Boa is real
Now have three trips on the boots. I’ve been extremely happy. Right out of the box the boots fit far better than a standard buckle version. Personally other than heat molding the liner I have not needed anymore boot work. The boa system is legitimately far better than the past. It’s much burlier than the older systems. I’ve already tested durability. Nailed a thick low hanging tree branch right into my binding which continued into the boot and nailed the dial. It did make a mark but that was it. No damage and the knob stayed on the boot. The cable is very thick and there’s no way it’s going to just snap. I would need wire cutters. The big benefit is fit. The boa lower shell wraps your foot rather than compresses it downwards like standard buckles. They’re far more comfortable and you do not need to make the boot as tight to fit properly. The lower shell wraps your foot so well there have been points where I forgot to tighten my upper buckles when getting to the lifts and skied a few runs with them loose but the boa snug. Had absolutely no idea till I stopped for a break and went to loosen them only to see I’ve been skiing with them loose with no adverse effects because the lower boa had me locked in so well. The new liner is very nice and heat molded extremely easy. Did it at home with some rice and socks. No problem. Foot beds come with insert to swap for firm or soft feel. I swapped to the soft to absorb impacts and am very happy with that. My feet feel fresh all day skiing opening till closing. If I had to add some negatives I would say one would be the color. I don’t love the color. It’s fine. Not ugly. Just wish it was different but that’s subjective at best. I also wish it had toe tech inserts for light up hill duty. I know the team recon offers this but no boa then. Again that’s just personal preference The gripwalk soles also seem a tad soft rubber wise. In three trips I’ve put a decent amount of wear on the heels from walking. Grip is great. Zero slip in snow, ice and light climbs in snow as well. Just seems like excessive wear. The boot size is. 26.5 and is a 304 bsl. Thankfully my previous boot is a 26.5 as well with a 305 bsl. So didn’t really need any adjustments to my bindings. Forward pressure stayed the same. So that was helpful. Not related to the boots themselves but I wanted to give a shout out to Corbetts themselves. I had a ski trip coming up and the boots may not have arrived in time. After contacting them they helped get my boots out the door asap and they arrived with time to spare before I left so I could heat mold them. Top notch service from Corbetts as usual.
