The boot thread

[Kevington]

isnt nideckers head desingner some burton dude who redesigned everything?

Yeah, I just looked at his website.

https://www.mauriziomolin.it/design/

He was head designer then creative director for Burton and designed a lot of boots. The Rift feels and looks like a cross between the Ion and the SLX.

[kimchi]

@Kevington how's the Nidecker fit? Pretty narrow I'm guessing if you're comparing them to Vans?

Not sure if I ever tried on a set of Flows (and I believe Nidecker just adopted that program wholesale).

Also LMAO @ "And they say romance is dead".

I think it is more the supportive yet not super stiff feel that felt similar to the Infuse specifically.
The fit is semi-wide in the front, like Adidas I would say. I really like the toe box, its roomy but has a nice snug fit on top of the toes, good for heelside turns. It's also the longest (internally) 275 mondo boot I've tried. The mid foot and heel is average in width. I have a narrow ankle and calf but I can get good enough heel hold. I might need to add some foam around the ankle area as it breaks in to keep that hold. In general the fit feels good, I had Ride Fuse before and it is similar. The liner feels ultra plush, the first layer in contact with the feet is soft so there's a cosy snugness filling all gaps that then gives way to support. I don't think I'll need to heat mold.
I think for the Adidas lovers, Nidecker could probably work in terms of width. I got them at my local shop which also stocks Burton, Vans and Adidas so I had a Nidecker on one foot and tried some others for direct comparison.

Vans Aura Pro: narrower in the front, more aggressive and slightly painful ankle grab, softer flex.
Nidecker Altai: lower price point than the Rift but supposedly stiffer. It was softer, felt like it could fold in a critical situation, foam outsole with a small rubber bit at the toe.
Adidas Samba: Similar in the toe area, more pressure on top of the instep, particularly when flexing forwards, noticeable absence of anywhere for my heel to go, softer flex.
Burton Ion: Generally uncomfortable in comparison, a bit vague fitting all over but several hard bits inside causing pressure points, especially on top of the foot. Had to go up to 280 mondo for comparable inside length.

Thanks, this is great as an Adidas orphan. Nidecker wasn't on my radar. I was thinking of picking up Ride Fuse as my next boot and checking out the new Infuse, so one more to add to the list.

I'm a little befuddled by the difference between the Rift and the Altai. The Altai is stiffer (7/10 to 6) but less supportive (6/10 to 8)? Maybe they're talking about ankle articulation versus the shank stiffness? I am not really sure how to interpret that.

The line is a little frustrating... the high end of the line goes from a medium stiff Rift up to 9/10 and 10/10 stiffness boots. Altai has my preferred stiffness (~7/10) but foam outsole is disqualifying for me.

[Kevington]

Yeah, I would avoid the Altai. It was not supportive and the sole is unacceptable at any price point. I think they mean side to side flex. Not something I could get a feel for without strapping in. The Kita and Index are both 9/10 flex which is overkill for most riders. A premium 7 or 8/10 flex boot is missing from the line.

Rift update: I wore them around the house for a few hours and it became apparent there was a ridge where the tongue meets the toebox, exactly like @Spenser described on the Ion. I'm kind of annoyed as its really prominent and more so on one boot than the other and made my foot cramp up pretty bad. I'd consider returning them and just get another pair of Ride Fuse but my local kook boutique doesn't give refunds, just vouchers. I don't need a Custom X Flying V or a motorised windsurf board so I'm shit out of luck. I wonder if i can push it as a manufacturing defect. Or just heat mold and hope for the best.

[bobjoe5000]

Got the 22-23 ride insano (size 9, tan) from a local board shop last October.

Rode em 5 times before noticing bottom left outsole splitting at the seams.

Called their customer service but apparently in Canada we have to go through the point of sale (local shop) rather than Ride.

Took it to the shop only for them to say Ride won’t replace until next season, but they can help me glue it.

Ended up repeating this entire process 3 times, as the right boot split as well on both ends.

Finally said goodbye to em and just got a pair of Deeluxe boots instead.

Overall Ride Insano feel: 9/10 comfortable and stiff, duo boa on feet really help those with wider feet. Support 3/10, unclear whether Ride has bad support or something is up with my shop.

Last note: my shop mentioned 3 customers this season had the same problem with Insanos.

Damn I still want to buy em next season though, maybe from their site direct

[eleveneightnate]

Annnnd we're back to adidas.

[SJF_NH]

Yeah, I would avoid the Altai. It was not supportive and the sole is unacceptable at any price point. I think they mean side to side flex. Not something I could get a feel for without strapping in. The Kita and Index are both 9/10 flex which is overkill for most riders. A premium 7 or 8/10 flex boot is missing from the line.

Rift update: I wore them around the house for a few hours and it became apparent there was a ridge where the tongue meets the toebox, exactly like @Spenser described on the Ion. I'm kind of annoyed as its really prominent and more so on one boot than the other and made my foot cramp up pretty bad. I'd consider returning them and just get another pair of Ride Fuse but my local kook boutique doesn't give refunds, just vouchers. I don't need a Custom X Flying V or a motorised windsurf board so I'm shit out of luck. I wonder if i can push it as a manufacturing defect. Or just heat mold and hope for the best.

You've gotta be kidding me, who doesn't dream of owning a Custom X Flying V...? "Kook Boutique", I'm stealing that

[kimchi]

I'm hearing a lot of issues with Ride boots the past couple seasons.

Anecdotally I had some issues with later stage Adidas... my 2018 Tactical shells held up MUCH better than my 2020 Tactical Lexicons (tore a chunk of the tongue and had to stitch / epoxy it back) or 2020 Tacticals (blew out some stitching near the lower eyelets I restitched with a sewling awl). Ran into those issues both within 40 days on snow.

Hope these aren't indicative of a broader trend of cutting corners. Snowboard companies know the average snowboarder rides maybe 5 days a year... building for the 20+ day a year rider (much less the 100+ day a year rider) isn't profitable and the vast majority of users would never know the difference.

[coleslawed]

Took it to the shop only for them to say Ride won’t replace until next season, but they can help me glue it.

Ended up repeating this entire process 3 times, as the right boot split as well on both ends.

…

Support 3/10, unclear whether Ride has bad support or something is up with my shop.

Last note: my shop mentioned 3 customers this season had the same problem with Insanos.

Damn I still want to buy em next season though, maybe from their site direct

this sounds like it’s a known issue on Ride’s end and they just won’t have replacements without the same issues until next season.

we haven’t had many issues with Ride’s boots this year, other than the regular BOA customers insisting we fix their boots for them, but H4 has made that a breeze. I’ve able to literally just pop the dial back on for a few dudes who were insisting they had faulty boots and I was just like, nope, it’s designed to do that, you should read up on all of the features of your boots!

on the actual Ride service side, I’ve been told by our in-house warranty team that all of the K2 umbrella have been incredibly slow to respond to warranty issues this season.

[bobjoe5000]

this sounds like it’s a known issue on Ride’s end and they just won’t have replacements without the same issues until next season.

we haven’t had many issues with Ride’s boots this year, other than the regular BOA customers insisting we fix their boots for them, but H4 has made that a breeze. I’ve able to literally just pop the dial back on for a few dudes who were insisting they had faulty boots and I was just like, nope, it’s designed to do that, you should read up on all of the features of your boots!

on the actual Ride service side, I’ve been told by our in-house warranty team that all of the K2 umbrella have been incredibly slow to respond to warranty issues this season.

Great info thanks!

Increases my confidence to try the Insanos again next season!

But let’s see though.

[Kevington]

I have a pair of Ride Fuse that I thought were great but both tongues fell off after 40-50 days. I have skinny ankles so I can see the heel hold boa was pulling the tongue so far to the back of the boot to lock me in that it eventually pulled it clean off. They have an updated toe box for 2023 so I would guess they have resolved that issue.