Anyone have experience with any of these soft boots?

[Timeless61]

Currently, I have a pair of Salomon Malamutes 09/10 and Burton Driver X 08/09

the Burton Driver X do not fit me well, I do not think Burton boots fit me in general, the width is okay and length, but the height or volume is not enough, toe box is smaller, and the top of my foot has a lot of pressure on it which causes pain.

the Salomon Malamute fit me pretty well, toe box is roomier, and the top of my foot does not have pressure on it, but for me anyway, the lacing system has sucked. in riding the boots for 1.5 seasons now, I have gone through 3 sets of laces, 3 sets of the teeth that hold the laces, then recently, I did away with the top teeth parts and just tie them, then use a ski boot top strap for around the top of them. however, now the "eyes" do not hold the laces tight like they should so once I flex the boot, they start to loosen, so I do not want to replace them with the same that will most likely have the same problems.

does anyone have experience with any of the following boots? all current model year, how stiff are they, and how do they fit, wide, narrow, small, big, hows the volume?

K2 T1 SPDL
K2 T1
K2 UFO

Burton Driver X

32 Prime
32 Focus Boa

DC Status

Northwave Domain SL

Ride Insano

Deeluxe Vicious (stiffer than spark according to Deeluxe site)
Deeluxe Spark

Celsius Opus

Vans Cirro

thanks in advance, looking to get a new pair as soon as possible.

[energyrail]

I have ride boa crew's. A very stiff low profile softboot. dual boas. fairly low volume. supposed to be a 28 i say bull, fit like a 27, maybe even a small 27. not sure if they are above or below the insano. could use more forward lean built in.
would fit better with my highback settings if they did. most are probably like that.

They are currently collecting dust.

[Timeless61]

after starting this, I started doing some more research, and I did not know the technical term, but it appears I have a higher instep, and the top of my foot is getting crushed basically, so anyone know if these or any other boots work well with a high instep?

thanks,

[energyrail]

i would say my ride's have low a instep

[lafcadio]

after starting this, I started doing some more research, and I did not know the technical term, but it appears I have a higher instep, and the top of my foot is getting crushed basically, so anyone know if these or any other boots work well with a high instep?

thanks,

Would a custom insole help with this?

[Timeless61]

No, a custom insole in the normal sense would not work, unless it was extremely low profile and only provided the arch support and nothing else, but most also have a firm large bed for your heal, I have Alines right now, and they work pretty well, but through all of my research and talking to my friend's father that is a podiatrist, its the top of my foot that has caused my pain for many years, never was the bottom.

for curiosity sake, and hopefully it works I am going to try the Driver X I already own with a lower profile or no insole and see if I have pain, if it works, great, if not, nothing really lost, because the consensus is that after 09, the Driver X is way softer.

[scrapster]

The Driver X's had one really soft season--09/10 I believe--before they started to stiffen them back up. I own the years before and after 09/10, and they're both pretty stiff. Burton also brought the plastic tongue stiffener back in 10/11, but I find that it crushes my in-step, so it probably won't help you either.

Otherwise, I used to ride the K2 T1 single boas. I was satisfied with their stiffness, but couldn't compare them directly to the Drivers from memory. I will say that the toebox in them felt really short and the footbed felt overly firm. I think I had in-step issues in them as well, come to think of it.

Tried Malamutes and wasn't impressed. My Driver's are stiffer. Also owned Northwave Decades and they were reasonable good.

Interested to hear others' thoughts too. I have some old stock Deeluxe GTI that I plan to break into next.

[leeho730]

Own k2 t1 and 32 forecast. Like them both but for me best soft boot ever was 0506 k2 t1.

[Timeless61]

an update on this,

I tried the Driver X with the original insoles, and felt better than with the a-lines I was using, but still got pain from pressure on my instep within 20 mins of wearing them, even after completely loosening the lower zone, pain persisted along with pins and needles. so they are not going to work.

I kept having lacing issues with the Malamutes, so now, I just put regular laces in, and they appear to be working pretty well, I am also using a ski boot strap at the very top of them to secure that even more.

now, this may be helpful to others, this is going off of word of mouth regarding the above boots from reputable shops, but here is what I have learned about the boots in question above:


K2 T1 SPDL
K2 T1
K2 UFO

The newer K2's are more generous and fit a higher instep, the T1 is the least stiff of their freeride models, UFO is in the middle and Thraxis is the stiffest, the Thraxis is not as stiff as a Salomon Malamute.


Burton Driver X
Probably still the stiffest of the bunch, except maybe a Deeluxe Vicious. Not generous for the instep though.

32 Prime
32 Focus Boa
the 32's are not really freeride orientated, the Prime is their stiffest boot, but that is based on freestyle boots

DC Status similar sizing to Burton, lower profile, not as stiff either though,

Northwave Domain SL

Ride Insano similar to DC and Burton sizing, stiff, but mainly stiff for a freestyle driven boot

Deeluxe Vicious (stiffer than spark according to Deeluxe site)
Deeluxe Spark

Deeluxe Vicious fits very similar to a Burton Driver X, just slightly more room for instep, but not a whole lot, also heal is pretty big compared to Driver X, a guy at Hoback Sports tried both on for me to tell me what each felt like compared to the other, I know not a great test, but still helped me eliminate the Vicious from my search

Celsius Opus
Did not really hear much, but more freestyle driven

Vans Cirro
Did not hear a whole lot, but lower profile like Burton and DC

[ecshredder]

Salomon really screwed up the Malamutes about 3 years ago. They
were rock solid before that.

[heroshmero]

I have a pair of 10/11 Ride Insano boots. I find them to be wide and comfortable for my 13 wide foot. They are lightweight and are quite stiff and supportive for me at 250 lbs. I really like the dual zone Boa lacing system (first boots I have had with the Boa lacing system).

The only thing I am disappointed with is the outsole of the boot seems a little soft. I'm not sure how long they will last. I just try to avoid walking around in them much.

[durace]

I have the Flow One's from last year. They are stiffer than my Track 325's by a long shot and very comfortable.
http://www.flow.com/Products/mens-bo.../FB11M2ONFCBCH

[Timeless61]

Good to know about the Flows, for next year, I was told anyway, that there will be a very expensive Flow boot that seemed cool for this type of riding, same with the new K2 Thraxis.

the malamute will have a new lacing system also, supposed to be good...

[Rob Stevens]

Deeluxe Spark and be done with it.

[DrCR]

Deeluxe Spark and be done with it.

That's pretty high praise. Do they have a big heal, like Timeless61 reported of the Vicious? That would be a con for me.

Anyone have experience with the Nike Kaiju?

I'm looking for softies for pow days, and may just buy Buton Rulers or Imperials retail but the Deeluxe Spark and Nike Kaiju caught my eye.

[Timeless61]

That's pretty high praise. Do they have a big heal, like Timeless61 reported of the Vicious? That would be a con for me.

Anyone have experience with the Nike Kaiju?

I'm looking for softies for pow days, and may just buy Buton Rulers or Imperials retail but the Deeluxe Spark and Nike Kaiju caught my eye.

I was told Deeluxe are all about the same fit, with a wider heel than the driver, but otherwise similar, considering their fit of hardboots, wider heel and such.. that makes sense, also, the Vicious and Driver X are about the same stiffness. I have been told the Spark is not really that stiff of a boot.

I have heard the Nike Kaiju is really not that stiff, but it has a narrower fit overall, but seems to have a slightly wider forefoot than other Nikes, I have never seen any Nike snowboarding boots, I was actually looking at them online the other night. I will probably get a new set of boots next year, may see if anyone makes a wide width, I believe Salomon does, Malamutes accommodate my instep, as I can always add some J or C bars for ankle hold.

[Flow243]

Hey all,

short time lurker who had to say something about the Ride Insano boots. I have the 11/12 model and while they fit great and I like the convenience of the double boa system, these boots tend to fall apart. I'm waiting to send back the pair I just got back from warranty, back for warranty. There is a banked slalom race this weekend that I don't have time to break in a new pair of boots for so I'm keeping this pair until Monday and then sending them back. Both pair have come apart where the boa system goes in and out of the top of the boot. I think I'm putting too much force on a pretty stiff(soft boot) and it just can't hold up. It's the back foot and both boots pair have failed in the first 15 days.

I'm hoping they don't send me another pair as these boots don't work for what I'm doing. I'm going to ask for a different model with laces. I've never in 25 years had boots fail like this. I've got another pair new in the box and I'm trying to unload them. I got them as a backup to the first pair in case the shoe goo repair didn't survive the Baker LBS. After the second pair failed, I just want out of these boots.

Just my opinion but 2 pair with less than 15 days on them seems like it's worth the warning. If anyone is wondering, I weight 155lbs, ride a 17 front -3 back stance that is 22 inches wide, and I've been riding a Salomon Sick Stick 80% of the time in these boots.