Re: HARDGOODS 25/26
Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2025 4:44 pm
It will be interesting to see what gets produced under the Volcom brand. The design was done, but things unravelled around the time orders are finalized and purchase orders issued.
I stopped by wave rave and they were in stock, so I got a chance to try them on today. I wish I saw this vid before trying them on, so I would have inspected them more thoroughly. Ive had bad experiences with wrap around liners, so I prefer tongue liners, but this liner fits super nice. No weird gaps or problems fitting around my foot, and felt high quality. The sizing of this boot is so much better than my experience with the swath and photon SO. I tried this in 10.5 and it fit like it should, the swath and photon both felt too small in 11.5 The blue ankle harness takes place of the normal internal ankle harnesses, but feel pretty locked in. Seemed like it is longer than it needs to be, I felt too much pressure on my instep, kinda like overcranking ankle straps and getting that pressure point. Super roomy toebox and the "toe lockdown" felt pretty good till I realized it wasnt tightening. Tried the other boot and it was completely different fit in the toes. Maybe the boa wasnt connected or something, but one felt great and one way too snug. Felt like a softer flex, but not "soft", would prob feel really good with the SO binding. I like the wraparound outer shell.Muskrat wrote: Fri Feb 14, 2025 10:42 am
The function on this is more interesting than I expected. The heel hold is a bigger K2 Conda, basically, not exactly groundbreaking IMO. The forefoot is forsure unique. I wonder if step on uniquely opens the possibility to move the forefoot harness inside? Or is that also functional with a tradition boot. With step on you just need to transfer the force to the outside clips, not up through the shell on top.
RE: more BOAs - Its clear that as BOA has gotten way more reliable over time, companies can get way more creative with layout and use case. Good luck replacing that cord in the right orientation if it snapped. I don't see any obvious reason, other than it looking kinda funny, you couldn't squeeze more dials on boots. The H4 dial breakaway largely alleviates that concern for the average resort rider.
Yeah, I loved seeing all those experimental shapes. I think the misstep was making them with crazy materials that drove costs way up instead of just regular construction like the Powder Racer. But now they're just making a bunch of twins so I really don't get it...benjinyc wrote: Mon Feb 17, 2025 9:58 am they had some wild shapes back in the day
I think this is when the peaked