Buford67 Posted October 28, 2019 Report Share Posted October 28, 2019 What soft boots and bindings would you recommend for carving groomers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TLN Posted October 28, 2019 Report Share Posted October 28, 2019 Malamutes. Bought Driver X few years ago, broke both laces, got blacknail and found out stupid liner tongue construction. Bought another pair of malamutes and couldn't be happier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauleleven Posted October 29, 2019 Report Share Posted October 29, 2019 (edited) Boots: Deeluxe and Northwave both make amazing and comfortable boots. I ride Northwave Legacy. I really like them drawstrings. Driver-X may be overkill because it's the stiffest softboot, may be uncomfortable. Bindings: I ride Union Atlas bindings, I would classify them as big-mountain. Very good fit with my boots, strong backplate in the fore-aft direction, still some torsional flex so it's not locking my feet entirely like some carbon backplates. I would suggest looking for something big-mountain so you have more options. Brands to consider: Flux, Union, Karakoram. Edited October 29, 2019 by pauleleven Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Topboost Posted October 29, 2019 Report Share Posted October 29, 2019 I have really big feet. (13 W I D E). I have been using the K2 Maysis Wide & have been happy with them. I have Intuition Power Wrap liners in them. Nice stiff set up! I also have a pair of Ride Insanos that I need to get stretched out for this season. I only had a couple of days on them last season & liked them. For years I have been using Flow Bindings. Their XL fits my large feet very well. I have a bunch of different models, but I prefer the NX2 & the NX2CX with the standard "Fusion" strap. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxlanaudiere Posted October 29, 2019 Report Share Posted October 29, 2019 First thing first: have your fit measured both for lenght and width. Buy your softboot in Mondo size like you'd do with your hardboot. Second: go to a shop and try all the boots brands. Not one company fits alike. I have a K2 foot, no point trying to fit into a driver X or anything else. The only thing holding my feet properly is K2. So find the brand your foot is the most secured in and get the stiffest boot they got. If you have wide feet your choices are limited. So far, I know of the Maysis Wide, burton ruler wide and burton photon I believe. Try them all. Do not shop for a perticular model. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted October 29, 2019 Report Share Posted October 29, 2019 I'm seriously considering picking up a pair of softies but I am also cursed with wide feet. Weirdly, I'm thinking of avoiding a super-stiff setup. Not sure there's a point to having a soft setup that is for the same purpose as my hardboot gear. I don't want a pair of noodles though either. The Photon Wides seem like a good candidate for what I want. Anyone have any experience with them? Ultimately I think I'd like to get something like a Jones Flagship. Just having the softies will let me demo some boards though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxlanaudiere Posted October 30, 2019 Report Share Posted October 30, 2019 Neil softboot break down/soften FAST ! Hence why you should take the stiffest boot you can. After 30-50 days on them you'll loose tons of stiffness. At the 100 marks they're done for Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottishsurfer Posted October 30, 2019 Report Share Posted October 30, 2019 3 hours ago, Maxlanaudiere said: Neil softboot break down/soften FAST ! Hence why you should take the stiffest boot you can. After 30-50 days on them you'll loose tons of stiffness. At the 100 marks they're done for If your brave and up for some frankenstien modifications you can beef up soft boots to last significantly longer, I'm a year and half(20 hours a week) in on my franken vans and im starting to look at changing them now due to wear through the rubber on the toe of the boot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxlanaudiere Posted October 30, 2019 Report Share Posted October 30, 2019 Very interested in seing some Pictures of the cuff mods please if you can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottishsurfer Posted October 30, 2019 Report Share Posted October 30, 2019 additional tongue insert that sits over the top of the boots normal tongue, custom power strap and you cant see them but there are also two addiontal plastic strips on the inside spine of the boot, I like boots with near zero flex 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnE Posted October 30, 2019 Report Share Posted October 30, 2019 I'm using Flow Talons. I really like them. They provide great heel hold down without being tight. Because of the way they fit my feet, it is a real struggle to get them on in the morning and even harder to get out at the end of the day. But they are warm, comfy and provide great support while I'm riding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernie00 Posted October 31, 2019 Report Share Posted October 31, 2019 You have to find the boot that works for your feet. Driver X are amazing but they don't fit my feet at all. I went with the Ride Insano and they have been really good to me. As for bindings we have more and more choices. I found that the Ride El Hefe works good for me. After 15 years exclusively on hardboots, I've been slowly riding less and less alpine every year and more and more softboots. Of course nothing carves like my .4 metal Coiler but dang these news boards / binding / boots are coming really close. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRAZZ Posted October 31, 2019 Report Share Posted October 31, 2019 I have to second (third? fourth) the Ride Insano recommendations. They are wonderfully stiff and the plastic tongue really holds you up. And yes, I know I'm selling mine. My problem is that my foot got smaller and I lost weight, they are actually too stiff for me now. Riding Burton Photons now. Hopefully they'll keep their shape for more than a season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emdee406 Posted October 31, 2019 Report Share Posted October 31, 2019 (edited) There’s some great advice on this thread, and I’m repeating, as a former snowboard retailer for 20yrs, that the best boot is the one that fits your foot shape. Only through trying on as many brands as you can, will you find your ‘sole’ mate Nike, Rome, and Salomon work best for me. After my previous Nikes finally died, I was all set to get the Salomon Malamute, a benchmark stiff soft boot. As luck would have it, the Salomon area rep was in the store, and after discussing my needs, suggested a different model. The S-Lab Trek. I’ve used them for a season so far and absolutely LOVED them! I’m wearing them in video reviews of the Coiler BXFR, and the Alloy DO elsewhere on this site. They can be ridden stiff, or adjusted to a virtual walk mode, and everything in between. It makes for an extremely versatile boot, plus the breaking in period was the easiest of any soft boot I’d ridden in 30+yrs of softies, due to the fact I could make them stiffer as time went on. Try a pair on if you get the chance. Edited November 1, 2019 by Emdee406 Omission Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poloturbo Posted November 1, 2019 Report Share Posted November 1, 2019 (edited) Just use a good stiff boot+++ Using Salamon Malamutes and for me freaking slippers. I had injuries in my 2 legs. This is the only boot that a good comfortable fit fir me. Like very good advice already stated above, buy your slippers. The problem is that it takes time to find the best one. No 4 hours in the store will tell. Unfortunately ride 10 to 15 hours in it. Trash and repeat. Yeah I know costly hobby... Edited November 3, 2019 by Poloturbo Spelling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted November 6, 2019 Report Share Posted November 6, 2019 On 10/30/2019 at 8:00 AM, Maxlanaudiere said: Neil softboot break down/soften FAST ! Hence why you should take the stiffest boot you can. After 30-50 days on them you'll loose tons of stiffness. At the 100 marks they're done for I live in Saskatchewan. 10 days is a good year for me. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kentonharman Posted November 6, 2019 Report Share Posted November 6, 2019 I've been happy with my Ride Tridents. I'll get a new pair this season and retire my current pair to the friend bin. They have about 120 days on them (2 seasons) and are just starting to compress. I like that they are stiff and warm. The triple BOA is nice if you like to have the calf/ankle tight and the foot less so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted November 8, 2019 Report Share Posted November 8, 2019 Gone to the dark side... Didn’t intend to buy this quick but my local shop had last year’s Ions in my size for 30% off. They fit pretty good after a mould but we can always remould or even punch them out. They don’t have Boa but the leather is really nice. After trying them on I have no interest in the Photons, these are already soft enough. Combined with the Genesis X’s I bought from Jack I should be good to go with a so far reasonably low cash outlay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRAZZ Posted November 8, 2019 Report Share Posted November 8, 2019 Nice! The IONs are surprisingly soft. That's what turned me off on them. Still, awesome find! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted November 8, 2019 Report Share Posted November 8, 2019 1 hour ago, JRAZZ said: Nice! The IONs are surprisingly soft. That's what turned me off on them. Still, awesome find! My hard boot setup is flexier than most, I recall trying on a pair of Driver Xs and finding them surprisingly stiff. My goal is to not try to compete with or replace my hard boot rig so softer is OK. But let’s not get ridiculous here, I’m not buying a pair of Rulers and a Huckknife. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtslalom Posted November 9, 2019 Report Share Posted November 9, 2019 I had a pair of Burton Ions and thought they were a little on the soft side. I also had a pair of Burton Driver x and felt they were about the same. I know K2 makes a pretty stiff boot. I tried one pair on last year and thought I could have been in my old Burton hard boots. Any way I am glad to hear that some of you are making a transition back to soft boots. Believe me that I never thought that I would do it but 15 years ago I went back and haven't ridden in hard boots since. I hope it goes well for you. Jt As far as bindings are concerned. Ride El Hefe's are good. Most Ride bindings will hold your feet tight to the board. There isn't a lot of play between the boot/binding interface with Ride. I have used them exclusively since getting back to soft riding and have never had a problem. Jt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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