The boot thread

[Jean77]

I've been riding the Deeluxe Areth Rin this season and they are really the bomb! Quality is good, still holding up, like how flexy they are. Finally Found a boot that's good for me feet. Also they are not that heavy! Compared to Vans and Nitro they are much lighter in weight. Will buy the X plorer next season as they are stiffer but still flexible

been alternating between the AREth Rin and some Vans Hi-Standard Pro's the last few seasons. love the AREth for most days, and I'll go to the Vans if I want a little more support.

my only complaints are that I wish they had a sewn-in heel harness, and the lace hooks seems to really chew up laces.

Deeluxe offers those plastic support thingies. Haven't tried it tho. The Areth Rin boots are indeed more on the surfy side. That's why i'm opting for the X-Plorer next season, rated "7" on the stifness scale and the Areth Rin are "4"?
Haven't had any problems with the lace hooks chewing the laces(yet)

Also no problem with the heelharness, but I'm interessed in their CTF liner next season.

All in all, very happy with Deeluxe.

[jclinares]

Pretty disappointed with the durability of my Salomon Malamutes. I bought them last year as a replacement for the Burton Photons, and literally have 16 days on snow with them. A couple of days ago I noticed that a tab that holds part of the BOA system at the tongue of the boot had come out.

Also, when I pulled out the liners for drying before my flight back home, the little aluminum foil thing at the bottom of both boots has started to peel off. That one is no big deal, but by the time my Photons had gotten too loose and leaky to ride with, the aluminum foil was still in place.

Gonna start the warranty process, and hope the pair I got is just an outlier, and not the quality of their boots in general.

Gotta hand it to the Evo folks. They do warranty right. Instead of going directly to Salomon, I contacted Evo about my warranty, and the boots are now on their way to their return center. Had to pay to ship them there, but it was always going to be an issue due to my location outside the US. For the same reason, they can't send me a replacement, so instead they're gonna give me a store credit for the value of the boots. I'm happy with that arrangement, tbh. Not sure I wanted to risk another pair of Malamutes falling apart after 2 weeks riding with them.

But now I need new boots. And it fills me with dread that I might have to go to my South American riding trip in August without boots (from what I've seen, gear selection down there is lacking and expensive).

Any suggestions for brands or models to track down? I like my boots to be stiff and responsive. Double BOA would be ideal. My Photons got too soft for my liking after 60-ish day on snow, and I was really enjoying the responsiveness of the Malamutes. I know that Vans and Thirtytwo don't fit my foot shape. K2 and Ride feel decent, but their stiffer models weren't available at the shops I visited last time I bought boots, so I'd need to see if they fit. Burton and Salomon I already know fit me well. Though If I get new Burtons, I'd probably go for the Ion.

Would it be worth it trying to track down models from Deeluxe, Nitro, or Nidecker? Never tried any of their boots.

[kimchi]

Pretty disappointed with the durability of my Salomon Malamutes. I bought them last year as a replacement for the Burton Photons, and literally have 16 days on snow with them. A couple of days ago I noticed that a tab that holds part of the BOA system at the tongue of the boot had come out.

Also, when I pulled out the liners for drying before my flight back home, the little aluminum foil thing at the bottom of both boots has started to peel off. That one is no big deal, but by the time my Photons had gotten too loose and leaky to ride with, the aluminum foil was still in place.

Gonna start the warranty process, and hope the pair I got is just an outlier, and not the quality of their boots in general.

Gotta hand it to the Evo folks. They do warranty right. Instead of going directly to Salomon, I contacted Evo about my warranty, and the boots are now on their way to their return center. Had to pay to ship them there, but it was always going to be an issue due to my location outside the US. For the same reason, they can't send me a replacement, so instead they're gonna give me a store credit for the value of the boots. I'm happy with that arrangement, tbh. Not sure I wanted to risk another pair of Malamutes falling apart after 2 weeks riding with them.

But now I need new boots. And it fills me with dread that I might have to go to my South American riding trip in August without boots (from what I've seen, gear selection down there is lacking and expensive).

Any suggestions for brands or models to track down? I like my boots to be stiff and responsive. Double BOA would be ideal. My Photons got too soft for my liking after 60-ish day on snow, and I was really enjoying the responsiveness of the Malamutes. I know that Vans and Thirtytwo don't fit my foot shape. K2 and Ride feel decent, but their stiffer models weren't available at the shops I visited last time I bought boots, so I'd need to see if they fit. Burton and Salomon I already know fit me well. Though If I get new Burtons, I'd probably go for the Ion.

Would it be worth it trying to track down models from Deeluxe, Nitro, or Nidecker? Never tried any of their boots.

If you have a trip planned and are based in Mexico, I'd just buy something you're confident will fit. Buying boots online is always a pain in the ass, double if you have to pay for international shipping both ways just to try something on. Go for the Ion or the Driver X if you want Malamute level stiff.

Ride you probably want the Insanos, K2 the Thraxis.

Deeluxe I'd avoid, I had a really bad experience with them-- their proprietary lacing system is crap, jammed on me, and I had to cut my way out of them circa 2017. The retailer took them back, but if I'd want to do a warranty I might have had to send them back to Austria.

[jclinares]

If you have a trip planned and are based in Mexico, I'd just buy something you're confident will fit. Buying boots online is always a pain in the ass, double if you have to pay for international shipping both ways just to try something on. Go for the Ion or the Driver X if you want Malamute level stiff.

Ride you probably want the Insanos, K2 the Thraxis.

Deeluxe I'd avoid, I had a really bad experience with them-- their proprietary lacing system is crap, jammed on me, and I had to cut my way out of them circa 2017. The retailer took them back, but if I'd want to do a warranty I might have had to send them back to Austria.

I might be able to find an excuse to travel to the US this spring, so that's why I'm trying to keep my boot options open, if I'm buying in person. Yeah, if I'm buying online I'd definitely get the Ion. I've considered the Driver X, but I don't love the idea of the speed lacing system. Never had boots with it, though.

Interesting tidbit about Deeluxe. A good amount of people seem to really like them these days. Maybe they've improved on their lacing system? Regardless, their retail footprint is very small, and it'd take a good amount of effort to try them on.

My other option would be to try and track down a good option in South America, and if that doesn't pan out, rent boots during my trip, and try to travel to the US in October to shop for boots I don't love this idea, but might not have much of a choice.

[scrub]

I tried on a pair of Ion boa this weekend and they did not feel nearly as stiff as my TM2 XLTs. Makes me want to try the Driver X.

[coleslawed]

no experience with Deeluxe's speed lacing system. really the only on of those I trust is Burton, standard laces or BOA from everyone else.

[DanDeLion]

Deeluxe’s speed lacing is simply bad. My experience is that the system doesn’t hold the laces tight enough so they come loose little by little. This happened every time i wore the boots. I’ve heard similar stories from others as well. This can easily be tested by locking the lace and trying to pull them from the tab. Mine came loose no matter how hard I tried to lock the system.

[Jean77]

Deeluxe’s speed lacing is simply bad. My experience is that the system doesn’t hold the laces tight enough so they come loose little by little. This happened every time i wore the boots. I’ve similar stories from others as well. This can easily be tested by locking the lace and trying to pull them from the tab. Mine came loose no matter how hard I tried to lock the system.

Never tried speedlacing, I stick to laces or hybride(laces+boa). Those hold up very well on my Deeluxe boots

[jclinares]

I tried on a pair of Ion boa this weekend and they did not feel nearly as stiff as my TM2 XLTs. Makes me want to try the Driver X.

Hm. I'll keep that in mind, thanks! I tried the TM2s last year at Gravitee in Copper Mountain. They didn't fit my foot, but I liked the stiffness. If the Ions feel a lot softer, I might need to try them before committing to buy.

[scrub]

If the Ions feel a lot softer, I might need to try them before committing to buy.

I've got a bum right ankle (goofy footer) and I felt like the Ions flexed too much front to back in the ankle area, maybe I hadn't tightened the BOAs enough?