michaelangelo wrote: ↑Mon Nov 14, 2022 8:43 pm
1.) thirtytwo boots are overall garbage
Basically aligns with my experience. The 32 TM2 XLT Jones was an overall clown show.
Those little D-rings on the power straps were garbage. I snapped 3 of them before I gave up and just replaced them with heavy duty key rings.
Heavy and bulky in every dimension. Outsole footprint, width, overall girth. Briefly owned some size large Karakorams, the 32s fit perfectly into the heelcup (so were probably too big for mediums) but were too short to center over the board.
MONSTER break-in. I have scars on the medial side of both ankles from the blisters these fuckers gave me. By far the most painful break-in process I've ever experienced. I'm usually good with new boots in 2-5 days, I was still getting blisters and foot cramps after a dozen days, including a half dozen splitboard tours. Fit is obviously personal, but I've heard multiple people complain about ankle blisters in the exact same spot.
Liner started delamming on both tongues. Just didn't speak well to overall durability. Although in fairness, the shells were in good shape when I sold them.
32 is emblematic of why I don't instinctive "buy snowboarder made". Frankly a lot of snowboarder made stuff is fucking garbage: OG Forum, Grenade, Celtek, a litany of fashion-first outerwear brands (including 32!), etc. I don't especially want to support private equity firms (Mervin and K2) or Adidas or Authentic Brands or ANTA Sports, but I also don't want to light my money on fire buying crap.
That's not to say snowboarders CAN'T make good product... but I've been burned enough to be real skeptical.
michaelangelo wrote: ↑Mon Nov 14, 2022 8:43 pm
1.) thirtytwo boots are overall garbage
Basically aligns with my experience. The 32 TM2 XLT Jones was an overall clown show.
Those little D-rings on the power straps were garbage. I snapped 3 of them before I gave up and just replaced them with heavy duty key rings.
Heavy and bulky in every dimension. Outsole footprint, width, overall girth. Briefly owned some size large Karakorams, the 32s fit perfectly into the heelcup (so were probably too big for mediums) but were too short to center over the board. Hell, the K2 Aspects I replaced them with are bulky and heavy, yet noticeably less-so.
MONSTER break-in. I have scars on the medial side of both ankles from the blisters these fuckers gave me. By far the most painful break-in process I've ever experienced. I'm usually good with new boots in 2-5 days, I was still getting blisters and foot cramps after a dozen days, including a half dozen splitboard tours. Fit is obviously personal, but I've heard multiple people complain about ankle blisters in the exact same spot.
Liner started delamming on both tongues. Just didn't speak well to overall durability. Although in fairness, the shells were in good shape when I sold them.
32 is emblematic of why I don't instinctively "buy snowboarder made". Frankly a lot of snowboarder made stuff is fucking garbage: OG Forum, Grenade, Celtek, a litany of fashion-first outerwear brands (including 32!), etc. I don't especially want to support Adidas-- or Authentic Brands or ANTA Sports or various private equity firms --but I also don't want to light my money on fire buying crap.
That's not to say snowboarders CAN'T make good product... but I've been burned enough to be real skeptical.
I had almost the same experience with 32 TM-2. First pair a 2017 model I bought and returned after just 3 days. They cramped me a lot, to the point I had to take the off after each run because of unbearable pain. Then in 2020 I saw a pair of 2019 TM-2 at a local shop in my size at a great discount, and I had a birthday so just pulled the trigger. My idea was to save my pair of Burton Ions for powder days, because the work like charm, but on hardpacked groomers they killed my balls of the feet. Tried TM-2's on groomers for like 10 days, and had the previous experience - unbearable pain. Ditched them in the garage in favor of old pair of Burton Rulers, but in 2021 at the start of the season decided to try and heat mold the pair of 32 TM2 and give them a last chance. So after some research on the topic I used a heat gun and first heat molded the insoles. Tried them out and there was still pain, but not so unbearable, so I decided to try to heatmold the liner. What I did was to take out the insole and to use heat gun at 90 Degree Celsius for 10 minutes in the boot with the liner inside. Then put the insole back and put the boot on. Well after these intervention this boot changed totally. No more pain. Used it for the whole season without any pain in the feet. I think 32's liner are meant to be het molded before riding. I usually like to break in the boot on my feet while riding, but with 32's it is a different story.
They've used intuition liners in some models, I believe, which are definitely a heat mold situation
Sounds like your other experience is they just don't fit you properly in the first place, given all that discomfort. In my years selling boots, and from feedback I've seen online, it's never seemed like a person who fits well in Burton also fits well in 32, or vice versa. I don't think I've met someone where they both work fit their foot.
The ion situation sounds like it's a good boot with a bad insole for your foot
michaelangelo wrote: ↑Mon Nov 14, 2022 8:43 pm
1.) thirtytwo boots are overall garbage
Basically aligns with my experience. The 32 TM2 XLT Jones was an overall clown show.
Those little D-rings on the power straps were garbage. I snapped 3 of them before I gave up and just replaced them with heavy duty key rings.
Heavy and bulky in every dimension. Outsole footprint, width, overall girth. Briefly owned some size large Karakorams, the 32s fit perfectly into the heelcup (so were probably too big for mediums) but were too short to center over the board. Hell, the K2 Aspects I replaced them with are bulky and heavy, yet noticeably less-so.
MONSTER break-in. I have scars on the medial side of both ankles from the blisters these fuckers gave me. By far the most painful break-in process I've ever experienced. I'm usually good with new boots in 2-5 days, I was still getting blisters and foot cramps after a dozen days, including a half dozen splitboard tours. Fit is obviously personal, but I've heard multiple people complain about ankle blisters in the exact same spot.
Liner started delamming on both tongues. Just didn't speak well to overall durability. Although in fairness, the shells were in good shape when I sold them.
32 is emblematic of why I don't instinctively "buy snowboarder made". Frankly a lot of snowboarder made stuff is fucking garbage: OG Forum, Grenade, Celtek, a litany of fashion-first outerwear brands (including 32!), etc. I don't especially want to support Adidas-- or Authentic Brands or ANTA Sports or various private equity firms --but I also don't want to light my money on fire buying crap.
That's not to say snowboarders CAN'T make good product... but I've been burned enough to be real skeptical.
There have been some snowboard brands that made good quality and they don't seem to gain market or stick around too long either. It seems to me the issue with snowboard specific brands is their main youth customer base is very price focused. As the market has matured, there's a bigger demand for a higher end product, but that's a small percentage of what is produced. And... if I think about it, I imagine that uncertainty of market sell through of the top tier line would impact how much they really put into them.
No matter how good 32 makes their top end gear, it's still a 32. It'll never have the cache of axcytrxyxx or pootygucci. And that does influence just how many people are going to be willing to pay for the goods. Especially when it's momndad buying it for their kid whos just going to burn a hole in it covering the hole in their pipe after a hit on the lift.
had to try out the deeluxe dna as it was the only boot available in my size... liked the vans hi-standard but couldnt get them to fit as they were half a size or more bigger.
but first thing about the deeluxe is that they fit pretty wide and toebox is really boxlike fit.
Spenser wrote: ↑Tue Nov 15, 2022 2:04 am
They've used intuition liners in some models, I believe, which are definitely a heat mold situation
Sounds like your other experience is they just don't fit you properly in the first place, given all that discomfort. In my years selling boots, and from feedback I've seen online, it's never seemed like a person who fits well in Burton also fits well in 32, or vice versa. I don't think I've met someone where they both work fit their foot.
The ion situation sounds like it's a good boot with a bad insole for your foot
Hey Spencer, Thanks for your input!
I have very skinny ankles, high arches and instep and regular width forefoot. Out of the box Burton boots around my heel and ankles are really wide, so I bought some different density and thickness EVA foam from a local shop and filled the negative space. Since then I have no heel lift in my both pairs of B. boots - Ion and Ruler. In comparison 32-boots out of the box were a lot tighter in the ankle but in the forefoot I feel the same in both boots(after break-in). What you said makes sense. If you have even normal ankles without heatmold 32's won't work. Burton break-in process is far more pleasant experience, while with 32's the old joke about lasting must be refrained to they are called 32's because this is the number of days it takes to break-in.
With the Ion's pain in my ball of the feet on hardpack at first I thought is from the insoles. Tried them with a pair of Superfeet green insoles, some Reminds all with the same result. After some close inspection of the boots the problem with these boots is that the front part of the outsole of the boot is oval so when it is under load it concentrates the pressure on one spot of the ball of the foot. In my opinion this combined with more cranked toe strap creates the unbearable pain. Plenty of life left in my pair but at some point I will try to grind the outsole to see if my theory is right.
hovercraft wrote: ↑Wed Nov 16, 2022 6:47 pm
My favorite boot is the Burton SLX. Just the right amount of stiffness with a comfort level off the charts……
It really is amazing how case-per-case boots are. SLX are too soft for me to the point the cuff or something bites into the top of my ankle. :\
I'm yanking the liners out to use in my Tourists this season.
And I have a tab open here on the Vans Verse Iguchi…
