I changed my attitude on boots when I broke my ankle in a low-speed track crash. I was wearing very sturdy boots, similar to many I see recommended in this thread. However - take a pair of boots, hold the upper in one hand and the foot-part in the other, and try to bend side-to-side. I discovered, in my search for replacement boots, that most boots bend side-to-side like that with just a good hand effort - which means they won't do too much when the weight of a bike is trying to make your foot move in a direction it shouldn't.
Several boots have come out lately that have a rigid plastic structure, internally or externally, that is hinged to allow the foot to bend in the way it should, and keeps the foot from bending in ways it shouldn't. None of them fit me, but if you have reasonably sized feet, check out:
-Daytona Security Evo
-Dainese Axial Race (very nice boot)
-Puma V1000 (my hubby has them - ugly but functional)
-Gaerne GR-S.
-Sidi Vortice.
-Sidi Crossfire SRS. Those would be my first pick if they fit. My hubby has the previous-gen Flexforce, and they have held up to many crashes (dirt and supermoto) without as much as a sprain, and a lot of miles, and are still sturdy and in great shape.
No boot will protect your foot from every crash. But that's a type of force your foot can be subjected to even at low speeds, and that's an angle I want covered on my own feet.
I would not look for boots that work both for the moto and for walking around. With hard bags, you don't have to compromise either foot safety on the bike or foot comfort when walking around, and I don't want to compromise either.
