Snowboard boot

Snowboard shoes or boots are an important part of the snowboard equipment. They influence the power transmission to the snowboard and its reaction speed.

A distinction is made between soft soft boots and shell shoes , so-called hard boots .

Soft boots

Soft boots

Soft boots are used in soft bindings. They have a thick but flexible sole and are well padded. Soft boots can be very soft, but they can also be quite hard. This entirely depends on the requirements of the driver. A freestyle rider is more likely to opt for a soft boot, while the freerider is more likely to prefer a harder boot. The same applies here as for the bindings : With a hard boot, the power transmission is better, with a soft boot, the board is basically easier to control. With some boots for the step-in bindings, the highback is integrated in the boot. Soft boots can now also be individually adapted to the foot with pneumatic devices. Soft boots are very popular because they are softer than hard boots and offer more freedom of movement.

Hard boots

Hard boots , like normal ski boots, are hard shell boots that are molded from plastic; the differences consist of a more acute angle with respect to the foot and shin axis and a thicker sole. This does not end at the toe and heel in the DIN pattern familiar from ski boots, but rather tapers in a trapezoidal shape from the footrest to the snowboard. The latter is necessary so that the shoe does not touch the snow when used on steep edges.

The decisive advantage, and therefore also the reason why only hard boots are used in alpine disciplines such as parallel slalom, is a very direct power transmission to the edges of the snowboard. Since the leg is very tightly clamped in the hard boot, especially in the area of ​​the lower shin, leverage forces also occur (to a greater extent than in soft boots), which reduce the effort required to set the edges.

When driving, the comfort of a well-adapted, possibly foamed hard boot is significantly higher than that of a tightly closed soft boot. A hard boot that doesn't fit perfectly (which is easily possible due to a lack of manufacturers and models), on the other hand, is very uncomfortable. Hard boots are also not suitable for flat binding angles, as the power transmission is usually designed for an inclination of 40 ° and more. In addition, hard boots offer a much stronger template than soft boots. In addition, the firm grip on the leg ensures that symptoms of fatigue occur much more quickly than with the soft competition.

These advantages and disadvantages as well as the much higher production and development costs for hard boots have led to the fact that hard boots are now almost exclusively used by professional athletes (in the alpine area) and enthusiasts who have outgrown youth. In the 1990s, hard boots were offered by numerous snowboard brands such as Burton, Oxygen and Northwave. There are currently only two active manufacturers of hard boots available in Europe, namely Dee Luxe (Raichle) and UPZ (formerly UPS, also manufactures the virus hard boot). Head (formerly Blax) has now stopped production.