2006-2007 Boot Review

Of all the snowboard equipment to buy, boots are the most important. If you don’t have boots that fit good, your time on the mountain will not be enjoyable. I constantly tell people on forums that boots are your number #1 purchase for snowboarding. It’s also the purchase where price does not matter, but Fit of the boot does.

When it comes time to seek out possible snowboard boots, I narrow it to brand, then model and then size. Vans boots have always been the best fit for my foot so I have stuck with them although this year I did pick up another brand that also fit so that was lucky.

With Vans I made sure to try on my shoe size first ( I wear size 9 shoes) in snowboard boots, then I went down to 8.5 and finally down to 8 which was the perfect fit. Snowboard boots pack out throughout the season so you want to purchase your boots on a good fit that will last. If you get the perfect comfortable fit in the snowboard store, eventually it’ll pack out to the non-comfortable too loose fit. So I make sure my toes touch the end of the boot, but are not curled. They feel tight and secure. The breaking in period is the worst with snowboard boots, mine took about 6 days of early season riding before I felt any relief from my feet. I could have made it easier by walking around in the house for hours with them, but I like to endure my pain on the mountain while actually snowboarding. After they broke in, the boots were a perfect fit.

With my Atomic boots, I was able to try those on at SIA and I knew the boot fit. I also wanted to have spare boots around just in case and since I got a really good deal on them, it seemed dumb to pass by the opportunity of another good fitting boot.

Both of my boots have the boa system on them. My Vans are the dual boa and the atomics are the single boa. My last pair of boots was single boa as well, in fact since getting hooked on boa back in 02/03 I haven’t turned back to regular laces. The dual boa really allows me more adjustability in the tightness I prefer. As for strength, boa has lasted for me with no problems at all. I’m a firm believer in the cable and I definitely think it’s stronger than the regular laces…cable vs laces really isn’t a competition…cable is stronger.

One thing to make sure of with new boots…make sure your footbeds that came with the boot give you enough support and suit your feet. It doesn’t hurt to invest in some Superfeet or similiar brand footbeds that’ll treat your foot good for the entire season. All the boots I have had, didn’t have very good footbeds in them so it’s done me good to buy better footbeds.

The best part about these boots, the fit is very similiar in both of these. I wear a size 8 in both of these boots.

But here is the reviews of each of my boots.

06-07 Atomic Glamour: These are the most comfortable boots I have ever worn. The inside liner is faux fur and to be honest, it’s warm and fuzzy which makes my feet feel good. The gold bling chains just add some flare and style to the boot which are pretty fun to show off “my bling”. There are built in J-bars so I have no heel lift whatsoever and it holds my heel firmly in the boot. The boa system is standard and works very well. The boot is leather and freaking tough and durable. Good traction. It’s the only boot you shouldn’t judge by it’s cover…even though they are flashy, it’s a solid quality boot.

Retails for: $200

Retails for: $249