In the past, I have always worn cheap 100-200 dollar boots that I've had to replace after about a year and half of use, after I destroyed the sole of my old boots a 2nd time, I followed the advice of a good friend and invested in 400 (from a dealer) Gaerne SG-10's.
Long story short, I destroyed my old boots the friday before a race, I called High Velocity Cycles in Albuqueruqe knowing he'd be at the race and asked if he could deliver them to me there. Worried about running brand new, not broken in boots in a race just about killed the excitement of having a pair of boots that I'd wanted a long time but couldn't afford. Well, much to my delight, straight out of the box they were more flexible and far more comfortable than the cheap boots I've always worn in the past. Although I haven't looked at the specs, the sole and area surronding the ankles feels like its made out of some sort of gel or memory foam as it molds perfectly to the shape of your foot/ankle
no pinching, no rubbing, very snug and comfortable fit, right out of the box. The latch system is very user friendly, had no issue putting them on or taking them off with and without knee pads. While riding, they remain very comfortable while offering very good feel of the bike. The weekend I got them I ran the desert pre-ride (50 miles) plus a 15 minute mx race, plus the actual desert race (50 miles in 89* heat) all the while my feet remained cool and comfortable. And as they should, they still look brand new other than the black streaks that all white boots accumulate. Although its too early for me to give my own story of durability, talking to guys around the pits, I found someone thats been wearing the same set of SG-10's for 5 years now, at the rate that I was going through the cheaper boots, these should be cheaper in the long run by that model.
I haven't worn the sidi's or the tech 10's, but these boots are fantastic and will be my prefrence from now on.
Long story short, I destroyed my old boots the friday before a race, I called High Velocity Cycles in Albuqueruqe knowing he'd be at the race and asked if he could deliver them to me there. Worried about running brand new, not broken in boots in a race just about killed the excitement of having a pair of boots that I'd wanted a long time but couldn't afford. Well, much to my delight, straight out of the box they were more flexible and far more comfortable than the cheap boots I've always worn in the past. Although I haven't looked at the specs, the sole and area surronding the ankles feels like its made out of some sort of gel or memory foam as it molds perfectly to the shape of your foot/ankle
no pinching, no rubbing, very snug and comfortable fit, right out of the box. The latch system is very user friendly, had no issue putting them on or taking them off with and without knee pads. While riding, they remain very comfortable while offering very good feel of the bike. The weekend I got them I ran the desert pre-ride (50 miles) plus a 15 minute mx race, plus the actual desert race (50 miles in 89* heat) all the while my feet remained cool and comfortable. And as they should, they still look brand new other than the black streaks that all white boots accumulate. Although its too early for me to give my own story of durability, talking to guys around the pits, I found someone thats been wearing the same set of SG-10's for 5 years now, at the rate that I was going through the cheaper boots, these should be cheaper in the long run by that model.I haven't worn the sidi's or the tech 10's, but these boots are fantastic and will be my prefrence from now on.
gaerne makes great stuff!
) I don't care for the replaceable center sole piece that keeps coming out and hanging on my foot peg, but i have been thinking on just sending them in and getting the soles redone 
Alpinestar offers that service for about 100 bucks.
thanks but as little as I can get out, they can fix them 10 times and I still would be ok. I will most likely do it over winter when there are no worries about going riding. 