School me on Motocross boots

[UTpowder]

Dirt bike jong here. Have always spent my summer free time either fly fishing or being pulled around the lake behind the boat. My little brother got me out riding a couple times last year, had such a great time I decided I needed bike. Picked one up for me and one for my daughter for Christmas. Should be something fun for us to do together. We both like the boat but its hard sometimes to get enough people to go or they seem to not understand that boats require lots of gas. I'm slowly working on getting us outfitted with the proper riding gear and would like to get some boots fairly soon as we have a trip to the desert planned over spring break.

There's quite a difference in the price of boots. I am not one to buy something cheap and have it fall apart or not meet my needs. I still like to get a good price but am willing to spend some money to get the best value.

Will mostly be trail riding, probably not anything on the track. I understand the pivot vs not pivot boots. Is it worth the extra cash to invest in a pivot boot?
what should I be looking for? Is there a spot where value and cost meet? Have looked at Fox instinct's and comp 5's, Oneal RDX and Elements, as well as the Alpinestars.

I'll be using mine for quite a while, daughters heading to collage next year and I doubt she'll get much riding in then. (Hopefully she will still come home and do a few things with her old man every once in a while)

Any recommendations?

[MotoBeak]

I would recommend the Alpinestars Tech 7 for you. Good protection, easy break-in, great construction, durable. For her, the Alpinestars Tech 3. It's a good price and a lot of boot for the money. The Tech 3 would work for you as well to keep the price easier. I have 3 years and a lot of hard riding on Tech 3s, and they've been a good boot.

[TexasGortex]

I have the O'Neal Element. I bought them because the price was right and they fit well, opposed to shopping for features. I just needed some boots ASAP. I know there are many better boots on the market. I ended up being really happy with them anyway. They are only a few years old but they are still holding up well, and I haven't found myself wanting for missing features. I think I got them for $100 or less. I like the flat style sole. I only do trail riding, nothing too bananas or racing. I don't think I'm talented or aggressive enough to require more than a basic boot; I really just want a good fit.

I've had countless crashes off road, and 2 on road (one gravel, one pavement) with these boots on and feel they give adequate protection. I was never left thinking "that boot let me down" or "I should have bought something else".

They could be more waterproof, but in my experience water is coming over the cuff anyway most of the time I ride. (My riding area has tons of water crossings, streams, rivers, ponds etc). I'd prefer drain holes (like Jungle Boots) to waterproofing for warm weather riding anyway.

Get a boot dryer. I let my boots dry in the garage after tearing up some swampy areas and I have NEVER smelled footwear that bad. Barefoot ski liners got nothing on them.