Issue link: https://bluemagazine.uberflip.com/i/25165
9 ear:: TEXT: PETER KRAY oar 00 5 THIS SEASON. ITS ALL ABOUT FLEX Flex and fit are the name of the game in snowboard boots this season as the industry tries to leave the ghost of Sorels behind. Long labeled as little more than souped- up moon boots with straps, snowboard boots are finally getting the high-tech treatment they deserve and major manufacturers have made big investments in technical features designed to help riders from the bunny hill to the backcountry. Ride and Rossignol, for instance, have introduced a flex rating system for their boots K2 TRANSFORMER K2's new Transformer boot is avai lable with a removable high- back for use with highback or low bindings. The Clicker com- patible boot has an insert in the back for low binding riding and was designed for use with K2's Plasma binding. Riders can easily remove the insert for use with a highback, however, or leave it in for super stiff performance. K2, www.k2snowboards.com. $229 * NORTHWAVE LEGEND When Northwave says the Legend is supposed to feel like a skate shoe, they mean it's for people who feel the same way about riding as they do about chi lling. Compared to Northwave's top-of-the-line Reset and Focus boots, the Legend is softer flex- ing for comfort on long hikes and halfpipe hanging. It also fea- tures a heel brace system that connects with the bootlaces to keep your foot in one place while you're riding. On the flex front, riders can adjust the flex rating between eight, seven or six by fitting the Legend with an Impact Bio, Ultra or Ergo liner. Northwave, www.northwave.com. $220--$300 (depending on liner) TOP PICK FOR PIPES AND PARKS 94 BURTON ION Burton's new top-of-the-line Ion boot has an EvoLast Pinnacle liner and something Burton calls Universal Flex, which means a softer flexi ng and more versati Ie boot. It seems to be work- ing. Not on ly is Opie-faced Olympic bronze medalist Ross Powers wearing these boots in the pipe, but Dave Downing is trekking hard on them in the backcountry. Burton even dumped the weight of stitches and glue by using radio fre- quency welding to attach the backstay-a technique used to finish high-end running shoes. The EvoLast Pinnacle liners are gender and size specific and feature custom-fitting foam . The Ion is available for conventional strap-in bindings or for use with Burton's SI step-in binding. Burton, www.burton.com. $280 (conventional), $300 (step-in) ,- . TOP PICK FOR ALL-MOUNTAIN RIDING this season. First introduced last year by Northwave, a flex rating system lets riders rate their flex appeal on a scale of one to 10 to decide what boots they should be wearing. For Northwave, the stiffest freeride and freestyle boots rank a 10, while the softest freeride boot ranks a six and the softest freestyle boot gets a five in the ratings. "Flex ratings are really designed to let the rider break out of the stereotype of what kind of boot they shou ld be buying," said Dane Hjort, Rossignol snowboard division manager. "Rather than saying you want a freeride or freestyle boot, you decide what flex feels good for you and then look for boots with that rati ng." The problem is in standard ization-or the lack of it. Although more companies are expected to jump on the flex train in the future, the ratings vary from company to company. This means that just because you like a boot that Northwave rates a six, don't expect that Ride and Rossignol would give it the same rating. While Ride, Rossignol and Northwave are focusing on flex, Burton is making break- throughs in fit. Burton recently spent more money than most snowboard companies make in a year to develop more boot sizes in order to enable one-to-one shell to liner design. Every other winter sports manufacturer (including alpine ski boot makers) builds on a two-to-one design, meaning they use at least two different size liners for every size boot shell they produce. You may buy a size 7.5 liner, for instance, but it would be matched with a size 8 shell. Burton's push for one-to-one design means it wi ll be building 48 shel l sizes this year, compared to only 20 last year. "Even more intensive than the cost was the investment in time," said Chris Kuhr, Burton boot category manager. "We designed all new shell s, liners and outsoles, spent countless hours on computer engineering, and then tested and scrapped prototypes allover the world just to bring this to market this season ." Thanks to the guys in white lab coats as well as the people riding deep white powder, this year's hottest boots signal a quantum leap over previous models. * RIDE STORM Ride's new Storm boot is for people who think that winter is a calling. Available in traditional or step-in models (with the K2 Clicker system) the Storm rates a 10 on forward flex and a nine on lateral flex in Ride's flex rating system. It is a big boot for big riding. Trick features include a full-length anatomical tongue and a Superman-style spring backstay. Seriously. The back of the boot is made of a shaped spring steel placed inside polyurethane. Talk about edge transfer. Ride, www.ridesnowboards.com. $249 (traditional), $290 (step-in)