Snowboard boots

[Ba-Riedo]

After 6 years my solomon boots are toast, I have been through 2 boards in the meantime but never decided to get new boots. So now I am going to start looking but what do you guys like? I don't ride in the park much, mostly in the trees and some backcountry stuff, some groomed as well.

-Alex

[wolfpackjeeper]

I love my airwalk boots. But I have flow bindings so that helps with the comfort a lot.

I got a sweetheart deal on them through ebay.

[Ba-Riedo]

I have Ride EX bindings in my thrashing board and Burton Customs on my nice board. Never been a fan of flow bindings...

-Alex

[wolfpackjeeper]

yea, its a personal preference for sure. Normal bindings make my feet go to sleep, and I hate clip ins. The flows have worked wonderfully.

Dad made me a thrashing board last year. it was actually pretty easy if you have a good wood shop. used a PTFE plastic for the base, bought the edging material off line. The deck is strips of white pine and red cedar. We used MDF to make the form to mold it, and a vacuum setup to form it while the epoxy was curing. After he gets into it again he is going to try air pressing the next one. We ended up with some delam issues on this one after a few days of beating the hell out of it. The board looked fantastic though. We also made some logos printed on rice paper, floatng over the wood it looks really good.


But this is about boots. I have also worn some burtons that were nice but too pricy.

[NW-ZJ-SCOTT]

Thirtytwo's

[gradon]

I have a pair of Blue Northwaves size 11 in good condition if anyone's lookin. . . My current airwalks need to be replaced. Anyone have good experience with DC?

[js_customs]

I have northwave boots, can't remember the model name but they have air pockets in the heels and they're super comfortable. My gf just got burton boots and really likes them also.

[souske]

I like my Burtons, maybe look for an older model year?

[Ba-Riedo]

I'll be getting new ones, but probably at the end of this year when they go on sale.

Has anyone tried the Nike ones? They look pretty cool and I love my Nike shoes...:)

-Alex

[redneckboarder]

ive ridden for 18 yrs. northwave is the only way to go. ive tried burton and theyre a close 2nd

[snail]

forget goin trendy and getting the "cool" brands like forum, DC, etc. theyre all good, but unnecessarily expense. ive worn a pair salomon autofits for the last 4 years (5 included this season) and they hardly show any wear and are pretty warm and comfortable. i dont remember the price, but at the time i remember they were considerably cheaper than the before mentioned brands

[vincepru]

get full tilts. after you buy yourself some skis. :P

[HEX-J]

I've been on the same set of Ride Orions for the past 5 years, comfortable, very little wear.

[mini=man]

I've worn Northwave, Burton, and Solomon and I must say I've hated the three pairs of Solomon's I've owned. They pinch my heels and put my toes to sleep. Northwaves run fairly narrow but were very comfortable when broken in. But the Burtons I had were by far my favorite. I plan on trying Vans this season when I can get my hands on some. In my experiance Vans shoes have held up great and fit my feet amazing so I can only hope their boots are the same.

[Idiot Wind]

ive ridden for 18 yrs. northwave is the only way to go. ive tried burton and theyre a close 2nd
I agree with this.

[5spd_xj]

I had a pair of Forum boots way back when, they were a low end boot but decent. I've had Northwaves and liked them alot. Currently I have a pair of Vans Fargo boots with the BOA lacing, and I love them. Super comfortable, good support and really durable. Not to mention easy and consistent lacing with the BOA laces. I do keep a spare cable with me though as they do like to fray and eventually wear out and snap. But it takes all of 2 minutes to put the new lace on and back in business.

Long story short, I'd gladly give a recommendation for Northwave and Vans :thumbup: Happy Ridin

[Mesh]

Every foot is different find a good shop that will take the time to find the perfect fit. Don't focus on one brand color gimmick try every boot see what works for you. If the best fitting boot ended up being pink with hello kitty on the side I would wear it.

Five years on one boot how many days and how hard are you guys riding?

[XJEEPER]

Been boarding since 1989, been thru 3 Burton freestyle-type boards/bindings. Burton boots fit me best and wear well , I wear a 10.5-11, have a high arch and wide foot. My ride style is mainly freecarving with some natural terrain/park thrown in for fun.

"You're hurtin' for certain if you ain't ridin' Burton......." :laugh3:

[5spd_xj]

I hate Burton. Everything I've owned of theirs has either broken, fallen apart, or worn out really easily. Not to mention being about 1.5x the price of comparable equipment from other manufacturers :rolleyes:

[wolfpackjeeper]

I hate Burton. Everything I've owned of theirs has either broken, fallen apart, or worn out really easily. Not to mention being about 1.5x the price of comparable equipment from other manufacturers :rolleyes:

highfive

They make some good stuff, but they are really proud of it. It also seems that most of the yuppies stick to Burton like lesbians to Burkenstocks.

[XJEEPER]

I hate Burton. Everything I've owned of theirs has either broken, fallen apart, or worn out really easily. Not to mention being about 1.5x the price of comparable equipment from other manufacturers :rolleyes:

Sorry you've had this experience. Riding style, frequency and terrain are variables which directly effect equipment longevity, as does maintenance.......I get a kick out people who cry that they lost a strap or their bindings ripped out, but never pick up a tool to keep their gear in tune. I have a 1993 Craig Kelly 163cm that I still ride regularly.......doesn't seem to want to wear out or break. ;>)

I've never had a problem with Burton........and only a fool pays retail. :looney:

[5spd_xj]

Sorry you've had this experience.

No worries. I'm not the only one though... As was said above, it seems that *for the most part* alot of the people riding Burton stuff are people riding it just for the namesake, and because in their eyes Burton is the irrefutable best product on the market. At my local shop, I've heard the managers commenting multiple times that the *only* reason they carried Burton product was the fact that they wouldn't be able to keep afloat otherwise.

Riding style, frequency and terrain are variables which directly effect equipment longevity, as does maintenance.

:thumbup: for sure

I get a kick out people who cry that they lost a strap or their bindings ripped out, but never pick up a tool to keep their gear in tune.

I keep my stuff in the best shape I can. Last thing I want is to be riding what has the potential to be great, but is total crap due to my irresponsibility in maintenance. I also like hearing people pass the buck onto either the manufacturer of whatever they're riding, or the shop they bought something from, when in reality it's obviously their own ignorance at fault.

I have a 1993 Craig Kelly 163cm that I still ride regularly.......doesn't seem to want to wear out or break. ;>)

Craig Kelly is the man :cheers: I bet that's a nice board. I don't deny that Burton did a whole lot of good for the industry back in the early days, but I think they've gotten a wee-bit overrated in recent years as far as product quality/reputation...

and only a fool pays retail. :looney:

I agree with ya there. For the past few years I've been riding Illuminati decks with Union bindings, and I think both of those companies are just awesome. Great quality, awesome pricing, rider owned and operated, and like you say about retail, I got huge price breaks from both of the companies directly, and all I did was call and talk(with owners right off the bat) with them about riding, then they asked what I was looking for, and offered the deal. Try that with Burton (unless your name's Shaun White :D)

[Ba-Riedo]

Turns out I have MWF off of school this quarter, and I can only work so much. ;)

Time to board!

-Alex

[5spd_xj]

awwww poor guy!! Have fun :D