Well for the SBR dirt day I figured I needed to get some sort of good dirt boots. I'd only ridden twice off road before, the first time in hiking boots, which realistically have 0 ankle support and the second time wearing my street boots, which also have 0 ankle support compared to off road boots.

When I first put them on they were unbelievably stiff, I wore them all around the house and everywhere I went the night before the ride, though Sat am while a bit softer, they were still quite stiff. Thankfully, after riding around they seemed to have mostly broken in within the first hour and I was so busy riding I didn't even notice the transition. Since riding with dirt boots was an entirely new experience for me, I really had to get used to it. Shifting and braking were completely different and while I'm hardly 100% comfortable, it didn't take terribly long before I was feeling not too bad about them. (Though the rear brake does seem to be either on or off now)

The protection these boots offer is supreme and I'm glad I had them on. At one point I washed out in the mud and the weight of my bike near the rear axle was on my ankle, it was mildly painful through the boot which is super thick and very tough. I can't imagine what would have happened had I been wearing hiking boots. Not to mention the super stiff shinguard protection they have. All in all it was money well spent, it is hard to go wrong splurging on safety gear and in the end I'm really glad I did. These have now become my street boots as well, they are super stout.