What snowboard boots?

Arsey

Arsey

Arsey

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Hey, It's my birthday coming up soon and I think I'll be getting myself some snowboard boots. Normally I hire but I would prefer my own boots really.

Has anybody got any advice on what to buy? Brands to avoid? What type of lacing thing? (e.g. normal laces, the wire turn thing etc.)

Cheers
 
my friend has had two sets of vans encore and they keep stretching, apparently they stretch a bit when they are breaking in but they started out as size 9s and ended up at 11s both pairs, he now has some vans danny kass and he says they are much better but he also says that salomon boots are really comfy I suppose just get out to snow and rock and try a load on. is its the same as it is with my personal experience the brand you go for depends on the shape of your foot
 
First you have to make a choice between a hard stiff boot, or a softer more flexible style. I have a pair of Burton Ion HD's, very stiff boot, but I love them, as they suit my riding style, and I can lean into them and they dont move...
Think about how you ride and what you have liked about the boots you have hired...
 
edgedemon said:
First you have to make a choice between a hard stiff boot, or a softer more flexible style. I have a pair of Burton Ion HD's, very stiff boot, but I love them, as they suit my riding style, and I can lean into them and they dont move...
Think about how you ride and what you have liked about the boots you have hired...
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I like my boots to be tight and don't like them to move, so I guess a stiff boot is for me!

Anybody had experience with the wire turning mechanism instead of laces? They look like they could easily snap on the slopes?
 
If you want stiff you should go laces then you tighten them to how you require, those click lock things are carp! most lace ups have a pull tight cord inside first then laces so you will be plenty snug.

Most boots are down to trying them on and seeing what feels most comfortable. My personal choice are 32 boots they are very sturdy and make the lightest boots on the market (supposedly) a few of my friends have had vans and they tended to fall to pieces but you cant go wrong with burton/salomon/32

also have you got a board? you may want to take this with you as boots change there feeling and shape when strapped in or ask to mount a demo board in store
 
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Agree with the above, but some boots have the ability to add plastic inserts into the tongue for extra stiffness, you really are better going to a shop, trying them on and leaning into them to see how they feel...
 
No board, I normally go on one holiday per year and a few times to an indoor place so can't really justify one, especially if the tech will grow old after a few years. I'll head down to Snow and Rock soon and try on some Burton/Salomon/32.
 
edgedemon said:
Agree with the above, but some boots have the ability to add plastic inserts into the tongue for extra stiffness, you really are better going to a shop, trying them on and leaning into them to see how they feel...
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Aye a lot are using reinforced tongues now, i currently have some 32 team 1's about 3 seasons old now if not more and they have a plastic tongue piece and are as stiff as concrete boots but as light as a feather! they can be a little over stiff sometimes for there own good and after a few hours riding can begin to catch my shins! just means i need more socks.

Arsey said:
No board, I normally go on one holiday per year and a few times to an indoor place so can't really justify one, especially if the tech will grow old after a few years. I'll head down to Snow and Rock soon and try on some Burton/Salomon/32.
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A board is a sound investment ;) the tech never improves they just change the logo's! its just profiteering on there part, something like a burton custom hasnt been changed since it was released just gets a facelift every year.
 
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ichabod crane said:
A board is a sound investment ;) the tech never improves they just change the logo's! its just profiteering on there part
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How often will a board need replacing? Hire is so cheap when on package holidays and especially through the university, I think a weeks hire for everything in Tignes in January was around £30!
 
Arsey said:
How often will a board need replacing? Hire is so cheap when on package holidays and especially through the university, I think a weeks hire for everything in Tignes in January was around £30!
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Not very often unless you ride over rocks regularly or stack (very) heavily and crack it. The main benefits to having my own board I find is that it takes me much less time to get back up to speed (say 10 minutes instead of an hour or so) compared with a hire board and I've got the board pretty much any time I want so if the weather is playing nice I can just go on a whim. You'll need to service the board every so often but you can do most of it yourself with some p-tex (for gouges), wax, an iron and an edge sharpening tool if you are so inclined.

Oh and 32 boots have been good for me so far, I've had mine for quite a few years and they haven't stretched a bit - mildly annoying as my feet seem to have grown though. :D I'd personally stick with normal laces if I had to pick, it is one less thing to go wrong and much easier to replace a broken lace than one of those dials.
 
semi-pro waster said:
Oh and 32 boots have been good for me so far, I've had mine for quite a few years and they haven't stretched a bit - mildly annoying as my feet seem to have grown though. :D I'd personally stick with normal laces if I had to pick, it is one less thing to go wrong and much easier to replace a broken lace than one of those dials.
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Do you have 16 pairs of boots or 32 legs? :eek:
 
Arsey said:
How often will a board need replacing? Hire is so cheap when on package holidays and especially through the university, I think a weeks hire for everything in Tignes in January was around £30!
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A board will last years so long as you don't out grow it or crack it around a tree, and it beats hiring hands down you know what you will be riding everytime! both of my boards are verging 4yrs old now and still ride like they did when i bought them
 
Defiantly go into a store and try them on. Different manufactures have profiles that are better suited to narrower or wider feet, so it's really not a case of just saying, "I like the look of those ones".

As for board tech, it's only really the high end models that have the cutting edge tech in them, however this never gets filtered down to the other models, they just produce a new 'high end model' each season. Such as the Burton Vapour.

You will get manufactures trying different things, but they are sometimes just gimmicky... such as Battalions Triple Base technology or Libtech's Magentraction serrated edges.
 
pesionaly i think its a good idea to get boots and bindings together.

i take it you are still hiring?

if so, they might not have any frestyle bindings, as some stores love the clip ins which suck.

I use Nitro boots and bindings, they are over about 6 years old now and they are very very good.

can be stiff and soft, depending how sadistic your willing to be towards your feet and legs.
 
get boots and bindings this year.

snowboard the next

just got back form a sking holiday, Ryanair where going to charge me £50 for the privilege of taking my set-up. so i just took my boots.

it makes a huge difrance as you can justify getting a top of the line snowboard. and trust me you don't have to think about turning any more.
 
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I would advise not to buy them online and go somewhere where you can try lots of different ones.

I tried on about 13 different kinds before I found the right ones :) Really wanted a pair of 32's but just didn't suit my foot shape and can't get into Burton ones at all.

So either find a decent shop, or wait til you get out to the resort as plenty to try then.
 
Arsey said:
Anybody had experience with the wire turning mechanism instead of laces? They look like they could easily snap on the slopes?
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Got a pair of Forum with the wires and haven't had any problems yet. I've actually turned to them more than laces now, as you can tighten them a lot more harder and you can undo them very very quickly at lunch or if you want a 5 minute breether on your feet :) Takes about 5 seconds to do them up which is why I prefer them more now.
 
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