Boot sizing across brands

A snowHead

After a dalliance with skiing for a few trips, I'm back to snowboarding, thinking I'll get some new boots to see me through the future trips...

Before I go through the faff of visiting a shop, what are people's thoughts on whether certain brands offer certain types of fit?

I mean - I cycle a lot and it's widely known that Northwave do wide shoes, Sidi are small (Italian sizing) and then there are others, like Shimano, who are true to size... Is it the same in snowboard boots? Are there certain brands I can instantly wipe from the list because they're, say, narrow?

I have some ThirtyTwo TM Twos that are 10yrs old but still in fantastic nick. However, I always found them to be a bit 'pinchy' width-wise, with a lot of 'hotfoot' right in the ball of the foot. I rented some Salomon ones last trip (can't for the life of me remember what model) and they were sized in mondo (305), whereas my existing boots are UK11/EU46. Those rentals were much softer so felt better, but not stable at speed.

Thoughts?

A snowHead

My son has relatively wide feet and likes the ThirtyTwos. He's previously had a pair of Northwave that fitted reasonably well too. Burton were way too narrow for him - think he was a 10 last winter and a Burton boot in a 12 still didn't fit.

We are up in Aberdeenshire and pretty much the only place that has a range of snowboard boots to try is Snow and Rock. So you could try them if you have one nearby?

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I’ve been snowboarding 30 years and have always alternated between 32’s and Northwave boots as I have small but wide feet, usually a terrible combination to deal with but both manufacturers seem to fit well. Latest pair of 32’s actually came in a bit small but with some thinner footbeds are now really comfortable. As said above, Burton’s always crippled me, though they now do wide versions of some of their range, albeit very hard to pick up in a small (UK7) men’s size.

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I think standard Salomons tend to have a narrower ankle and normal forefoot, aat least they did when I bought a good few years back. I also think they came up slightly small, half a size compared with most brands in the boot I ended up in (f22).

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

When you say "Before I go through the faff of visiting a shop", do you mean you're going to a shop anyway and want to have an idea in place? If you're going to a shop then would it not be better to go without a preference, assuming (hopefully) the staff will know what to suggest to you based on your profile?

I'm on my third pair of ThirtyTwos, after previously having Burtons, as the shop I went to reckoned their fit would be better for my weird flattish feet and I haven't looked back since, but obviously that advice was specific to my feet.

If you're looking for advice to potentially shop online, then apologies but I can't really offer any help, as I've only really thought about the fit on my feet, rather than the general fit of boots.

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@porkpiefox, more the faff of actually heading out the door to go shopping, listening to salesman patter about boots that are well out of my budget, having endless buyer's remorse when I do get strong-armed into a new pair Toofy Grin

I'll be up the Snowdome soon with my lad for his birthday, so I'll drop into the TSA just to get a steer on brands. But ultimately it could come down to an online purchase. I know that's not the ideal way to buy but saves me wasting a visit to shop that, say, stocks boots that are predominantly narrow brands for example.

I do like my ThirtyTwos, but my enormous second toe - it's like ET's finger, just doesn't light up - is probably one of the root causes why I've never quite gelled with them. Probably do need to just get a bigger boot and it'll be problem solved.

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After all it is free

I think the chances of you oversizing are very high going by your comments .

Oversizing in lenght/volume is a very very common situation which often endgames with buying a second pair in resort to relieve the pain/frustration .

Go see the best bootfit guy you can find with a range of boot stock and be prepared to spend a hours otherwise prepare for failure .
You cant self bootfit that seems obvious ...most people cant .

The good news is your cycling will very likely benefit your lower leg chain flexion ie. the personal physical part of bootfit your going to need .

So bit of an update... visited TSA after work to try on a few options, although the sizes they did have were limited, probably due to new stock not being in yet on some brands.

Was good to speak to someone who see a lot of boots and is asked a lot of questions about boots; tried on some Salomon ones, off the back of wearing Salomon BOA rentals in L2A at Easter. Definitely recreated that feeling of having a bit more room for my weird toe and the boots themselves felt wholly different to my TM Twos; amazing how different brands have different liner designs and densities.

Will go back over the next week or so, as I'm keen to try a few more options, especially to see how some lace-up models fare against the multi-BOA designs.

The advice from two staff members was to wait for the Bataleon boots to arrive in (they had none in stock in my size), as they tend to suit people with shallow feet and narrow ankles like mine. I already have buyer's remorse before I've even handed over some cash for new boots... everything is so eye-waveringly expensive these days Very Happy

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Did you get any idea when TSA were expecting stock in?

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I'm planning a visit to the Covent Garden store after work sometime but want to hold off until they actually have stock. I was planning to go over to Finches but as they are out of action for the foreseeable future, actual in-store places are a bit thin on the ground at the moment. Snow and Rock has been a bit spartan for snowboard gear recently.

You know it makes sense.

TSA (CG) usually have full stock early December. Sometimes late Nov but theres always 1 or 2 brands that have delays. s&r had a sale on in the summer and wifey bought a lovely pair of 32 boots. Great fit but bought some remind insoles from the us to pair them with. Never liked 32 boots myself always found them super wide and boxy like having your foot in a cardboard box!
Salomans were always too narrow and northwave were reat until a revamp in 2018ish when they all fit weird. For me my burton Imperials have been amazing and will keep them forever (if I can) I went a half size up which resolved the forefoot tightness. I always liked Rome boots but could never get the right size due to low size options. Nitro boots were a bit cluncky but the adidas boots I tried on once were like platform boots and i took a tumble in the store - never again!

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

So, I did two things (well, actually three);

1 - I gave up on my TM Twos, gifting them to my lad, whom they fit way better and he's well happy (they'll match his new board and bindings he's getting for crimbo). New laces and he thinks they're cool AF.
2 - In haste, I bought some used ThirtyTwo STW Boas off Vinted for the grand price of £15 but in a size up (UK12).... bit battered, way flexer than my old boots but sooooo comfortable, with wiggle room for toes and when fitted with some high arch footbeds, they feel great....
3 - ....But I got thinking that those STWs may be a bit flexy, they're old and they have a super wide sole so don't quite fit my bindings. So under the influence of Beachams all-In-One one night, I ordered some Bataleon Salsa in that mental team colour way, in a UK 11.5.....

....OMG! WHAT. A. BOOT.

Heel lift? Thing of the past. Nice fit in the toe box. The stock footbed feels decent as well. Absolutely lines up with what the guy in TSA said about them being really good for narrow heels. Had a quick walk round the house and a strap into the board and they feel insanely good. Obvs I did the bad thing of buying blind but it seems I may have lucked out and made a good choice.

Went with lace-up because although that BOA system is cool, I wasn't convinced it was worth the extra £25. In the end, managed to get some Black Friday discount so bagged them for £165 from AbsoluteSnow, which if they last me 5 holidays it less than renting.

1506893-bataleon-snowboard-boots-salsa-lace-team-jpg

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A snowHead

Will they match your jacket though?

A snowHead

Well wear as we say here.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@rogg, even my retro Sprayway jacket might be too tame for these - I reckon Vinted will throw up a suitable match jacket Toofy Grin

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I think boot shopping is one of the harder gear things to sort out in snowboarding because unless you have a load of cash to throw at it you can’t demo them.

I have been doing some boot shopping and the Nitros seem to fit me really well. I’m probably going to get the Capitals or Verticals.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@Specialman, probably the only pair of boots that can compliment and clash with the same jacket simultaneously.

I seem to have traditionally fitted into Salomons quite well, both ski and snowboard, with the addition of Lange on the ski boot size. Need some new boots this year, so will see how we go.

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Just looked at the UK/US/EU sizes on all the boots I have;

Original 2012 TM twos - UK11/US12/EU46 (and I think mondo 300) - snug, wide heel, average foot width but supportive under the arch, my ET toe rubs on end
Vinted STW Boas - UK 12/US13/EU47 (I think mondo 310) - roomy toebox, worked well with high arch footbed, wide across ball of foot, wide heel
Bataleon Salsa - UK 11.5/US 12.5/EU46 (mondo 305) - wider than TM Twos across foot, shallower internally, very tight heel, supports my arch with no 3rd party footbed

So Mondo point seems to tally up with the boots having varying degrees of fit in terms of length, as does the UK/US sizing. EU sizing seems off though, so maybe points towards discrepancies with that measuring standard (I'm a wide-fit UK11/EU47 in Shimano cycling shoes for reference).

I've only tried three brands on (32, Salomon, Bataleon) so maybe a brand like Burton, K2 or Deluxe may have offered something equally fitting, it's interesting to see how boots have moved on and also how dramatic the fit can be in an area like the ankle. Wonder what makes Bataleon designers think "a narrow, supported heel is classed as standard" whereas other brands offer more room as standard? Even though I cheated the system and lucked-out, I suppose it does also prove the point about trying boots on.

proof will be in the pudding at Christmas when I ride next; maybe I'll get a session in at Tamworth, but a week in Austria will, I'm sure, give me some valuable feedback on whether I've made the right decision.

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Oh, on an end note; it's also interesting to see the difference in sole width on various boots; my old TM Twos fitted perfectly with a few millimetres on my Ride bindings, as do the new Bataleons, even though they loo bigger. The STW Boas didn't though, and I had to mount the binding straps external of the frame for them to fit. However, the external toe box of both 32 models is much smaller than the Bataleons, means a very different setup for the front binding strap. These are the largest bindings Ride did in the range so for anyone with bigger feet, there could be the additional consideration of the boots not actually fitting in a binding. Again, I suspect different brands have different dimensions..... I can see how snowboard kit can be a nightmare to combine when you mix brands.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

I had a pair of salomon malamutes, wore them out over a couple of seasons, mail ordered the exact same size malamute from a season later to pick up on my way through uk heading to europe, which was heavily discounted.

It was at least a size bigger than my old ones and a totally different fit.

I reckon boot designers just smoke a lot of weed and see how they turn out once they have added all the pretty bits.

But mondo size is the only way to go to get some kind of indication of sizing. The uk/eu sizing shown is sometimes way different.

Help!!

Boot sizing across brands

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