Posted by
KakaFace
Personally I like Nitro Boots (K2's aren't bad... but still little wide in the heel for me).
I haven't considered Nitro yet. My girlfriend has nitro bots with the TLS lacing and after 10 days of riding the lace is hanging on by a thread. it will surely snap, and Nitro has been no help in replacing it. they dont even get back to me, so i'm not liking their customer service and dependability of their product. if you can tell me what model boot from them is in the category i'm looking at, i'll check it out.
what about thirty-two? they must have a high-end, fairly stiff boot, no?
Unless they've changed a lot in the last couples of years, Thirty Two does not have any high-end stiff boots on the same level as Burton, Salomon or Nitro. I rode the 2005
ThirtyTwo Forecast which ThirtyTwo describes as "the stiffest boot in the ThirtyTwo line" which was a 10 out of 10 in the 32 stiffness rating, but I actually would rate it as a 6 out of 10 in stiffness, and broke down really fast into like a mushy 4 that didn't hold my ankle down well. My Nitro Teams were like a 7 out of 10 starting out and maybe softening to a 5 after a lot of use. The Nitro Anthems is their softer model and is like a solid 4 out of the box (I only tried them on at the demo shop). The Darkseids are like a 8.5 out of 10 (a little stiff, but better after breaking in). Salmon F22 are like 6.5 out of 10 and Salomon Malamutes are 10 out of 10 (the pair I rode in 2006 were really, really stiff).
Of course, I felt like the 2008 and 2009 Shaun Whites were like a 3 stiffness out of the box... so a pair of Forecasts would still be a bit stiffer than what you have now. I'm not a huge fan of traditional lacing either (more on that later)... so made the 32 Focus Boa (32 lists as 8 out of 10, I'm guessing that means it's like a 5 out of 10 in real life). However, not to rag on ThirtyTwo too much... but while they are super light, I don't think they are very durable. They liners are not very well-shaped either (do you have wide/big feet? or narrow/skinny ankles?) andthere is only so much a heat molded Intuition liner can do to conform do your foot.
Hmmm... I found the TLS system to be finicky, but usable, but if the TLS lacing frayed as much as you say it does, I too would be hesitant to go with Nitro. I now always purchase through Backcountry.com, which like REI has great customer service (i.e. if you product breaks or anything... you can return it for a full refund, minus shipping - that's what I did with my first pair of Nitro Team TLS), but better prices. I checked and they are allowed to sell Nitro products in Canada (unlike
Burton, K2, Ride, Salomon, Vans, etc ).
Let me know what type of foot you have... if you prefer traditional to quick-pull lacing systems... if you have heel-lift or foot pain issues... or if you don't understand some things I said.
