So recently, I bought snowboard gear for the first time, including new boots. Before buying them, I did my research (or at least I thought I had). Of course, a lot of this was looking through the forums at snowboard.com. So now that I have finished buying my stuff, I figured that I could share my experience and maybe I could write a little guide or something for people who are buying boots for the first time and have questions about it. Please remember, I am relatively new to snowboarding and I'm pretty sure there will be mistakes. If there are, please correct them and add any other information that would be helpful for people looking to buy boots for the first time.

1. One of the most important things in my opinion: try on LOTS of different boots. Try to stay away from buying them online without even trying them on. Boots fit each person differently. I myself tried on about 10 different pairs before I found the salomon dialogue boots. They fit me perfectly.

2. Don't be cheap with boots. You want to be comfortable when riding your board, so spend what you can.

3. Here I may be wrong...but here it goes. When you  put on the boots, your toes should be touching the end of the boot. Of course, you don't want your toes to be curling, as this will cause pain. When you bend your knees, you should feel your toes come off of the end of the boot. This way you will know that it fits well. Also, if there are pressure points, which was a very big problem for me, don't buy them. Breaking them in might fix the problem, but it also might not.

4. Boots will pack out with time, as in get larger. I read somewhere on the forums that boots tend to pack out .5 to 1 size larger after repeated use. So, don't buy boots that are too big for you.

5. Boot sizes and your shoe size are most likely not the same. I wear a size 10-10.5 shoe and the dialogues I bought were a size 9.5. Again, try to avoid buying boots online without trying them on.

6. When you go to the store to try on your boots, take your snowboard socks with you. The cotton socks you wear with your shoes are thinner than the snowboard socks you will be wearing while on the slopes, and it WILL affect the boot size you buy.

7. Once you buy the boot, I would suggest wearing them around the house. This will help break them in. As for heat molding, I really don't know much about it. If anyone has any input for this, that would be great.

8. I realize that some people are confused about the BOA system, although I'm sure most people on the forums know what it is. However, since this is for first time buyers...The BOA system is a lace system that replaces your traditional laces. Rather than having to tie the laces, you simply turn a knob to tighten them. To release it, you pull on the knob, and the laces become loose. The laces are actually made of metal wire, and from what I know, are VERY sturdy. You shouldn't have problems with the wires breaking. Remember, this stuff is very very strong. Over time, they will become loose, but they can be easily re-tightened. For me, all the boots with BOA system I tried on caused pressure points. However, for the people who do have them, they like it because it is so easy to adjust. For example, once you get off a chair lift, you might want to tighten the boot. All you have to do is turn the knob, rather than having to undo the laces.

9. Heel Shims: Thanks to boarderholic for this one. This is originally taken from boarderaholic's post from later in this thread:

"Heel shims are a cheese wedge shaped piece of foam that is about maybe half a cm thick? You stick it in between the footbed and the sole of the shell of the boot and it raises your heels up a little bit to take some space up. I did notice however, it DOES alter the fit of the boots a little bit, but I guess that's to be expected when you start adding foreign objects into your boots eh?"

These can be used to help with heel lift.

10. Finally, and I'm only repeating this to emphasize my point, try on your boots and walk around in them before you buy! I cannot stress how important this is. Before I bought my dialogues, I purchased the DC judge after trying them on for about 10 minutes in the store. Bad mistake. When I got home, I realized there were pressure points that caused a lot of discomfort, and I returned them the next day. Remember, you're spending good money on your boots. You don't want to make a decision your going to regret.

For now, thats all I can think of. Sorry that its so long, but I just wanted to be thorough. Again, if there are any mistakes, please correct me. And if you have any extra information that I missed, please tell everyone. I really hope that this will help people buying boots for the first time. So yeahh...I guess thats it.




[Edited by Jaemankim on 1/10/2007 at 6:09 PM]

NICE!  Great advice.

Great advice! Couldn't have said it better myself. I have something to add too for the BOA system. Usually, they come with an extra set of cables, just in case they do break. I used to work at a skate/snowboard shop and in the past two years, I've only had 1 guy come in with a broken set of cables, and I think they were Vans. I've never really heard of people breaking them while riding, mostly its when they're on the lift and they rest their board of the boot, it rubs and cuts into the wires. Pretty much boots are the most important thing you can get...you want to be comfortable when you ride, and a lot of the time, you get what you pay for, at least in my experience.

Posted by shayboarder

Solid Advice...thank you for taking the time to put that into words.  I will sticky it because it deserves it :)

thanks everyone! Yeah...I just hope that this will be helpful for some people.

Posted by greeniguana

maybe you can throw in what j bars, heel shims and foot beds do. and where to get them

Truthfully, I don't really know too much about j bars, heel shims, and foot beds since I don't have any experience with them. However, if you or anybody else could write about them, I would gladly edit it into the original post.

iv got heel shims in my boots coz i was between sizes on everything!  no problems with them.  amazing how much extra room u can get in ur boot from this shitty lil piece of plastic.  saved me having to go a size up which woulda sucked.  but obviously boots that fit by themselves are better

Posted by boarderaholic

Heel shims are a cheese wedge shaped piece of foam that is about maybe half a cm thick? You stick it in between the footbed and the sole of the shell of the boot and it raises your heels up a little bit to take some space up. I did notice however, it DOES alter the fit of the boots a little bit, but I guess that's to be expected when you start adding foreign objects into your boots eh?

thanks! I added it to the list. I guess its kind of repetitive to have it in the thread twice, but I figure its nice to have it all in one list. Do you have any information on J bars and foot beds?

Hey thanks for all the advice! And I would also love some info on foot beds.

Very good post.  I wish I'd known all this when I bought boots for the first time last season... freaking Burton Motos.

Posted by willtheboarder
Hey thanks for all the advice! And I would also love some info on foot beds.

I wear the wintergreen superfeet and I like them quite a bit.  They not only make the boot more comfortable, they also eliminated heel lift by pushing my foot further back into the boot and tightening the foot space a bit.  In doing so, they actually increased performance and response, as well as comfort.  However, they may not be necessary if you have a flatter foot.  Apparently Salomons are essentially designed for those with flatter feet, while I have a moderately high arch... little things you don't really notice when you're trying on boots (they felt heavenly at first but would ache if I put pressure on them the whole day).

If the only reason you're looking at them is to eliminate heel lift or improve performance, rather than comfort, you might want to look at "Heel Lift" foam wedges first... you just pop them under your heel in your boot to tighten the space a little.  It puts you on the balls of your feet and SLIGHTLY changes your center of gravity, but it improves performance by quite a bit if you're getting lift.  Those are like $5.

If it's more of a comfort issue, then you drop the $35-40 dollars on Superfeet.  I wholly endorse them.

this is my third time buying boots and I have some questions.  The other times I have bought boots I haven't really payed enough attention to it as I should have.  I have a size 8 shoe so I bought a size 8 boot over the internet.  Im not sure if it is too small. my toes touch the end of the boot but i can't tell if my toes are curling.  You mentioned buying a smaller boot than your regular size shoe. Do boots stretch out? should I wear my boots a few times then see what happens? maybe if i wore them a couple times would they stretch out a little?  It is mostly my big toe that is touchinf the end, is that normal with a new boot?

Posted by snowday
this is my third time buying boots and I have some questions.  The other times I have bought boots I haven't really payed enough attention to it as I should have.  I have a size 8 shoe so I bought a size 8 boot over the internet.  Im not sure if it is too small. my toes touch the end of the boot but i can't tell if my toes are curling.  You mentioned buying a smaller boot than your regular size shoe. Do boots stretch out? should I wear my boots a few times then see what happens? maybe if i wore them a couple times would they stretch out a little?  It is mostly my big toe that is touchinf the end, is that normal with a new boot?

Just as long as your toes don't hurt when standing up straight, it should be fine. Also, yes, boots always stretch or pack out. So yeah, your toes touching the end of the boot is normal. After using them for a while on the slopes, they'll start to fit better and will become more comfortable. As for buying a boot that is a smaller size than your shoe, it is generally true, but not always. It just depends on what is comfortable for you. And one more thing, wear your boots around the house. It'll help break them in.

The boots that I tried on today felt like they fit perfectly but now i'm worried that after they pack in they will be too big. I'm usually a size 6 in shoes but I tried on a 6.5 boot with regular socks, the boots were snug but I don't think they were touching the front of the toe. Is that too big? 

Posted by Allycat
The boots that I tried on today felt like they fit perfectly but now i'm worried that after they pack in they will be too big. I'm usually a size 6 in shoes but I tried on a 6.5 boot with regular socks, the boots were snug but I don't think they were touching the front of the toe. Is that too big? 

Thanks! 

so should i go down a half size? the 6.5 felt perfect and i wasn't wearing my boarding socks. so the 6? 

Posted by Allycat
so should i go down a half size? the 6.5 felt perfect and i wasn't wearing my boarding socks. so the 6? 

well unless im wrong, most boarding socks are thicker than normal socks, meaning that your foot will be more snug once you have on boarding socks.  seemed like you were saying you should downsize more because you didn't have your boarding socks on.

dunno if anyone cares, but i wear size 12 shoes and an 11 1/2 boot, but i also like my tennis shoes with a little bit more space and extra room, just feels more comfortable and my shoes usually smell better.  But yeah, about 1/2 size smaller should be about right, as most people dont wear their shoes as tight as their snowboarding boots will be.

Jaemankim, you're absolutly right in every aspect, specially on not buying boots online! I had to buy mines online cause I'm from Argentina and, not only we don't get so many boots here to try different brands and sizes, but also the prices are WAY higher than in USA, Canada or any other place! I recently bought DC Flare boots online, size 10, and my uncle is bringing them to me next week (IF ANYONE HAS ANY EXPERIENCE WITH THESE BOOTS, PLEASE TELL ME!!!). I read in several places DC Flare boots are really great and super comfy, so that made out my mind... I hope they feel pretty good!

I tend to go with the "cm" sizing of shoes and boots. They are more of a true to life size of your foot as it is measured in centermeters. The US sizing (eg size 8.5) are all measured differently from each manufacturer.
You can tell this by having a particular size shoe from Nike(eg 9), and  it won't be the same foot size as say from Adidas size 9.