[Cambered234]

I am too always looking for that perfect boot. I am very picky in that area. I buy a lot of boots, mostly on sale or slightly used and ride them for a couple of days before I sell them again. The reason for that is that in my experience you can’t really tell if a boot will fit well while riding by just trying it on in the store.

I have quite narrow feet, skinny ankles and a high instep. The main issues with most boots are either heel lift or pressure point on top of foot. I am currently most comfortable in my vans verse but they are not perfect. I find them a bit too weak, soft and low in the upper part of the boot. I rode Salomon malamute for a week last year and performance wise that is a great boot. I tried all kind of modding to get it to lock my heel in properly but ended up selling the boots. Also rode 32 tm3 and nitro select but both with pressure point on top of foot with toes going numb as a consequence.

Oh, and just got a pair of ride fuse that I’m going the try out when the season starts.

I found the same with Malamutes and the heel lift… I purposely tried to squeeze my foot in one that was impossibly smaller than I could ride just to see if the heel lift went away, and it did not. So weird because I usually don’t run into heel lift with new boots. I have no idea why they stopped making them the way they used to.
I’m TOTALLY right there with you and the numbness! I am also always looking for the perfect boot for me. I’ve got a spot on the top of my feet that if it’s pressed too hard my toes go number… so one of the things that helps me is going super performance fit because when there’s no space in the boot I don’t have to tighten it down as much and I don’t have to crank the binding straps overly tight either (and get better response). Then the only issue I get is my big toes mashed up against the front, but I have found that if a good heat molding doesn’t do the trick, then I’ll hit the spot with a hairdryer. If that still doesn’t work then I do some cutting and taping and that’ll work.
Then I run into the next issue with boots: flex retention and construction holding up. Here’s another area where I’ve found that the super performance fit helps because I don’t have to tighten the boot as much, seems to help flex retention better than a boot that needs to tighten a lot in the first few days to get rid of slop. Then there’s construction issues, which wasn’t as much of an issue until I went back to Burton boots… first I made a bad choice to give the SLX (a softer boot than I would normally look at) a try because, against my better judgement, I listened to the pitch that it’s the premium materials, liner, etc. so after 15 days it’ll be stiffer than others because it’ll retain its flex better. That was a disaster. Luckily, I only bought 1 pair but went through 3 pair very quickly because the damn toe box completely collapses and rolls in (the boot breaks). They kept replacing it but screw that, they weren’t rideable in stiff bindings once that happens. Then I switched to driver X’s. Everyone kept saying they were the stiffest boot out there. I never found them to be as stiff as people made them out to be, and it didn’t matter because after a few days riding they get a crease and lose a lot of it. However, the bottom and toe box was fine and I could ride them still… oh wait, nope never mind: the damn toe box on these collapsed around 20 days across the joint where the plastic meets the synthetic material. Got a replacement and the same thing happened, again around the same time. They again replaced these and I didn’t get enough time to blow out the toe box, but it’ll happen very soon. So that’s a total of 6 pair of burton boots, 5 pair with crappy toes boxes (so far), 4 of which busted in a single season. My Thirtytwo TM-2 boa held up better and longer than the Burton boots (in hindsight I would have gone traditional laces with those as well as the xlt). I reached out to a couple of sources I know (leaving it like that because I don’t want to get anyone in trouble) and they were not shy about the company knowing about these kinds of issues but their target audience isn’t the person getting 100 days per season, it’s the person that gets 20-30 days over a few years. Wow! It’s a good thing I didn’t buy 6 pair (warranty department)! Sucks because if the Driver X’s had been able to last longer then I could’ve ridden that boot forever because it was fantastic until it wasn’t. Thank you very little Burton.
I’ve never ridden the Insanos but I’ve tried them on. I have heard about the cold feet thing and that’s just not something I want to invest in. The shell construction seems great though.
Malamutes would be great… the way they used to be made.
Vans boots look really cool, but I’ve had issues with their fit. They are either too big or too small. I wasn’t able to get them the way I needed.
I’ve got high hopes for the Thraxis regarding flex retention. The wings that the lower laces go through are quite interesting… I’d like to know more about the engineering purpose behind them, but the rubber around them seem like they do a good job of mitigating the affect of creases/articulation 🤷‍♂️.
Im not a lightweight rider and Im still hitting the gnar terrain as I was in my early 20’s, I don’t ride park anymore just because it isn’t interesting to me as it was when I was a teenager, but I’ll throw a method if it’s a good natural feature… I like stiffness to come from my boots and I press enough to get flex out them, they don’t prevent me from bending my knees. I prefer the responsiveness of the stiff boots. Over the years I’ve spent way more time obsessing over my boots (boot fitting maintenance, talking with people about boots, looking for the “right” boot for me) than I ever have with boards. I realize everyone’s feet are different, but I really like reading about methods of fitting people have tried, trials and tribulations people have had with boots, etc. more than boards.

 

[Cambered234]

Thank you for that. I thought I was totally incompetent - it's nice to hear I'm not the only one struggling with this.

I think my confidence was totally shot when I purchased a pair of Burton Ions, 2 years ago. At home, they felt snug but fine, so I went on and got them heat molded. First day on the snow, I went from having my soles cramp to noticable heel lift. Several visits to a local store with (more of a ski boot) fitter, best I could end up fixing is the heel lift, but by the time I took them out around 10 times, I started developing this severe pain caused by instep pressure (with the acompanied toe numbness, cold feet from loss of circulation etc). And leaving them completely loose (to see if I was over tightening or something) didn't really fix anything either: i just got cramps in my soles before even made one run.

I tried fixing the issue myself, by following Angry snowboarder's suggestions on padding the places where the tongue touches the rest of the boot, and while it did help a bit, it was never enough. Seems like as soon as I strap in, the weight of the snowboard hanging on on the straps is enough to induce painful amounts of instep pressure.

It wasn't until I purchased a pair of Burton Photons, and was able to put my foot in one boot and the other at the same time, that I could identify that I actually feel the instep pressure just by putting my foot into an unlaced Ion, because the Photon just had so much more room there. The Photons, laced up at home, felt I could keep them on my feet all day (and, for the most part, that came out true). Sadly, the Photon has that plastic boa channel near the ankle, so after 3 -4 hours of riding I do need to take a break and unlace for a bit, before I can finish the day.

And now I have a pair of 32 TM-2s at home and I can feel & see a large hotspot in the middle of my instep, whcih leads to slight numbness in my toes just by sitting in them laced up, and I have no idea how to figure out if this is something that heat molding will fix or not. I can feel the pressure on the instep being relieved if I put my weight on both feet, as I sink more into the boots, but how do I figure out if there is truly enough material in the liner, so that it will compact enough to make to more permanent and will the outer shell prevent the pressure from the straps from reaching my instep, or will it just hurt as it hurt with the Ions?

I have 0 confidence in being able to sell them as used, due to living in a small country, and the fact that they are a wide model. I kind of don't want to end up with a pile of unworn shoes in the attic, as I usually have to pay full price for each, due to them being wide models in really unpopular small sizes.

Anyway, my current plan is: continue into another season with my Burton Photons, while trying to find an alternative that might be comfortable enough for the whole day. For which I don't really have all that many options, due to my EEE width feet. So I'm more or less trying to grasp on straws.

And of course, I need to decide if I should send these 32 TM-2s back, before the 30 days return is over, or not.

How is the fit?… any chance they are too big? I get the instep problem. Man, it suckssss! For me, my foot has these problems when a boot is too big, and I don’t mean literally too big, I mean anything bigger than tight performance fit. I found that those internal harnesses are a big part of the problem as the lower lace of it it tighten down right on top of a vein or something that seems to cut off circulation. When the boot is a comfort fit, I have to pull that string and tighten the tongue down too much… to the point that simply strapping the binding on would cause this issue. The board hanging when on the lift would be excruciating sometimes and the ankle straps just made problems worse.
So for me, there were two things that helped:
1. I get the smallest boot I can cram into and then heat mold and doctor the big toe area. This might be a problem if half sizing within a size for example: 10.5 to a 10 if the shell is the same size versus a 10 to a 9.5 if you get a smaller shell. This seems to naturally bring the instep shape of the boot closer to the natural shape of the foot (at least for my feet).
2. I won’t let my boots get a heat molding with a place that heats the liner inside the shell. Everyone tells me I’m wrong about this, but their opinion doesn’t outweigh my experiences over a long time with my own feet and boots. From my experience, when the liner gets cooked inside the shell, the shell holds the heat in the effect seems to softer the shell. I mean, these boots have glue and other things going on and some of these materials can stretch easier when they get cooked from the inside for the during of the heating process. The outcome, to me at least, is not ideal. I don’t want to mold my shell, I’ll let that happen naturally as I ride. I just want to cook the liner then put it in the shell. Yes I realize the liner is hot and it’ll still expose the shell to heat, but it’s only during the cooling phase of the process and it’s for much less time. I feel like doing it like this allows the liner volume to fill out space in the shell better while also conforming to my feet. I do know that this helps this issue with my feet even if I’m struggling to come up with the explanation.

 

[num]

I've got a high arch which causes me to have a high instep, combined with narrow heels and average width at the toes. Ride insano really seems to work for me.

My left foot has a higher instep and is a bit shorter so I was dealing with a bit of heel lift. I did try to double up the insole with a flat thin insole shim, and added a heel wedge to try and improve the heel hold. That combo kind of worked but gave me instep pain after a while due to the tighter fit from the added insole.

During the offseason I took my sweet time to debug everything and figure out how to recognize the feeling of instep pressure with my boots on indoors. I watched the angry boot fit guide and realized I tackled it the wrong way. I removed the insole shim and instead used some Jbars to form a makeshift ankle wrap to improve heel hold. It basically did the job. It accounts for the smaller foot and holds onto the heel better without taking up space over the toe and instep. My boots feel like they fit perfectly, it's hard to get the heels to lift even by forcing my toes down in the boot. No instep pressure from what I can tell, but ultimately I have to cross my fingers it will work out on the hill 🤞.

I did have some pressure below the ankle. Heel wedge + a jbar with the pressure area removed seemed to help. Taking your liners out, buying Jbars, grabbing some scissors and spending an hour or two debugging and understanding your foot was so worth it. I wish I tried it earlier as opposed to going to shops for help and then trying random things.

 

[Cambered234]

I've got a high arch which causes me to have a high instep, combined with narrow heels and average width at the toes. Ride insano really seems to work for me.

My left foot has a higher instep and is a bit shorter so I was dealing with a bit of heel lift. I did try to double up the insole with a flat thin insole shim, and added a heel wedge to try and improve the heel hold. That combo kind of worked but gave me instep pain after a while due to the tighter fit from the added insole.

During the offseason I took my sweet time to debug everything and figure out how to recognize the feeling of instep pressure with my boots on indoors. I watched the angry boot fit guide and realized I tackled it the wrong way. I removed the insole shim and instead used some Jbars to form a makeshift ankle wrap to improve heel hold. It basically did the job. It accounts for the smaller foot and holds onto the heel better without taking up space over the toe and instep. My boots feel like they fit perfectly, it's hard to get the heels to lift even by forcing my toes down in the boot. No instep pressure from what I can tell, but ultimately I have to cross my fingers it will work out on the hill 🤞.

I did have some pressure below the ankle. Heel wedge + a jbar with the pressure area removed seemed to help. Taking your liners out, buying Jbars, grabbing some scissors and spending an hour or two debugging and understanding your foot was so worth it. I wish I tried it earlier as opposed to going to shops for help and then trying random things.

Did you have any issues with your feet getting cold in these?

 

[Board Doctor]

IIRC, the Ride Insano uses a modified Intuition Dreamliner. I contemplated going a half size bigger on the boot, then using an Intuition High Volume Dreamliner. It’d have more material to mold to your foot and provide warmth. I’m not sure I want something that stiff anymore though… and the intuition doesn’t breath well as the whole thing is closed cell foam.

 

[Board Doctor]

I used the HV Protour in my Thraxis that were a bit big.

For a replacement medium volume liner, the Protongue might be good. I’d hope the stiff tongue would disperse pressure over the instep and hopefully there isn’t too much volume there:

Boot Liner and Boot Insert Store | Intuition Liners

Intuition Liners hold a wide range of liner products for different applications, including skiing, snowboarding, skating, waterskiing, and mountaineering.

intuitionliners.com

I think the full Intuition liner is incredible for comfort and response. I get too sweaty when it’s warm though.

 

[num]

Did you have any issues with your feet getting cold in these?

My feet were alright when I wore my thicker Burton socks. I actually felt the boots were about as warm as my old Burton rulers. They didn't stand out as overly warm or overly cold. I wonder if getting an external cover for the boot would help 🤔

 

[Cambered234]

My feet were alright when I wore my thicker Burton socks. I actually felt the boots were about as warm as my old Burton rulers. They didn't stand out as overly warm or overly cold. I wonder if getting an external cover for the boot would help 🤔

I haven’t really felt any issues with cold feet since way back in the day…. Wayyyy back in the day.
I’ve checked out the insano and the trident and I wish they could just combine those boots and make one with the shell construction of the insano and the boa systems of the trident. The insano has pieces of additional material that likely add stiffness, but might also help the boot from getting creases. The tridents don’t look bad, I just noticed some construction things on the insano that were impressive.

 

[num]

I haven’t really felt any issues with cold feet since way back in the day…. Wayyyy back in the day.
I’ve checked out the insano and the trident and I wish they could just combine those boots and make one with the shell construction of the insano and the boa systems of the trident. The insano has pieces of additional material that likely add stiffness, but might also help the boot from getting creases. The tridents don’t look bad, I just noticed some construction things on the insano that were impressive.

When I saw the boa system of the Trident I felt a little FOMO, glad to know there's some advantages to the insano. What stood out in construction for you?

 

[SkA]

How is the fit?… any chance they are too big? For me, my foot has these problems when a boot is too big, and I don’t mean literally too big, I mean anything bigger than tight performance fit.

All 3 of the boots I have are size 255 mondo, with my feet being at 250 and 251. So theoretically I guess a "performance" fit with a size of 250 mondo would be possible, as I'm on the lower end of 255, but in all honesty I'm feeling the end of the liner with my toes as is. My fear in this would be that the instep of the boot's shell was even more shallow.

I did give the inner harness in the Ions, and now in theTM-2, some thought (as in, do I tighten it too much), but both of those shoes leave quite a noticeable red mark on the middle of my the instep, around the place where the tongue barely starts - far away from the strings of the inner liner.

Once I bought the Photons, and was able to slip my foot in and out between them and the Ions, the instep pressure became quite apparent. I can feel the pressure in the Ions just by slipping my foot inside, without lacing anything up. Tried switching the liners between them as well, just to confirm and same thing. Maybe the Photons have a steeper angle on the hard shell, or something. Once everything is laced up it feels nice and snug, so it's not like there's a finger left of space and that my foot is moving around in there.

The TM-2s, I'm unsure of. I did try them on several more times now and I did find that if I leave the lower boa more or less fully loose, the boot feels much better and the red spot on the instep, on both feet, is nearly gone. There's still some "texture" left by the sock tho. So perhaps it's just so much on the limit that any kind of tightening is too much. I'm gonna go get my board out of storage and see what it feels like if it's dangling on my foot, while wearing the boots.

2. I won’t let my boots get a heat molding with a place that heats the liner inside the shell.

Never gave that much thought, because I've seen manufacturers providing both ovens and those hot air insert machines to stores, but I get what you are saying. The store I go to for heat molding boots, which I have to buy online anyway, has a separate oven, so they take out the inner liner to get it heated up.

 

[BrighamR]

When I saw the boa system of the Trident I felt a little FOMO, glad to know there's some advantages to the insano. What stood out in construction for you?

I think there’s very little construction difference. The insanos have a centered tongue liner and the tridents have the wrap liner. And then you have the third boa on the trident that pulls the tongue down and back toward the heal. I wore and flexed both and found the trident to be more supportive because that third boa can really lock your heal down. But it’s close.

the third boa on the inside of the boot can be a little annoying when you walk (they can hit each other) or when wearing slimmer pants.

 

[Cambered234]

All 3 of the boots I have are size 255 mondo, with my feet being at 250 and 251. So theoretically I guess a "performance" fit with a size of 250 mondo would be possible, as I'm on the lower end of 255, but in all honesty I'm feeling the end of the liner with my toes as is. My fear in this would be that the instep of the boot's shell was even more shallow.

I did give the inner harness in the Ions, and now in theTM-2, some thought (as in, do I tighten it too much), but both of those shoes leave quite a noticeable red mark on the middle of my the instep, around the place where the tongue barely starts - far away from the strings of the inner liner.

Once I bought the Photons, and was able to slip my foot in and out between them and the Ions, the instep pressure became quite apparent. I can feel the pressure in the Ions just by slipping my foot inside, without lacing anything up. Maybe the Photons have a steeper angle, or something. Once everything is laced up it feels nice and snug, so it's not like there's a finger left of space and that my foot is moving around in there.

The TM-2s, I'm unsure of. I did try them on several more times now and I did find that if I leave the lower boa more or less fully loose, the boot feels much better and the red spots on the insteps are nearly gone. So perhaps it's just so much on the limit that any kind of tightening is too much. There's still a visible impression left from the socks, and maybe a light reddish spot on the instep. I'm gonna go get my board out of storage and see what it feels like if it's dangling on my foot while wearing the boots.


Never gave that much thought, because I've seen manufacturers providing both ovens and those hot air insert machines to stores, but I get what you are saying. The store I go to for heat molding boots, which I have to buy online anyway, has a separate oven, so they take out the inner liner to get it heated up.

Correct

 

[Cambered234]

I think there’s very little construction difference. The insanos have a centered tongue liner and the tridents have the wrap liner. And then you have the third boa on the trident that pulls the tongue down and back toward the heal. I wore and flexed both and found the trident to be more supportive because that third boa can really lock your heal down. But it’s close.

the third boa on the inside of the boot can be a little annoying when you walk (they can hit each other) or when wearing slimmer pants.

It’s the extra material pieces on the outside.

 

[smackington]

Going into my 2nd season with the Salomon Dialogue SJ Lace (SJ = instep boa). I'm a 9.5 wide in street shoes, though I'm only borderline wide with a 100mm forefoot, and the 9 regular fits well enough that I don't notice them at all throughout the day, though I noticed I could use some more room in the toebox by the end of the season. I'm going to try 8.5 wides next time and see if I can shorten the boot without giving up forefoot comfort.

Great boots, felt 95% the same on day 24 at the end of the season as they did day 1. They could be a little stiffer for freeriding but I like the flexibility on chill days with my kids. The lace/boa combo is amazing for fit, though I'm consistently the last person ready from the car at the start of the day as I contort my stiff middle-aged back into position to tie em down.

 

[WigMar]

I'm gonna be in the ride fuse for the third or fourth season now. I love the urethane tongues and spines. They really keep the flex consistent throughout the life of the boot. There's good response while keeping some lateral flex going, which is important to me. The soles are grippy when walking around and skating, and the rubber toe caps are durable and dry. I also like the burrito wrap liners with the tongue boas. I've definitely got a performance fit going on. Rocking custom insoles that I heat molded in my oven with the liners. I did have a hot spot on my ankle from the boa routing but that was easy to take care of with a little foam. I've also had the tongues fall off after a season or so. I glued them back on with some e6000 and never had a problem after that.

Before this I was rocking insanoes. They were rad but too stiff for my liking. I find the burrito wrap liners in the fuse to be more comfortable, and I prefer laces as well.

 

[Etienne]

I've been on Malamutes for a super long while… Then I bought a pair of Verse, wich I enjoyed at first despite being burly. But I underestimated how they made me overpower the boards, especially laterally (otherwise, I could uncrank the boa). Last year I bought some Nidecker Tracer (discontinued) and that was the best move ever. Those less stiff move, just made me more moblie and forced me to ride better on my flexier boards. And just more fun.

I wanted to trade the Verse for split specific boots. They are good for 50/50 freeride/split, but if they become my split boots, I might as well have heel hooks. But with a stiffer board on the way, I kinda see myself having to pairs of boots, one stiff/split and the Tracers. Why not?

 

[unsuspected]

Will be wearing Adidas Acerra for the forceable future. They fit me right out of the box which is really rare for my feet. They aren't perfect but close enough. Boost sole is great for my bad ankles and stiff body. Sole grip could have been better but not buying boots to walk around in.

Have ridden mine for 30 days maybe. They packed out after 25? days and got little bit bigger than I want, nothing some good boot fitting can't fix I hope. Quality is great, they still look like new so should last me maybe 2-3 seasons.
Bought 2 more pairs on an Adidas sale and a guy was selling samples so bought 2 more. That will last me a lifetime.

Found a pair of new Infuses cheap in my size. They fitted me similar to the Adidas. Sold them after comparing shells that the Vanses were huge and didn't want to readjust every bindning to ride in them and white but not after a day.

 

[unsuspected]

Yeah I have been eying those nidecker boots, both kita and index. Are nidecker true to size? I’m a size us9 but got the ride fuse in 8,5 since the other ride boots I tried last year ran a bit big. Fuse are last seasons and still in the mail/not tested.

Have tried Nidecker boots, can't remember which model thou but they where too narrow for my feet.
The Index supposedly is a bit wider so would like to try.

 

[thecadgod]

I just opened my last pair of Adidas Tact Adv, hopefully I get 3-5 seasons out of them. I don't put on nearly the days you guys do. Use them for the backcountry.

Got a pair of Nike Lunar Endors for resorts. They are just so comfortable and easy to drive in.

 

[WigMar]

Got a pair of Nike Lunar Endors for resorts. They are just so comfortable and easy to drive in.

You're driving around in your boots? They must have a good amount of flex and offer a ton of board feel to make that work out.