# Getting new boots, doing my homework



## robotfood99 (Mar 19, 2016)

Speedlace is exactly that - its fast to tighten up and they hold all day. It doesn't have micro adjustment doodads built-in but you can make it work if you know how to flex the boot a certain way as you tighten. I haven't had a speedlace fail on me yet, but it is not fail proof. 

Boas can be single dial or double, even triple on some boot models. They are typically not as fast to tighten as speedlace as you do have to crank on the dials, but do offer more degrees of tension adjustment compared to the speedlace. I had one fail with a Flow Talon some years back, where a dial locked while fully tightened. Nobody had the tiny tool needed to unscrew the dial so in the end the wire had to be cut. This was during a trip and I had to make do with rented boots for the duration. 

Since that incident I steered clear of all boas and stuck to Burton speedlace or trad laces. But I understand boa dials and cables have improved since then, and I will be giving a pair (DC Judge) a go this season. 

Only thing I would steer clear from would be the single boa. Might work for cycling shoes, etc. but totally inadequate for snowboarding.


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

I have Ride boots with Boa and they never let me down (used 3 seasons); but hubbys Boa did break once, not the cable but the knob. 

We've also had Deeluxe, Nidecker, Burton speed lace boots where the plastic stopper thingy broke. 

Tiny plastic things can break with lot of use... if you want to be on the saf(v)e (I'll never get the difference :huh side, get trad. laces. Or carry replacement kits to fix when something breaks. 

As for staying tight all day? Neither will. But it only takes seconds to re-fasten them, so I never thought that this is an issue. Your legs/feet won't stay the same all day long neither; a quick readjustment throughout the day doesn't hurt anyway. And that's the advantage of both, boa and speed lace: it's adjusted easily and quickly.


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## Snow Hound (Jul 21, 2012)

Yeah cause trad laces never break? They're just easier to repair/replace out on the mountain. The boa cable is very unlikely to snap although I have seen them pull/wear through the boot's shell (boots are pretty much done at this point and something similar can happen with all fastening systems). If anything it's the ratchet mechanism that's going to fail and these can be replaced. If you're really worried about equipment failure take a spare cable/ratchet/speed lace with you and just ride with a roll of duct tape for any temporary repairs. Personally I like speed laces as they're faster/easier than laces and simpler than boa. As long as I can tighten upper and lower areas independently I can get my boots how I like them. 

Sent from my ONE E1001 using Tapatalk


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## Deacon (Mar 2, 2013)

more boas (double/triple) allow for more precise tightening of your boot, which will help prevent over-tightening. However, more boas = more knobs, which can be an issue for some bindings and also gives you more little plastic bits which could fail. I love boas however they don't offer them on the only boot that fits my hobbit feet. I had the speed laces all last season, and they got a little sticky once, which i fixed by untwisting the lace.


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## a_human (Aug 31, 2016)

Good to hear positive stuff on speed laces, I can put away my hesitation on those. Thanks for the heads up on the single vs. double adjusters too, totally makes sense. I guess as far as reliability goes it's like Neni said, both of them have little plastic components that need to hold up to a fair bit of abuse, it's not really _that_ surprising if they break from time to time. I'll just get a hold of some spare parts to throw in the board bag as well.

I appreciate all you guys chiming in, I can definitely make a more confident purchased of new boots with that!


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## basser (Sep 18, 2015)

It might be worthwhile to mention that if you are getting new boots, I would recommend to check out some of the boot sizing threads. It's important that you get a boot which fits you properly.


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## jae (Nov 27, 2015)

speed laces usually fail where the laces locks(not frequent), so having extra parts won't really be necessary as most of the times you won't be able to fix it. I hate traditional laces.


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## a_human (Aug 31, 2016)

basser said:


> It might be worthwhile to mention that if you are getting new boots, I would recommend to check out some of the boot sizing threads. It's important that you get a boot which fits you properly.


Yeah I've been doing my homework on that stuff too. Honestly I've never had _properly_ fitted boots before, I've just grabbed what felt good in the shop but never tried heat moulding or custom insoles or any other tricks. Hopefully I can find a good dedicated boot shop - I'll be buying them in Tokyo so I'm not sure. If anyone knows a good boot shop there, I'm all ears



jae said:


> speed laces usually fail where the laces locks(not frequent), so having extra parts won't really be necessary as most of the times you won't be able to fix it. I hate traditional laces.


Oh okay, got it. I think I'll try and aim for double boa, but I'll go through the motions of trying on everything in sight to find the right fit. I always liked traditional laces until I suddenly realised I hate them. I'm always the one guy holding up the crew as I perfect my laces while everyone else finished cranking their boa's like 10 minutes ago. And I'm looking forward to never needing to take off my gloves and fuck around with soggy knots and frozen fingers just to make adjustments on the hill


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## jae (Nov 27, 2015)

a_human said:


> Yeah I've been doing my homework on that stuff too. Honestly I've never had _properly_ fitted boots before, I've just grabbed what felt good in the shop but never tried heat moulding or custom insoles or any other tricks. Hopefully I can find a good dedicated boot shop - I'll be buying them in Tokyo so I'm not sure. If anyone knows a good boot shop there, I'm all ears
> 
> 
> 
> Oh okay, got it. I think I'll try and aim for double boa, but I'll go through the motions of trying on everything in sight to find the right fit. I always liked traditional laces until I suddenly realised I hate them. I'm always the one guy holding up the crew as I perfect my laces while everyone else finished cranking their boa's like 10 minutes ago. And I'm looking forward to never needing to take off my gloves and fuck around with soggy knots and frozen fingers just to make adjustments on the hill


high end burtons tend to be all speed laces, don't count them out. hopefully you'll have luck in japan, but if I remember correctly someone complaining about japanese products being mainly asian fit (tokyodom) and having a language barrier sucks when trying to buy shoes as you have to explain problems.


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## a_human (Aug 31, 2016)

jae said:


> high end burtons tend to be all speed laces, don't count them out. hopefully you'll have luck in japan, but if I remember correctly someone complaining about japanese products being mainly asian fit (tokyodom) and having a language barrier sucks when trying to buy shoes as you have to explain problems.


Yeah I definitely won't rule those out, whichever boot fits. I've read similar about the whole sizing thing, I bought a jacket there last year and it was hard enough to even find an L, no chance of an XL. Makes sense that it's the same for boots. I'm about a US 10.5-11 which I guess Japanese dudes aren't. Unfortunately the place I live is absolutely useless for the purchase of any kind of snow gear so my only option is to wing it in Japan


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## phillyphan (Sep 22, 2016)

a_human said:


> Yeah I definitely won't rule those out, whichever boot fits. I've read similar about the whole sizing thing, I bought a jacket there last year and it was hard enough to even find an L, no chance of an XL. Makes sense that it's the same for boots. I'm about a US 10.5-11 which I guess Japanese dudes aren't. Unfortunately the place I live is absolutely useless for the purchase of any kind of snow gear so my only option is to wing it in Japan







Your struggles are real w/ being tall in Japan.


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