danzo

I recently bought a new pair of boots after noticing my traditional laced noob boots got way too soft on me. Feet were getting insanely tired in my runs, and they just weren't giving me the response I needed in bumpy sections. They are now suffering from deformation in the sidewalls. (I notice my carves starting to chatter/skip when I put my weight into it.)

So I have bought a pair of speed lace boots, with 540 heel support. They got an air bubble for impact dampening with a heat moldable inner lining, and have a flex rating of 7/10.

I notice the build differences in the 2 boots, but my main concern is will these boots eventually soften up on me too? The noob boots lasted me 2 seasons, what can I expect out of these? (northwave legends) should I have gotten a 10/10 flex rated boot?

DrEwTiMe

I am not familiar with that brand but typically you don't want to go to a 10 If your not sure that's what you want. A 7 is a food place to start, from there you will have a good gage as to what stuff will feel like. But If you want to keep a boot that will do both park and trails good then don't go too far over a 7 or under a 5 or you will notice its limitations in their respective opposite set of conditions.

Break in is all about the boot. Some last longer then others. You get what you pay for in most cases with boots.

Extremo

It's subjective. Once you've been in enough boots you get to know what's stiff and what isn't. Boots have different flex patterns that need to be taken into consideration as well.

The time that they will last are relative to how much you ride and how well the boot is constructed. I've had boots last several seasons and boots that haven't lasted 1.

Soul06

I'm curious why you refer to traditional laced boots as "noob boots".

But boot stiffness is designed for different types of riding. You wouldn't really want a 10/10 stiff boot if you are doing mostly park

DrEwTiMe

Haha I'm wondering the same thing considering the boots I just bought are traditional lace!

TLN

What is your weight, skill and how do you gonna ride?
For 200+ lbs guy riding freeride with corresponding skills you can take 10/10 and say "it's not that stiff"

danzo

Interesting, well I wasn't referring to all traditional lace systems to be noob boots, just mine, they were lower end northwaves.

I'm 5'8 @ 175 lbs.

These new boots I got are Def jamming, the heel lock system seemed to be the key, along with the stiffer sole construction. Being able to tighten bottom and top sections independently on the fly also were a major help.

I guess my main concern is when will the boot decide to go limp on me. Looks like I've learned that it's a normal thing to renew gear every once in a while.