BOA dials have been round for many years. However the newest development amongst ski manufacturers is incorporating BOA dials into alpine boots. A few of my larger-footed, harder-charging ski colleagues have already examined different boots with BOA. However I wished to search out out if BOA boots would work for me and my skinny ft. So, I received a pair of Salomon’s newest and stiffest ladies’s ski boots with BOA, the S/Professional Supra 105, to search out out.
Salomon claims the S/Professional Supra has a low quantity, narrower-last, and a reasonably stiff flex. I used to be intrigued. Low-volume boots are meant for slimmer ft like mine to supply higher management. However I’ve tried a number of low-volume boots up to now that didn’t match me almost in addition to I’d hoped. My expertise with stiff boots has been related — there are appropriately stiff boots, after which there’s downright uncomfortable.
Within the S/Professional Supra, it appeared like Salomon had discovered a secure center floor.
In brief: Over 4 months of snowboarding a variety of newbie to superior terrain (in contemporary snow and hardpack), I poured quite a lot of time into the Salomon S/Professional Supra BOA boots. They carried out extremely nicely when it comes to match, consolation, and precision. The Salomon S/Professional Supra with BOA is a snug but stiff, dependable boot for resort-goers. After testing, I’m satisfied that the development of alpine BOA dial ski boots is value leaping on. They’re extra snug, match higher, and supply extra management than their buckled counterparts.
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Supplies
Polycarbonate HD shell, ExoWrap shell and liners, 2 Alpine BOA buckles, Alpine Boa dial, and cables and guides, customized Tongue, latex foam -
Sort
BOA closure -
Final width
100mm -
Flex index
105 (additionally out there in 95) -
Customized moldable
Sure -
Boot sole kind
GripWalk (ISO 23223) -
Sizes
22-27.5 Mondo -
Weight
1,710 g
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Extremely snug -
Impeccably actual match -
Superior micro-adjustment -
Dial is sturdy (boots survived a drop take a look at from 6 ft)
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Narrower final -
Low-volume boot not for all foot sorts/skiers -
Restricted ladies’s sizes (out of luck for dimension 11 and greater)
Salomon S/Professional Supra BOA Ski Boot Assessment
Match and Really feel
These boots match very nicely for slender to medium ft. Particularly contemplating the liner and the whole lot inside the boot could be molded and customised, I assumed the match felt excellent. If you understand a lower-volume boot is usually the fitting match for you, I’m assured your ft will really feel proper at dwelling in these boots.
Now right here’s the rub. Boot consolation and match are extremely subjective, relying in your foot kind. My ft are bony, skinny, ultra-narrow, and small girth. Living proof: So far as width goes, my ft are within the first percentile. So, a boot with a low-volume match is essential for a skier like me for higher boot management.
Within the Salomon S/Professional boots, it’s not simply the BOA dial doing all of the work to “repair” match. The shell partitions are literally thinner in some locations to create extra contact. That, plus the Exowrapping element of the liner, supplies a notably extra exact foot wrap.
All of those parts have been big wins in my e-book. Within the Salomon S/Professional Supra boots my ft are making contact, being hugged, and wrapped in all the fitting locations. In my view, nothing was ignored to make this boot actually adjustable and catered to lower-volume ft.
In the event you look carefully at my foot scan (above), my proper foot can also be greater than my left. Apparently, that’s widespread in 60% of the inhabitants, in accordance with foot blogs. I run, bike, hike, ski, and climb. So, normally, my ft are fairly labored.
Positive, sometimes I deal with myself to a foot soak or therapeutic massage. However normally, my ft are energetic, transferring, plodding, flexing, and scrambling round. They’re well-worn and no stranger to uncomfortable ski boots.
After snowboarding within the S/Professional Supra, I’ve a brand new bar for comfortably becoming ski boots. My new aim is to not accept subpar boots.
Testing Whereas Downhill Snowboarding
One big professional of BOA boots may be seen as a draw back: It takes a bit extra time for becoming and micro-adjustment up entrance. However later, you gained’t be fiddling round with buckles when you’re snowboarding.
I’ve liked snowboarding in these boots. If I’m not on my backcountry setup in my Tecnica Cochise boots, I’m in these. They genuinely really feel completely different — higher for my ft — than buckled boots.
That’s because of the lack of downward strain. As an alternative of buckles on high of the boot making use of a downward pressure to supply a good match, the BOA cables wrap the foot. The constriction of the “wrapping” component is absolutely noticeable in comparison with conventional buckles.
This boot suits and feels higher on my ft, even throughout the talus bone and slender high of my foot. They hug relatively than compress.
Total, the S/Professional Supra’s consolation on the downhill is on par with its general consolation. I by no means felt a crunching from the buckles or cables, by no means felt rubbing or soreness from the match. You possibly can simply improve or again off on the tightness of the laces. The incremental clicks make it straightforward to dial in on a near-perfect match.
My first week testing these boots, I wore them straight out of the field. 10 out of 10.
Technical Elements in Salomon S/Professional BOA
The BOA dial is the hallmark and most notable function right here. It’s a giant a part of why I’m reviewing these boots — and why they’re nice. However there are a number of different options of the S/Professional value relating.
The Salomon S/Professional Supra BOA is obtainable in a 95 and 105 flex. I examined the 105s. It is a medium to laborious stiffness boot greatest suited to intermediate to superior skiers. It’s not going to supply a ton of play or flexibility. However it is going to supply extra energy and stability at velocity.
Not like different stiffer boots I’ve tried, I truly thought these felt snug.
What I observed most whereas testing on my dwelling mountains in Colorado (and on a current journey with Ski Utah), was the safe heel, the “exo” foot wrapping, and the insert contained in the polyurethane/customized HD shell. Shifting the exo wrap and liner round, and getting the boot molded and the tongue adjusted (with a variety of a number of millimeters so it may possibly match extra individuals), all helped dial match.
This liner features a customized tongue that may be dismantled and is solely customizable. (You’ll discover this in a number of different current Salomon S/Professional line boots.)
I additionally observed the facility backbone, which hyperlinks the cuff and the shell to supply sturdy again help, and “highly effective ahead flex irrespective of the snow situations.” There are two choices right here: direct and efficiency. Primarily, it’s a small strategy to alter to a stiffer or softer really feel. Efficiency was softer, direct was barely stiffer, extra noticeable, and my alternative on hardpack and steeper runs. Whereas I didn’t discover an enormous distinction between the 2 in testing, it’s a pleasant function.
Salomon additionally barely altered the footbed within the S/Professional BOA and its different 2024 fashions to “Gentle+” (made with lighter foam). I’m on my ft on a regular basis once I’m not using my desk and I discovered the footbed/included insole snug. I’ve most likely walked a minimum of 4-5 miles to and from parking heaps and elevate traces in these boots.
Additionally, iIt is an extremely straightforward boot to step into. I used to be even in a position to boot up on the automotive with out sitting down.
Salomon S/Professional BOA Ski Boot: Conclusion
BOA made positive to solid a large internet of fashions, alpine and touring choices, males’s and ladies’s sizes, and flex choices. Of the handful of manufacturers BOA partnered with within the first 12 months, we’ve examined almost all of them.
However even earlier than the boots launched, just one model me: Salomon’s. Why? Traditionally, the model’s boots have match my ft the very best. A few of the high “low-volume” boots available on the market are the K2 Mindbender, the Salomon S/Professional, and the Tecnica Cochise (I’ve skied in all three). BOA has added dials to the previous two, cementing my choice that there was a BOA boot value testing.
The end result? I discovered a boot that was extra snug for my ft than conventional boots. The Salomon S/Professional Supra 105 is very adjustable, sturdy, not too heavy, and better of all, affords a match like no different. (Nonetheless, in contrast to the K2 Mindbender, an identical low-volume boot, these aren’t suitable with tech bindings.) These are boots I plan to ski at resorts in for a few years.
If the dial parts (just like the cable “laces”) ever put on down or break, I’ll observe up with BOA for replacements. Just like the BOA Match System on some other piece of footwear, BOA has already examined extensively for stress and failure factors. If all else fails, it does have alternative components, which the shopper (moi!) can interchange themselves — with out having to ship them for restore.
However hopefully, I’ll by no means should.
