SNOWBOARD BOOT 101

As in many industries, there is an abundance of misinformation in the snowboard world.   The following tips come from years of experience in the industry, and are designed to cut through some of the tech talk and misleading jargon.  If you would like us to find you the perfect boot for your needs, please email the following information: Weight, US (Nike) Shoe size, Preferred style of riding, Ability level, Areas at which you most typically ride.  

Your boots should be snug.  The most common complaint about boots is that they are too loose, not to tight.  The junction between rider and board begins with the boot, as it is in the most direct contact with the rider.  When fitting boots, use the following method: A. Slip into the boot.  B. Kick your heel back against the ground several times to drive it back into the boot's heel pocket. C.  Lace the boot tightly, as though you were going to ride.  NOTE: This is where most sizing mistakes are made.  A snowboard boot is shaped like an upside down "7".  The back has a good degree of forward lean.  Thus, when you drop into the boot, your heel may be resting up to an inch away from the back of the boot, and your toes may be jammed into the front of the boot.  Until the boot is tightly laced, you will not know if it is a proper fit.  D.  Your toes should now have firm pressure against the front of the boot.  As this is the crux of sizing, let's discuss firm pressure:  When you flex your knee forward hard, the pressure should lighten, or cease, as your toes pull back.  At no time should you feel numbness or lose circulation.  Your toes will be in contact with the end of the boot, unlike in a properly fit street or athletic shoe (snowboard boots are designed to fit more snugly than your other shoes).  When you have achieved this combination of firm pressure and no circulation loss, you have found the correct size!

Don't strangle your feet with to many socks.  Adding socks will not usually add warmth.   In many cases it will insure that your feet are cold.  Consider:  Martina goes to her local snowboard shop in her street shoes and socks, and uses the above method to pick her boots.  Now it's the weekend and it's 10 degrees on the hill, and she's preparing to ride.  She reasons, "It's cold out, I'm going to wear two pairs of boarding socks".  Martina is in for a frigid day.  There is no room in her boots (originally fit with a thin set of street socks), for two sets of snowboard socks.  The extra volume inside the boots will cut off her circulation, freeze her feet, and send her to the lodge while her friends are out ripping.  Most good snowboard boots are quite warm.  Wear one good set of snowboard socks when you try on your boots.  Wear those socks, or ones of similar thickness when you go riding.

Growth room is not a good option.  When buying for kids, getting a size or two too large seems reasonable, but can be disastrous.  If your kids have extra room for growth, they will slip back and forth inside their boots, sacrificing control over the board.  When they lean forward to initiate a toe side turn, very little will happen, outside of their feet sliding in their boots and their heel's lifting.  This is both discouraging and dangerous.  Some of this room may be eaten up by extra socks, but this also is an imperfect solution, as the layers tend to slide on each other and not truly correct the problem.  For the cost conscious (and who isn't), take heart, although this may mean buying new boots each season, boards and bindings can usually be sized to last many years.

There is no consistency in boot sizing from one brand to another (and sometimes within brands).   Most major companies have their boots produced in factories in one or more foreign countries.  This being the case, most of the US sizes that boots are labeled with, are actually approximated conversions from one of five foreign sizing standards.  To further exaggerate the problem, the companies use different lasts (templates around which the boots are created) which also vary in size.  The best way to figure out what size will fit, is to e-mail us using the link above, and we will find the appropriate relative size in the best model for your needs.

Boots stretch.  Remember to factor in the reality that boots are made primarily of fabrics and leather, and will most certainly stretch or "break in" with use.  A boot which felt fairly snug in the shop may be too loose, or "sloppy", after a couple of weeks on the slopes.  Err on the side of snugness.

Mechanical step-in Boots/Bindings are a low performance option.  Here we continue our crusade against traditional step in boots/bindings.  Problems: A. They are not easier to get into in many snow conditions.  There is a mechanical engagement system (usually metal) which needs to be free of snow to function. As such, riders find themselves sitting in the snow scraping out their bindings with their keys whenever the snow gets sticky (or slushy, or too cold, etc.).  B.  If they are not easier to get into, then there is no reason to use them, as they lack in every other category (read on).  C.  The boots are heavy (as they contain part of the mechanical engagement system), less comfortable (as many have the forward lean adjustment and reinforcement, usually associated with the back of the binding, built into the back of the boot), and colder (as extra metal or reinforcement, replacing padding and insulation, reduces warmth).  D. THE KILLER: To deal with the problem of snow or ice build up in the mechanism, a certain degree of "mechanical slop" has to be factored into the design of each style of mechanical step in.  The less slop, the harder to get into.  The more slop, the less the precision of  your riding.  It is unacceptable for the most expensive boots/bindings (step- ins) available to be a lower performance option than their less expensive alternatives (traditional strap ins).