boots > laces vs wire

what do people prefer on their boots….good old laces or the new wire do up thingys? (hah not sure of their proper name)

the wire things look like they can save time and effort but do they break easy?

write your experiences

cheers

I have tried a few boots with laces and a couple with the wire do-up things… I prefer the wire but only if it’s separated between upper and lower zones so you can get the perfect tightness.

I find with the laces I can never get them tight enough to get the support I need

the wire as you call it is the BOA lacing system.

I prefer laces, but then again I’ve not truly rode a pair of boots with the boa lacing system. I have only tried them on in stores.
Over the years there have been problems with the click wheel breaking, but I think they have resolved many of those issues. I’d like to hear from those that have used the boa lacing myself. I find that since there is only one place to dial, the upper ends up getting much tighter than the lower part of the boot.

Doc should be here..he knows all abOUT BOA…

Geoff likes his a lot..He`s always waiting for me to finish tying my laces..

I always thought that once I get old and I cant size down that increasing belly of mine…
I’d go step in.
I cant really get excited about it, but Flow seems to make a decent product…
OK I dont mean to hijack your topic and change it to talking about stepins… but when I get about Dave’s age I may have converted to Flow and some Boa boots too.

Personally I’m a big fan of the Burton speed zone system. In my opinion the best lacing system on the market. Super quick, adjustable upper and lower, never slips (like I have seen in other ststems). You can’t go wrong with laces, they are just sometimes a pain in the butt. Single BOA - don’t touch it. Double BOA - much better.

yeah i find that laces can take a while to get tight, but i like the sound of that burton system rider26 was taking about….have to check that out

I love the Burton speed zone system as well, so easy, fast and secure.  plus top and bottom are adjustable, best of both laces and wire.

most comfy: can’t answer, its individual preference

normal laces: tried and true, if you break one you will have zero issues finding a new one, hard to zonally lace (but can be done) and can sometimes be laborious to tie once or twice a day

zonal pull type laces: (burton speedzone, salomon, nitro etc) faster, easier, virtually as durable as laces, superior to laces if there is more than one zone because you will never break both on the same boot so you may be able to ride down safer/easier or maybe just keep riding anyway, downside is if one breaks they are harder to acquire and replace than traditional laces

single BOA: absolute ridiculous garbage. designed for people who find lacing too hard, absolutely NO performance advantage, impossible to zonally tighten, complicated device with tiny screws and you need a super microscopically tiny allen wrench to fix,  reels break, cables break, pull out or get stuck, just an absolute asinine system for people who find lacing too difficult (aka nubes and weekend warriors)

double Boa: superior to single Boa because you can zonally tighten, but overall worse because twice as many parts, twice as much chance for headaches and equipment failure.

so, if you ride alot get laces or a speedzone type of thing, if you travel alot stick with laces so you can fix your boot anywhere, and if you’re a goober that only rides a couple times a year and are lazy get BOA

^^^..I knew you`d come through with the 411 good Doctor

All the people I know that have ridden with the wire system have ended up with them jamming and having to snip the wire to get the boot off. Mind you, that was 2 years ago and it was only 2 guys! haha! Can’t remember the boot make.

Double boa system is heaps better than the single.
Its one of those questions that half would prefer the lace and the other half would prefer the boa.
I would say that 90% of girls prefer the boa or speed zone.

I HAD boa once…that was enough
my wife had boa…she liked it for the ease of tightening cause she couldn’t tie the laces tight enough…but she had lots of foot/leg pain in those boots, now she has burton Q with speedzone, couldn’t be happier with them.

So they made some with the boa for the liner too… have they made a boot with one Boa for te liner, a second Boa for the outer upper, and a third Boa for the outer lower… sounds like too many Boas to meeeee.
What if you’re scared of snakes?

I was always laces all the way, but this season i got salomon boots, the optima. Salomon do the triple lock lacing system, so the laces stay locked in all day, but you can still change the pressure through the different sections in the boot. Their liners dont pack out too much, so they stay comfy for longer. Ive done over 100 days on mine and they are still going strong!

Ive been riding in my DC Boas’s for a few seasons now and i love them!! i wouldnt go back.. they are a couple of seasons old now and the rigidity is still perfect! Last season i was in France and used a pair of Flow bindings for the season and i have to say i was unexpectedily impressed… i never thought i would be but apart from getting snow jammed under your boot and turning to hard ice if u didnt chip it out i’d say FLOWs are the way for that quick departure off the lift…