Check out my new...

[alex]

The Photons seemed to have a built in Jbar and ankle cup... which doesn't play well with the shape of my foot. It just felt like my ankle didn't fit into where they built it to fit and my bony ankle was digging in to the padding and the jbars were digging into my heel. Sometimes you have to walk in a boot to get the foot to settle in, but when I did that it felt even worse. So. idk.

Going to pull the foot pad and liner and see how it fits without the shell. etc. etc.

edit: I do not believe they're preformed to someone elses foot bc 1.) there's very little noticable wear on them and 2.) this is not an unusual occurrence for my feet. It's a lifelong sort of thing, and why I basically have always stuck to (the best boots made) northwaves.

Yeah, the liners have a denser foam running vertically in the ankle area. Might be worth checking if someone actually put the little velcro j-bars in yours where they attach to the inner harness. Mine don't have any, but you never know.

Feets is weird, man. The good news is that at $92 you can flip them for probably a 3x profit.

I'm sure everyone is on the edge of their seat for an update on my boot fitting, right? right?

Okay. Probably not. But here it is anyhow.

I went back and tried on the Swath. Felt much more comfortable. But the Swath 1/2 a size smaller than the Photons and wearing one on each foot I realized that I actually need the bigger Photon.

So then I thought, since the Swath liner feels better I'd see how they'd feel if I put the Swath liner in the Photon shell. Thinking maybe the issue is the liner, or maybe it's actually the shell.

So I did that and it actually felt better. So... then I was considering just swapping them and offloading the Swath with the Photon liner. But, that might present a problem since technically I'd be selling a bigger liner in a smaller shell. Whos going to go for that?

So I thought, maybe I can just buy a new swath liner in the right size from B. So I'm looking at the swath liner to try and figure out what to even buy if they'd sell me one... and it's a Imprint 3. Okay. cool.

OH BUT WAIT...

The Photon liner is ALSO an Imprint 3! They're the same damn liner! I looked at them side by side and inside and out and there's no real difference between them.

sooo.... I started feeling a bit cray. Or what I actually think is the swath had more use and the liner was more broke in.

So I'm just going to ride the Photon and I think it'll break in. eventually. hopefully. maybe.

The end.

Everyone please clap

I got Swath SO Sweetspot and Photon SO Wide at the end of last season, and in my opinion, those fits similarly, very well for my feet, much better than Ion SO, which I used for many seasons, and which is a lot narrower.

Liked Sweetspot version of Swath more, than normal (Boa), it tides better around the ankle compared to Boa and felt overall stiffer, not softer, as it maybe supposes to be(?). Sweetspot surprisingly became my favorite boot in end-season conditions, Photons wait for better mid-season groomers. No problem to handle Transmission or Flight Attendant 168 with size 9 Sweetspots.

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[jsil]

Liked Sweetspot version of Swath more, than normal (Boa), it tides better around the ankle compared to Boa and felt overall stiffer, not softer, as it maybe supposes to be(?). Sweetspot surprisingly became my favorite boot in end-season conditions, Photons wait for better mid-season groomers. No problem to handle Transmission or Flight Attendant 168 with size 9 Sweetspots.
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Liked the sweetspot and photon more than the ion? Tell me about that. I've been riding Ions for five seasons, but plan to try the Photon / Photon Soft this season.

[jsil]

Yeah, pretty hard to pass up!

I had already picked up some to try over summer, but I had got the swath so I got down on that Photons deal. I do not plan to become a step on guy. Expect it to feel goofy But I could see it being convenient for tow rope laps.

Same, gonna use them for days when it's only my girlfriend and me since she's a skier.

Guys... it does not feel goofy. In fact, in my opinion as an advanced/expert rider who has gotten between 60 and 80 days most of the last 8 years (with a couple off years due to a horrible car crash), it feels even more locked in and powerful than any of my previous setups. I normally freeride when there is pow and carve around and/or play with side hits when we're in a dry spell. I've ridden them for five seasons (Reflex, X and Genesis bindings with Ions in a 8.5) and absolutely love them. The convenience is the cherry on top.

Quick story on how I ended up in them. I was riding Union bindings and K2 Maysis boots that felt fine, but I had a buddy who comes out once or twice a year from Florida to ride. He's your typical vacation snowboarder who sits down to strap in after every lift. I believe that it was winter 2019/2020 (weird covid winter), and Step Ons had been out in limited release for a couple of seasons. When helping him set up his gear (he finally bought his own before this trip), I realized that his boot was a full size too big which is typical of people who just don't really know what to look for and go to a crap shop or order online. I explained that he needed new boots and I recommended we demo Step Ons together (local Burton shop here in Park City so close and easy). I went with him to get him on a fast system (totally selfishly) and had no intention of liking/buying them, but after the first few turns I knew I would be getting a setup. I couldn't believe the edge to edge performance improvement due to "pulling/pushing" the board without pressing into straps. Also never having to stop to ratchet down a binding after a few turns was very nice. Gotta say I was just blown away even though I had some foot pain in the demo boots.

As for coming off the lift and stepping on... ya it's very sweet especially if you ride with skiers (or other Step On riders). I could strap in while moving and this is still way easier/faster. IUnstrapping and stepping out take about the same amount of time once you get over the initial learning curve. At first you will find it annoying, but you just need to twist out a bit like MTB pedals. After a few days of doing it, you'll be getting out just as quickly as with your tried and true straps.

When COVID hit in March 2020 and the resorts all shut down. I spent the rest of the season (March to April) splitboarding, hiking and playing around in empty resorts. During this time, I believe that Burton didn't allow anyone to sell Step Ons for a discount (or they always sold out), but the shops that got screwed in Europe (even earlier season ender) had a lot of stock for 40% to 50% off. I ended up ordering everything half off during this time for myself and a few riding buddies. I've gotten a lot of good riders into them (my main riding partner is an absolute ripper who's been riding for 30+ years) and all of them were totally skeptical. I only know one guy who went back to straps and it was totally boot fit, he just couldn't get them to feel right and not give him pain so he gave up.

I would say that the Genesis is my favorite binding. Nonexistent heel bite and just about as stiff as the standard binding while being more comfortable. The new EST (updated Genesis really) looks fantastic and hopefully the changes will filter down to the standard reflex genesis for 25/26 as I don't have any Burton boards.

I have low volume ankles with a high, small calves (yes I do calf raises ), and I've found that the speed lace in the Ion just doesn't get tight enough at the top for me. I'm going to give photons a try this season (in the standard and soft variety) and in the 8.5 and a 9 just to see how it goes. I believe that my perfect boot would be a triple boa Ion Step On, but that may never happen. I've also tried the Nitro Darkseid and while its a great Step On boot, it just doesn't have the same heel hold (for me) that the Burtons do.

Pros:

• Amazingly quick and powerful edge to edge performance
  Very locked in
  No need to ever ratchet the straps down after a turn or two to get the right tension
  Convenience, of course

Cons:

• If you live in the park and like your bindings loose for more lateral movement, these probably aren't for you.
  If you prefer a very loose feel, these probably aren't for you. Even their softest binding is a medium/stiff
  Price of the new system (they aren't expensive, per se, but they require a lot of new equipment especially if you have a quiver and don't like swapping bindings)
  Having to admit you were wrong

[alex]

Liked the sweetspot and photon more than the ion? Tell me about that. I've been riding Ions for five seasons, but plan to try the Photon / Photon Soft this season.

Sweetspot and Photon Wide both have better fit for me, than Ion, because Ion is too narrow.

In end-season conditions I liked Sweetspot more than Ion and Photon. With step-on bindings Sweetspot still has very good response, but additional mobility (if any, compared to old Ions, which are extremely soft ) is actually good think, at least in spring slush.

To replace Ions, I got Nitro Darkseid Boa, but got those after last season, so did not ride those yet. Darkseid fits very similarly to Sweetspot and Photon Wide, wider, than Ion.

When we will have again good mid-season groomers for carving, I am sure(?) I will like Darkseid and Photon better.

After many seasons I am done with Ions SO, while new, those are stiffer than my hard boots (with stiffness index 75) but will be very soft in no time. This is the reason why I started to look for boots with articulated cuff and ended up with Sweetspot. Even if those are softer initially, I hope that stiffness will be more consistent through boots lifetime.

Ion, Darkseid, Photon Wide, Sweetspot:

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[jsil]

Did you ever look at the photon soft? They have an articulated cuff and are still quite stiff.

[eleveneightnate]

I must be in the minority that doesn't think Photons are all that stiff. I didn't think my Acerras were stiff, either haha.

[jsil]

I must be in the minority that doesn't think Photons are all that stiff. I didn't think my Acerras were stiff, either haha.

I don't think the Photons are stiff. If you add an intuition liner to them they get a lot better though. I just meant they are stiff in comparison to other step on boots.

[alex]

Did you ever look at the photon soft? They have an articulated cuff and are still quite stiff.

Not really, I do not think Photon Soft has articulated cuff, cannot see any? I was looking for wider fit and articulated cuff, not for softer boots.

I probably would not even try Sweetspot if I knew it supposed to be very soft, but I did not read anything about it. While tightened to my liking (tight), Sweetspot feels stiffer for me, than Swath. Also I did not like how Boa tight around the ankle, compared to special arrangement speedlace on Sweetspot.

[jsil]

Did you ever look at the photon soft? They have an articulated cuff and are still quite stiff.

Not really, I do not think Photon Soft has articulated cuff, cannot see any? I was looking for wider fit and articulated cuff, not for softer boots.

I probably would not even try Sweetspot if I knew it supposed to be very soft, but I did not read anything about it. While tightened to my liking (tight), Sweetspot feels stiffer for me, than Swath. Also I did not like how Boa tight around the ankle, compared to special arrangement speedlace on Sweetspot.

Take a look where I highlighted. That's neoprene and it articulates there in comparison to the standard photon step on below.

[Spenser]

I must be in the minority that doesn't think Photons are all that stiff. I didn't think my Acerras were stiff, either haha.

I'm just tuning in here, but.. there are people who think photons are stiff?