Just curious hy you're looking at boa only? For your riding style the f22s and the malamutes really are great options if they fit. Boas seem to be love, or hate and preferred by the lazy and those that aren't discerning. ymmv
Boa Focus is unmatched in performance.
Those that aren't discerning? What are you claiming is better than BOA then? And then why is every manufacturer that uses BOA using it on their top end boots (except Salomon apparently, though I'd bet it wont be long before Malamutes get a dial) if the target is for the customer who isn't discerning? The people that are buying top of the line boots are nearly always performance whores. You are not making sense.
If F22 fit great look into the F2.0 or Synapse. Though as always, your foot, your fit. Try shit on and pick for yourself. Then buy after market insoles as even the slightly built Salomons are still pretty much useless.
Malamutes are sick! Really love it. Got two pairs.
But they're stiff, and you gotta be ready for this. This is for high-speed freeriders who want to get super responsive.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I just tried pulling out the liner from the Judges. Seems that the lace I mentioned is attached to a "sleeve" inside the outer boot. The liner fits into this sleeve and then you cinch up the lace on the sleeve. It feels the same as if the lace was attached directly to the liner IMO. As I mentioned, there is also a "power strap" attached to the liner at the very top which tightens the liner at that area. It all feels as good as my F20s.
Can't comment on the quality of DCs as I'm new to them. I don't see why they would be a crappy product but time will tell. Also, Per Nivek's comment, I replace the footbed in my boots with good quality aftermarket footbeds. They ARE worth the money.
First day on the slopes with the status boots. Amazingly I had no issues with the boots on my feet. No pressure point or sore spots. I was actually quite surprised. I did put in new foot soles and I broke them (the boots) in around the house, mostly on the treadmill, for a few hours.
They're stiff, a noticeable difference between my f22s, but not much. One thing I did notice was that walking on ice wasn't as pleasant as it was with my f22s. The sole of the boot is not as agressive. The boa stayed tight all day. I couldn't really judge how warm they we're because it was high 20s and sunny outside.
I'll need to put a few more days on them but it was better than a good start.
A perfect match to my diodes and billy goat.
Thanks for all the info. Hope this thread helps out other potential buyers. Feel free to ask me any questions.
Thanks for the follow up post.
Good to hear that you had no problems with the Status.
I bought them as well after again trying on the Judges I had and thinking I may want a stiffer boot for some days.
And I'm jealous as hell that you're riding already!
Enjoy!
We had opening day yesterday! Enough super wet powder to keep you down if your fell, and get face shots on a good shred. Pretty stoked. Had a great day.
The place is shredded to shit now, and it's been raining so......
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