sigmadirk69

I'm getting back into the game. Just picked up Burton supermodel 159 with Burton est triad bindings. QUESTION is, I have a set of Ride boots about 7-10 years old with one seaoson on them (44 DAY PASSES ON SUNAPEE/OKEMO) They were broke in and worked great. Is the technology obsolete now or do you think I'm all set? I hate to spend more money if the boots are still good for another season. Let me know. Thanks

lonerider

RULE #1 - Upgrade your boots before upgrading your board/bindings.

Rule #2 - Don't break Rule #1.

Yes you should get new boots as boot technology has improve a lot in the last decade. If you boots were less than 3 years old or had les than 50 days, then you might be able to squeeze out another season.

poutanen

+1 despite my last comment re:getting a lot of life out of your gear, boots take the most abuse and I wouldn't want to use soft boots with a stiffer setup. It'll feel just wrong.

sigmadirk69

right on lonerider, thanks for the honesty. the board was given to me as a gift, the boots he had for me were 1 size to big so i didn't take them. ill use the old ones for shoveling the drive way and go try on some new ones this week. any boots you recommend these days? I'm sure what was good when I started isn't the same today. I do remember never to skim on boots, most important part of the setup.

lonerider

So finding a good boot is a very personal things as everyone's foot is shaped differently. I highly recommend anything with separate upper/lower lace systems (so you can tighten the upper laces to lock down your ankle... without over-tightening your lower laces and crushing your toes/instep till they get numb). That has been the number one obvious innovation the last 7-10 years that I have really enjoyed. I really liked the idea of BOA laces... but all the models I tried don't spread out the pressure evenly enough for me, leading to pressure points (I have skinny bony feet). I do like quick-pull lacing systems in general though. Heat moldable liners are nice... but they aren't a must have thing (they aren't a panacea to poor boot fit).

I have very narrow heels, with medium wide toes along with flat feet. I found that Nitro boots (Team or Select) are the best brand for preventing my heel from lifting on toeside turns. My flat feet are helped by custom footbeds (I have had both, but I prefer Sole Supports to Custom Superfeet myself).

If you have a medium heel... you should also check out Salomon boots (in order of stiffness Dialogue, Synapse, Malamute). I like them, but my heel lifting unless I really overtightened my laces (which lead to shin/instep pain).

Again, I suggest you try out a lot of different pairs and see what works for you.

Personally I think 32 is mush (all of their boots are floppy compared to other brands). I had a pair of 32 Tm-Twos and while they started out ok (5 out of 10) after like 20 days (about half a season for me back then) they broke down and lost all support. 32 tried to fix it be adding removable plastic inserts into the boot tongues, but that only helped a little. I tried the 32 Primes next, but they weren't much better. Vans is not great either. Other brands I've tried are Ride, K2, DCshoes, Burton.

snowklinger

-whatever fits best.

-aftermarket/custom insoles

-32 fits me well and gives me alot of love, which I try to return, so I say 32's first to everyone. There are haters for every brand, and most people will find they fit one brand better than others usually.

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is it late october yet?

sigmadirk69

Thanks. Ill scope out what the shops around here are offering and try on the brands you guys reccomrnded.

KIRKRIDER

What kind of riding you like? I love carving and pow on a stiff boot. Burton DriverX offers tons of customizable support.

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2012/13 -12- Kirkwood days
Arbor A-Frame 158 2009-10
Jeremy Jones Hovercraft 156, 2011/12
Burton Driver-X
K2-Cinch-CTX
Subaru WRX 06

sigmadirk69

I like hittin the park i.e tabletops and jumps(no pipe), glades, freestyle riding along the sides of trails.