehners to wear.

Some guys have very strong preferences on the style of police patrol boots that they like. Some admire the traditional bal-laced instep. Some like an instep on a boot without laces -- it's called a dress instep. I like both. I really have trouble deciding if I prefer one over the other. It really depends, I guess, on what boots catch my eye when I visit my boot closet.

Anyway, here are a couple of recent videos that show these styles of boots. You decide.

Life is short: wear your boots!