nike snowboard boots
thoughts?
anyone ever tried these?
and know who stocks them in the US or australia?
thanks [=
I am sure that if not yet, soon they will make a great boot.
The problem is - do I want to put my money in Nike, or in a snowboard company?
It is like the ski company vs board company argument all over again.
I’d rather buy Burton over and over.
I’d actually rather buy a Salomon boot and put my $ in a ski company than just plain old Nike.
Atleast Salomon, and definitely Burton gives back to the sport, not Nike.
Nike boots won’t be in Australia till next season.
Haven’t tested them but I have seen them up close and had a good inspection. It’s hard to comment thoroughly without riding in them, but my first thoughts were they were faily standard in what you would expect from a snowboard boot. Very funky looking though. I would be interested to test them.
Dont think id buy them.
You need to put in some hard work in my favourite sport before you get my $$$
My brother, friends and i have a little joke amongst ourselves. We dont do surf brands.
Someone was trying to sell my sister in law a DC jacket one time and she turned around to the sales guy and said “i dont do surf brands”
The guy was shocked and replied with….. “DC is a core skate brand”
She shot back with….. “Not since they were bought out by Quicksilver”
Although this stance is almost impossible to uphold anymore.
All the brands are getting mixed up together now.
Quicksilver owns DC, Lib Tech, Gnu
Billabong ownes Nixon, Von Zipper, Element
And we cant even rely on our own anymore.
Burton is branching out into surfware with Analog and has even bought Channel Island Surfboards.
What can we do!!!!!
It’s the one world market even entering into our precious sport.
I think it is inevitable.
It is amazing how many companies get their boards made by Elan at their factory. Capita, might still do it, but I know they and ROME did at first years ago.
I dont think there are many other options for small companies.
I think if the Burton BMC factory began to make boards for other companies that would be nice, but That would only increase competition for Burton.
Again, it’s just inevitable.
It is important to think of where we spend our money.
I’d rather eat at a family owned store before going to a chain restraunt… most people never think about those things.
When it comes to snowboarding - I like to spend my money on the sport I like. not a tennis company (like Head) or any other non-boarding company.
I’d rather support a ski company, or even a surf company.
But I understand your point about surf brands, we all take this to the level we feel most comfortable with, and I think it is important to consider these things.
wow… you do realise without surfing and surf brands we wouldn’t have snowboarding?
Believe it or now without these surf brands and ski brands we wouldn’t have snowboard brands… and if they are making snow gear they are now a snow brand… just because its not what they started off in doesn’t make them any less lagit than companies that just do snowboard stuff. Like fair enough if you dont want to buy shit from aldi, but boycotting brands like quiksilver who pump shit loads of dollars into the industry is a little silly.
If you dont do surf brands what do you buy?
I am sure Nike will make a great product. They do in pretty much everything they do.
If their boots fit great, why not ride them.
There are no core brands any more. Money talks.
wow… you do realise without surfing and surf brands we wouldn’t have snowboarding?
Believe it or now without these surf brands and ski brands we wouldn’t have snowboard brands… and if they are making snow gear they are now a snow brand… just because its not what they started off in doesn’t make them any less lagit than companies that just do snowboard stuff. Like fair enough if you dont want to buy shit from aldi, but boycotting brands like quiksilver who pump shit loads of dollars into the industry is a little silly.
If you dont do surf brands what do you buy?
Its just a tongue in cheek joke we have.
Yes i wear Element and DC shirts, Von Zipper sunnies and a Nixon watch. I even wear Quicksilver and Billabong boardies to the beach.
Id much rather support and represent my sport though by wearing a Burton/Grenade/686/Special Blend hoodie or shirt, rather than a Quicksilver or Billabong one.
Thats also why all my outerware is from companies that have helped start and build this sport, not just those who jump on the bandwagon now because it will earn them a few extra bucks.
I tend to look at this in a slight way that by wearing a company’s product I am advertising for them, the is very important I think when on the hill in uniform as an employee of the resort, especially as an instructor.
If you dont do surf brands what do you buy?
I think of this much like I think about doing something like being a vegetarian.
It just begs the question “well, do you eat eggs?” and “Do you wear leather?” or how about, “do you drink milk”, or “Do you eat honey?” This can easily be taken so far.
See, there is not a perfect way of going about it. Somewhere down the line you are supporting someone or something you are trying to avoid.
If you’re not buying a ski brand (or surf brand) you’re probably supporting a shop that does sell that product. Heck why even ride at the “ski resort” if it called such?
See what I mean.
I think consciousness of this is important, because I jsut dont want to buy Head snowboards from Dick’s sporting goods, becuse those companies dont care about snowboarding or keeping resorts open or anything. I’d like my $ going back to the sport in some way atleast, and there is a way to be conscious about it.
I dont think Nike is on my list of important companies to support.
but now that NIKE is making boots, who else will they make boots for and just put someone elses name on them? who knows.
like i didn’t want to seem like a douche bag in that post… but realistically all the brands probably (atleast i am guessing the outerwear does) come out of the one factory in china. I dont wear billabong quiksilver etc myself but i dont actively boycott them its more just they have a different style to my own.
And whats the difference between supporting a surf brand and supporting a brand like burton who dont necessarily make the best gear but are a house hold name so sell a million boards a season just because they are burton.
Thanks evan. I never knew DC was owned by quicksilver….
My stance is almost in the middle of this topic. Theres really no point speculating now as it is. We might have certain dislikes against a brand like Nike who is just capitalising on the sport without actually giving back to the sport like Burton. But IF they do churn out magnificent boots, these arguments will most likely just wither away.
Its like the “buy Australian made” hype. Some serious patriots with too much money probably would go out of their way to buy australian made. But when we purchase our goods, our snowboards, our boots, theres barely any australian made’s which makes it a)improbable b)inconvenient c)not value for money.
I think that Nike will have great boot designs just like they do for shoes etc. But it will take them awhile to catch up to the market share of other major retailers.
Yeah dc is owned by quik, but its still a very rider driven part of the whole picture. Ken Block is still in the picture, and all the riders still back the product they make. Gnu/lib etc are mervin under quik. They still are very much rider driven also, with rice, kass etc riding for them…. As if bigger companies are not trying to snag those guys. But they stay loyal to the brand for the product not who owns it. Rice even rides burton bindings with no deal. At the end of the day if the company puts back into the sport in a big way then we should show support…. Personally i ride with burton for hardware volcom for outerwear spy for goggles airblaster for layering, ashbury for sunnies grenade for gloves, nixon for time keeping. Nike getting into snowboard boots is like vans from back in the day. Although nike skate is fairly new i guess. But they have some mega dollars to put back in. I would not be surprised if one me the big comps is sponsored by them very soon. And they have got some big names on the team, even gigi is with them after leaving the big b. They have been testing for 2 seasons now before even launching so whatever they are going to bring out should at least be half decent. I think its all conventional lacing so far but they will have some speedlace system soon with all the pro riders coming in off other brands systems.
I hate that people are accepting Nike. Imagine if Saucony or New Balance or Timberland was trying to buy their way into the market. No one would take them seriously. Nike has a giant multimillion dollar campaign to buy their way into boardsports. they throw a ton of money at top riders to say ‘these are the best boots i have ever ridden” and who can blame the riders? get that money y’all.
the simple fact is Nike is a corporation thats bigger than all the other snowboard companies combined. Sure they make an ok product, who doesn’t these days? making an OK product is the bare minimum any company should do and its definitely not enough to justify their entrance into the market, although i hear it used as a justification all the time
as for the boots themselves i find it pretty funny they are just super high top dunks. there is no “tech”: to be seen. they actually use a shoe lace for the liner! thats the other thing you always hear about Nike, that they are justified because their “tech” is so revolutionary BOING! their boots are about as low tech as any boot out there and numerous people have reported their feet freeze in them
i’m in no way supporting nike or even vouching for them…just reporting on what i have heard or seen so far…i dont think i would ever buy a pair myself (love my ions too much)
Thanks for chiming in doc.
I appreciate your comment as to why the other companies such as Timberland and New Balance just seems to be a ridiculous idea, but it’s not for Nike.
...you know when Elan (a reputable ski company at the time) began making snowboards many years ago, they did it under the name Nale…. Should Nike make Ekin boots? maybe no one will notice… LOL
It always makes me laugh when this topic comes up in regards to whats core and what isnt….. I noticed alot of people hitting up Quiksilver say its a surf brand yet if you look at their logo its a wave with a mountain its been that way from way back….quik has been committed to the snow scene from day 1… Brands such as DC, Gnu , lib are indeed owned by quik but its a cut throat industry out there and people need to go to the bigger companies to survive or expand.
In regards to nike they seem to have a solid team, the boots look the part but time will tell because if the product isnt up to scratch people wont buy them. lets not forget that bobby meeks is the man running the show for nike snowboarding….you cant get a better track record than that. Watch any of his robot food parts to see what i mean, and before someone says “he rode for k2 and k2 is a ski brand” lets not forget that k2 owns ride snowboards.