GreyDragon

I've ridden Salomon F20s the past couple of years and absolutely loved them. Then I tried on the new Salomon F4.0s late last year. The new wrap lacing system is an excellent evolution from Salomon's speed lacing.

However I, like you, wanted to go Boa, for both the convenience to adjust on the fly as well as getting the lace as tight as I'd like.

After researching boa focus boots, I ended up recently buying DC Judges. They are as low profile as Salomon's F series, which I like (no moon boots for me please!).
They're relatively stiff like the F22, so I would recommend them. If you want to go Malamute stiff, then move up to the DC Status.

Good luck!

pdxrealtor

Hey thanks bro, for the info. I'll look into them for sure.

Enjoy your new boots.

atr3yu

For what it's worth I was looking for new boots this year as well and will be riding all mtn, pow, and trees.... so similar. I did try some BOA boots, but always went back to the speed lace. The BOA just never felt right to me, never quite snug or tight enough without digging in. Anyways, I settle on the Ride RFL's. No idea how they compared to your old boots, but they are light as hell, super comfy, and I think the speed lace is pretty close to as fast as the BOA.

pdxrealtor

Grey Dragon,

How's that liner in the Judge feel? I believe it's the same as the status liner, and there are no laces. Thought that was weird.

Any input?

GreyDragon

The liner has a lace. It runs about halfway up the the ankle portion of the boot and is closed by sliding a cinch down to tighten. Then there is a wrap strap at the top to secure that portion snugly around your ankle at the very top of the liner.

FYI, I was at the Toronto Ski Show last night and compared the Judge and the Status side by side. I definitely prefer the Judge. The Judge seemed to strike a good balance between responsive stiffness and comfortable flex. The Status seemed, well, overbuilt to me.

Also, I saw other brands' boots with Boa lacing. If you want low profile (like me), these two DC boots are the way to go IMO. The closest after that would be Flow Hylites. Everything else seemed bulky.

Hope this helps.

TorpedoVegas

I was shopping for new boots this week and tried the Judges and the new T.Rice Status boots.

I liked the feel of the Status a lot more myself but found a flaw in the liners. The footbeds I think are too big for the liners and they have creases in them near the heels because of it, and when you put your foot into it you feel a sharp point on both sides of the foot. I thought it might be a one time issue but I went to another store in town and tried on a pair of Status and it was exactly the same in 2 different pairs from that store as well. For the price of those boots that small manufacturing defect was a deal breaker for me.

I ended by buying the K2 Thraxis boots in the end after trying on pretty much every type of Boa boot on the market, and few of the Nikes with traditional laces as well.

pdxrealtor

Thanks. Did you look at the Status liner enough to confirm laces or no laces? I found this picture (finally) and it is the same as a sketched picture on DC's website for last years Status. It's the alpha liner, which according to DC's website is the same liner the Judge has.

I find it odd that there are no laces and am curious on how it feels.

Are you sure it wasn't the J bars? There are supposed to be 2 removable bars on each side.


I'm at the mercy of ordering and trying shit on via Dogfunk or the like. I want the option to return if, after a few days on the hill, they end up not working for me.

I can't even go try shit on locally because all of the shops around don't have full stock yet and/or aren't getting in all the boots I'm looking at trying.

I did order some Synapse.... they turned out to be too big so they're going back. They don't have any more in my size ( I went down to REI and got sized properly then tried on boots to confirm size) and I'm kind of glad because I felt like I was settling with the Synapse. I really want something stiffer than the F22s and that would be Malamute/Status/Driver X/Thraxis

If the Status don't work out my next move will be towards the Thraxis but that's a damn expensive boot. I just haven't seen the praise on longevity or comfort with that boot. Maybe it's because I really haven't had it in the running.

Attached Images

status liner.jpg (57.2 KB, 58 views)

TorpedoVegas

Positive it wasn't J bars, we pulled out the liners and removed the footbeds and the footbed itself was kinking on the sides due to being slightly too long for the liners. Not sure if that problem would work itself out but I wasn't about to take the chance and ride with the pain for a while after spending over 400 bucks on boots. When a boot of that price seems to have a small manufacturing defect it just makes me wonder about the other quality control issues that might come up throughout the season. If it was a one pair anomoly I would have overlooked it, but it was 3 pairs at 2 different shops. It might not be an issue with every size though, who knows. I was trying on size 10s

Nivek

There aren't even enough people out there riding the Traxis to give a feel of how durable they are... That said, I put over 200 days on a pair of T1's over 2 years and other than the spine they're in great condition. K2's last. And with Endo the back stays will last twice as long.

Its footbeds are too long. Happened 2 years ago too with the Judge. DC came in with new footbeds and switched them all. And if they're Outlast in the DC then they aren't made in the same factory as the liners or shells. While this might be something people would be turned off by, you should be buying aftermarket insoles anyway so who gives a poop if the insole feels bad. Ultimately DC makes shitty boots so it fine if you don't go with them.

__________________
Snowboarding Sucks.

pdxrealtor

I don't know the terminology well enough I guess. I was thinking something completely different when you said foot beds.

A side from replacing them, why not just cut them to size?

However, I do understand your point.... if there's one simple oversight like foot beds that are too long, then what else is going to be wrong. That IS a very simple QC oversight and does seem rather sloppy.

NIVEK- a side from your opinion on DC quality can you shed any light on the liner and if it does not have laces how that feels?

As far as amount of people riding the Thraxis the same could be said for the Status. Now... . try to get info on the Malamute and you could spend all day reading about peoples experience with them.