Originally Posted by
GoldenBC
Well, after two days of skiing a double boa boot (the first time I skied any boa), I think I have formed an opinion. It will be hard to separate my thoughts on the boot and my thoughts on boa, but I'll try.
Boa is awkward: There is nothing more natural about using boa than buckles. Our rep said he had to drive out to a shop and show the employees how to get into double boa boots. Also, the cable mess when putting them on is just enough to be annoying.
Boa is slow: It is ungodly slow. This plays into fit a bit, but unless your boot is insanely tight out of the gate, you are spinning a lot. And then more. I've never been unsure of how tight my boots are as I have with Boa. After spinning for what feels like ages, you ski 200m and have to tighten more. Putting a buckle on a 3rd notch and clicking down is pretty damn consistent and extremely fast. Then at the bottom of the run, you just flick the buckle up and click it back down when needed. Cuff boa is even more annoying. I can operate buckles without lifting my pants. Not possible with boa.
It doesn't solve problems: Boa still gives pressure points. You can feel the force coming through the dial and from the first pivot, very similar to a buckle.
Doesn't pull your Ankle Back The cuff boa doesn't pull your ankle back at all. Do you like the feeling of clicking that lower cuff buckle and feeling your shin and ankle get pulled back? Boa says fuck that. Not just fit thing, every person who I've talked to feels the same.
Lack of independent control: Yes, you still need need the ability to tighten different areas of your boot independently. If you toes and instep are not equally tight, boa will tighten them unequally. I want to be able to lightly buckle my instep and tighten my forefoot more if I want. The cuff boa problems go even deeper. You can't tighten your ankle without tightening the top of the boot. Many people like to lock in the ankle and play with the top buckle for flex control. With boa, the cables are pulled the same distance so it feels tighter on your calf than your ankle. Nothing beats a super stiff boot with a loose ankle.
No compensation for fit: For the reasons above, but extra emphasized here, the lack of independent zone control doesn't allow you to compensate for fit discrepencies.
It is a pain to work on: The cables get in the way of opening the boot up really wide or sliding it onto a punch. The molding for the lower boa doesn't allow the cup of the punch to sit where you want it to, making it awkward to punch near that area.
If you foot perfectly fits a shell in every dimension and the flex characteristics of the boot when cranked are exactly as you want them, then perhaps Boa is decent.
Lower Boa had a naive excitement to it when it came out but that is gone now. I've never seen such an initial repulsion towards a product.
I'd be very happy to see boa leave the ski boot industry and will be ordering as little boa as possible to help drive the point home to the product managers. Of course it works for some people, but the trade isn't worth it.