Tested: Held Marick Waterproof urban boots

Date reviewed: February 2025 | Tested by: Ben Cordy | RRP: £139.95 | shop.held.de

I’ve always been fond of Held’s tendency to create riding gear that’s well priced, comfortable and simply does its job. The Held Marick boots are no exception. With a classic, casual style and genuine all-day comfort, they have been the perfect companion for early spring.

I’ve worn them for two months of city commuting on my Honda CB500X, yet they’ve also seen action for cycling, dog walking, and lots of general knocking about. Throughout it all they’ve kept me comfortable, warm and happy.  

Pros & Cons

Construction and features

Casually styled boots like the Maricks live and die on looks and I’m very fond of their classic style. The chunky high-top style is reminiscent of basketball-style trainers. As well as the black boots with a white lower trim and white laces, which I tested, there’s a good-looking tan and black version.

Most of the materials used in the Marick boots are synthetic, but have proven durable. The synthetic leather outer is accented with an embossed Held logo, suede-style panels and a textured shifter pad on each toe.

The materials can be wiped clean fairly easily, which is good news as I find the boots pick up dirt quite easily.

The inner lining is a mesh polyester with a good amount of padding, which adds to the comfort and allows a degree of breathability.

While riding I find them to be on the warm side, which some riders will appreciate, and they’ve been a great pairing for the early spring conditions I’ve used them in.  

I’ve not experienced any great negatives, save for a slightly annoying squeak from the right boot when I’m walking. It comes and goes, but I’ve never got to the bottom of its source. Outside of this they are everything I’d hope for from casual riding trainers and work just as they should both on and off the bike.

Fastening

Like many casual motorcycle trainers the Marick boots combine laces with a zip on the inner ankle to make it easy to put them on and take them off.

The flat-style laces feed through metal eyelets and on the black version I tested they are white to match the lower strip on the boots – but not for long.

If keeping a crisp out-of-the-box look is a priority you might consider the tan and black version instead. The white laces lasted one ride before taking on a lingering muddy brown hue. I’ve given up trying to keep them clean and I’m planning to swap these out for darker laces.

The side zip gives me plenty of room to get them on and off without undoing the laces. In fact I’ve found these to be among the easiest boots to whip on and off, helped by little touches such as a pulling loop on the back of the ankle.

The side zip is unbranded but good quality and there’s an inner weather flap in addition to the expansion material, which helps keep out the rain.

Helpfully the fastened zip is covered when done up by a flap of the outer material that’s backed with strong Velcro. This flap is made from quite thin material and I thought it might be prone to catching on other bits of clothing or fraying in use, but it hasn’t done so and looks as good as new.

Despite getting a lot of use over the past couple of months there’s no obvious sign of wear to the cuff of the boots and all of the fastenings are holding up well.

Protection and certification

The Held Marick boots are approved to the CE safety standard. They achieve the basic Level 1 pass for boot height, abrasion resistance and transverse rigidity. They pass at the higher Level 2 for impact cut resistance.

I found the soles to have more flex than many of my other riding trainers and boots. This was great for off-the-bike comfort, because they felt more like normal trainers. However, on the bike I noticed this flex when standing on the pegs or moving around on the bike.

The Marick boots passed at the same level of crush resistance as my other boots so it may just be the contrasting feel against others I’ve worn.

The ankle has an unbranded pad, which is a good size while remaining nice and flexible. As there’s no ‘IPA’ mark this can’t be described as ankle impact protection.

To Held’s credit, the marking of ‘WR’ on the label shows water-resistance has been tested as part of the CE approval process.

For everything you need to know about the safety labels in your motorcycle kit, click here.

Comfort

This is one of the greatest strengths of the Marick boots. From the first wear to the last these have been among the most comfortable boots I’ve worn.

This is due in part to there being good amounts of padding. Where some casual boots are as slimline and sleek as possible the Marick style reminds me of the high-top skate/basketball shoes I favour off the bike. This is part of their charm, but also adds bags of comfort.

I’ve been particularly impressed by their comfort for walking. I’ve worn them all day for much of the past two months, including a family trip to the Netherlands and Belgium. Full days exploring local towns, including a good bit of cycling, proved their versatility, comfort and discrete style.

Out of the box they were true to size. The EU 43 I tested was a perfect fit for someone who usually opts for a UK size 9. Over time they have worn in a little more than I’d like and there’s now more room from side to side for my feet. This hasn’t been a huge issue but it might be something to consider if you are stuck between two sizes.

Occasionally, riding trainers with higher ankles can feel uncomfortable, but this is not the case with the Helds. They are a little taller on the ankle than other casual boots I’ve worn recently, but the inner design and padding means they remain very comfortable. Despite a bulky style the ankles still tuck into straight-leg jeans with no problems.

Sole and Grip

The Maricks feature a fairly simple in-house Held sole design, both in terms of the inner and outer.

This has worn well after two months of heavy use on and off the bike. There is a small amount of wear to the outer rear of one of the boots, but little else gives away how many miles they’ve endured.

The insole and boot lining have a soft polyester, which also shows very little sign of use, and despite some long hot days in them they haven’t held onto smell excessively.

Having come to these boots from a pair of less casual premium riding boots with a branded outer sole I’ve not noticed any loss in grip on the go.

The boots have easily matched grip on the bike thanks to a mixture of zigzag and honeycomb grip patterns. Having spent a couple of days cycling in Holland they even provided decent grip on dusty dirt tracks.

The soles give a little more flex than I’m used to in riding trainers and I’ve come to appreciate this, rushing to swap to ordinary footwear far less often than usual.

Waterproofing

So far the Held-Tex waterproof membrane has resisted several late autumnal showers, survived lots of puddle tests on my dog walk and shrugged off a particularly heavy downpour this week.

I feel design features like leather strips on the ankle zips and having the outer material sealed across the zipped halves boost rain resistance.

The inner liner is fairly visible at the top of the boot when worn and I was worried this might lead to rain tracking into the boot from my trousers, however I’ve not actually found this to be the case in practice.

These would probably not be my choice for an all-day ride in the rain, but I would be happy to commute to work in the wet. So far so good, but I will update this review when the weather allows for some more extensive wet testing.

As well as the version I tested, the Marick boots are available in a non-waterproof version. There’s around a £20 difference in the price and for riders in the British climate I can’t see many reasons to opt for the non-waterproof version.

Three alternatives to the Held Marick boots

Casual riding boots remain very popular and there are lots of options to choose from. Here are three of the best:

• With a somewhat similar style, I found the DXR Claytons to be great casual boots with a nice leather finish when I reviewed them. At £79.99 they’re more affordable than the Marick boots and offer a lot of style for not a lot of money.

• Spada’s Strider Pro boots faced a brutal test in the hands of riding instructor Jon Mansfield, which you can read here. At £109.99 they’re £30 cheaper than the Marick boots, have higher ratings in two aspects of CE testing and earned high praise in the BikeSocial review.

• The TCX Street 3 WP boots are stylish, well made and comfortable. At £149.99 they are only £10 more expensive than the Held boots reviewed here and it’s worth checking out John’s review of them.

These are just three of many alternatives – you can find all the boots we’ve tested here and be sure to regularly check for the discounts available through Bikesocial membership

Held Marick boots - Verdict

Sometimes bike gear is overly complicated, with every conceivable feature thrown in to prove a product’s worth. The Marick boots on test here are the antithesis of this. They are simple, well put together and do precisely the job they were made to do. While they don’t have every possible branded liner, or patented insole, they are good looking, comfortable, hard wearing and so far dependably dry.

The boots have really proven themselves over the past couple of months and I expect them to continue as a go-to piece of kit for me, both on and off the bike.

If you’re after the bleeding edge of boot technology, look elsewhere. But if you are after a simple and reliable casual riding boot, look no further.

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