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The Boot Lace Wars: Traditional, Speed Zone, or BOA?

Why your choice of lacing system is the most important decision you’ll make all season.

Andy Blumberg

Nov 5

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It doesn’t matter if you drop $800 on the latest aggressive freeride board or have the $500 flagship bindings—if your boots don’t fit and function perfectly, your whole day is blown. The boot is the control center, the direct link between your brain and the edge of your board. But even after you find the perfect mold and flex, there’s one critical question left: How do you want to secure it?

The lacing systems available today have evolved dramatically since the old days of heavy, repurposed winter pack boots that started it all (a bit more on Sorel later on). We’re left with three primary contenders, each offering a unique compromise between fit, speed, and durability.

Fit First, Then Fasten: Pro-Level In-Store Boot Fitting Tips

Finding the right snowboard boot is often described as the most important and most difficult gear decision. Use these steps when trying on boots in the shop:

Wear Your Snow Socks: Never try on boots with the thick socks you walked in with. Wear the thin, technical Merino or synthetic socks you actually plan to ride in to ensure an accurate fit.
The Toe Tap Test: When you first put the boot on (unlaced), your toes should brush or lightly press the end of the toe box. Now, bend your knees and stomp your heel back into the boot sole (this is critical to push your foot back into the heel cup).
The Heel Lock Check: After lacing the boot as tight as you would on the mountain, stand up. Bend your knees deeply, simulating a heelside turn. Your heel should feel locked into the heel cup with minimal to no lifting. A small bit of initial lift (1/4 to 1/2 inch) is okay, as liners compress over time, but too much means it’s the wrong size or model.
Allow for Break-In: Snowboard boots are designed to be stiff and tight out of the box. They will pack out and soften up by about half a size after a few days of riding. If they feel perfectly comfortable and roomy in the store, they will be too big and sloppy on the mountain. Expect to feel slightly uncomfortable initially.

Read: Support Your Local Snowboard Shop

1. Traditional Laces: The Classic Workhorse

The system we all grew up with: simple, reliable laces pulled tight and tied off. If you’ve ever tied a shoe, you know the drill.

Why Riders Still Love Them

Unrivaled Customization: This is the biggest selling point. Traditional laces allow you to micro-adjust the tension across the entire boot. You can tie the bottom snug for control, leave the middle loose for flow, and crank the top cuff for maximum support—whatever your foot needs. Reliability & Repair: There are virtually zero points of mechanical failure. If a lace breaks, you can swap it out with any hardware store lace in a few minutes. They’re cheap, easy to repair, and incredibly durable. Cost: Boots with traditional laces tend to be the most affordable option.

The Downside

Slowness: Tying and untying them, especially in a freezing parking lot with numb fingers, is slow and tedious. Loosening: They require frequent re-tightening throughout the day as the laces naturally stretch and relax.

Who Should Ride Them?

The Park Rat and the Custom Fit Obsessive. If you need to dial in a precise, non-uniform fit or you prize durability and customization above all else, stick with the classic lace.

Low-Tech Leverage: The Lace Puller

For those who love the feel and customization of traditional laces but struggle to get them tight enough—especially around the stiff upper cuff—a small, inexpensive lace puller or lace hook is a game changer.

These tools are typically small handles with a metal hook that catches the lace loop. By wrapping the lace around the hook and pulling, you gain significant mechanical advantage, allowing you to achieve a much higher and more consistent tension than you can with just your fingers.

It’s an essential accessory for any traditional boot user looking to eliminate ankle slop and prevent heel lift without resorting to speed laces or BOA. The best ones are made of rigid plastic or metal and are small enough to keep in a jacket pocket or a gear bag.

2. Quick-Pull Systems (Burton Speed Zone)

Popularized primarily by Burton’s Speed Zone system, this mechanism uses high-tensile cords and sliding handles that lock into a retention cleat, typically located on the side panel near the top of the foot or ankle. One pull adjusts the upper zone and one for the lower zone.

Why Riders Use Them

Speed: It’s in the name. Pull, lock, and you’re done in seconds. Dual-Zone Control: Most effective quick-pull systems offer separate handles for the upper cuff and the lower foot, giving you two distinct zones of tension control. This is a massive step up from single-pull systems of the past. Secure Lock: Once the cord is seated in the cleat, it rarely loosens on its own.

The Downside

Limited Customization: While dual-zone is great, you can’t isolate the tension on one specific point like the ankle or bridge of the foot; you’re stuck with the two zones provided. Ejection Difficulty: While entry is fast, exiting the boot can sometimes be a struggle, especially when the cords are under high tension and the rider is fatigued. The friction lock doesn’t always release smoothly, leading to a frantic moment of extraction. Cord Management: The excess cord must be manually wrapped around a plastic cleat and tucked into a small pocket. This can be awkward, slow, and prone to the pocket failing or the cords flopping out. Cord Replacement: While usually simple, replacing a broken cord is more complex than replacing a standard lace and typically requires a specific replacement kit.

Who Should Ride Them?

The All-Mountain Charger who values speed and efficiency. If you are constantly changing gear in variable terrain and want to get riding now, the quick-pull system is highly effective.

Innovation Spotlight: The Retractable Speed-Cord

One of the longest-standing design flaws of quick-pull lacing systems isn’t the pull itself, but the resulting mess of cord and handle. After cinching the boot tight, the rider is left with a length of high-tension cord and an oblong pull handle that must be carefully wrapped and tucked into a side pocket.

This process is slow, especially when it’s cold, and the cord often works its way out, creating a flapping hazard that can snag on bindings or tree branches.

My proposed solution is a simple, spring-loaded retractable spool built flush into the boot’s side, much like a badge reel or a janitor’s keychain.

How It Works:

Pull the cord tight and lock it into the cleat.
The remaining slack cord and handle are automatically pulled flush into the boot housing by the spring mechanism.
The system eliminates the messy tucking process and the potential for snagging, cleaning up the boot profile instantly.

This elegant fix would drastically improve the user experience, offering the speed of quick-pull systems without the annoying manual cord management that currently slows riders down. It would be a huge step forward in boot technology refinement.

3. The BOA System

The most modern and visible of the lacing systems, BOA uses aircraft-grade stainless steel cables that are tightened by twisting an external ratcheting dial. The dial locks the cable tension in place and can be released instantly with a single pull or click.

Why Riders Are Drawn to It

Instant Tightening: A couple of quick turns of the dial provides rapid, powerful tightening that is far faster than traditional lacing. No Loosening: The ratchet lock holds tension flawlessly, meaning you rarely have to adjust until you’re ready to take the boot off. Micro-Adjustment: The dials click, allowing for millimeter-level adjustments in tension. This precision is unmatched by quick-pull systems.

The Downside

Durability Concerns: While modern BOA systems are incredibly tough, the mechanism is still a complex moving part. If the dial or cable housing fails, it can be a frustrating and difficult on-mountain fix. Pressure Points: The stainless steel cable can sometimes create pressure points, especially in single-dial systems, as the cable cinches down harder than a fabric lace.

Single vs. Dual/Triple BOA

Look for Dual or Triple BOA systems. These are far superior as they dedicate separate dials to the upper cuff, the ankle, and sometimes the forefoot, eliminating the pressure-point issue and providing outstanding zonal control that rivals traditional laces.

Who Should Ride Them?

The Backcountry Explorer and the Everyday Warrior. If you need fast, precise adjustment without taking your gloves off and require maximum support that won’t loosen on long traverses or runs, BOA is your premium choice.

Read: The Top 5 Double BOA All-Mountain Boots (2025/26)

DC’s Inflatable Liner: The Pump System

Before modern BOA and highly evolved internal harnesses became standard, DC experimented with a revolutionary concept to eliminate heel lift: an inflatable air bladder built directly into the liner, often called the Air Liner system.

The boots featured a small rubber pump (similar to a blood pressure cuff pump) usually located on the boot’s tongue or side. Riders would pump a few times, and the air would inflate a bladder wrapped around the ankle and heel area inside the liner. The goal was to custom-mold a perfect, pressurized fit that aggressively locked the heel down, thereby maximizing response and control.

While ingenious in theory, the technology was largely discontinued due to two major issues:

Pressure Points: Over-inflation could lead to painful, concentrated pressure spots around the ankle bones.
Bladder Failure: The air bladders themselves were prone to developing small leaks over time, leaving riders with a useless pump and inevitable heel slippage. The troubleshooting for this involved a delicate unsewing and patching process.

The DC Air Liner is a great example of an innovative but ultimately complex solution that was replaced by simpler, more robust internal ankle harnesses and superior outer lacing designs.

The Cheapest, Best Upgrade: Custom Insoles

Before you spend hundreds on new boots, try spending $50 on your insoles. The footbed that comes in 99% of factory snowboard boots is a thin, flat foam pancake designed only for cost efficiency, not for performance. It’s the weakest link in your entire setup.

Upgrading to a supportive, aftermarket insole (or a full custom orthotic) can dramatically improve your riding experience by:

Eliminating Heel Lift: A supportive insole lifts your arch and positions your heel more securely in the heel pocket. When your heel is properly stabilized, it can’t float up, which is the root cause of heel lift and loss of control.
Preventing Foot Fatigue: By supporting the natural shape of your foot, you reduce strain on the muscles in your arch and lower leg. This minimizes the dreaded burning sensation in your feet during long runs or hard carving.
Better Power Transfer: A firm, non-squishy base provides a solid platform for initiating turns. When you lean into your toes or heels, the power is transferred directly to the boot sole, increasing responsiveness and edge control.

Brands like Superfeet and Sole make excellent aftermarket options, usually keyed to different arch heights (low, medium, or high) to match your foot’s needs. This is genuinely the most cost-effective performance upgrade you can make to any snowboard boot.

Read: Remind Insoles - Pro Rider Collection Review (2025/26)

Choosing the Right Sock: Thin for the Win

It seems counterintuitive, but when it comes to snowboarding, thicker is not warmer. A modern snowboard boot is designed with high-density foam and excellent thermal insulation; its warmth is determined by how well it fits.

When you wear a bulky sock, you:

Reduce Circulation: A thick sock is compressed inside a tightly laced boot, constricting blood flow to your toes. Poor blood flow is the primary reason for cold feet.
Compromise Fit: The extra bulk creates pinch points and forces your foot to squish, leading to pressure spots and fatigue.
Hinder Moisture Management: Thick, often cotton-based, socks hold sweat. Sweat is wet, and wet feet are cold feet.

The solution is a thin, high-performance sock made of Merino wool or a synthetic blend. These socks wick moisture away from your skin, maintain better circulation, and ensure the precise fit you paid for in your boot. Thin for the win is the golden rule.

Read: Le Bent Men’s Snow (2025/26)

The Best $40-65 Investment: The Boot Dryer

Snowboard boots are not waterproof; they are water resistant and highly insulated. Over the course of a day, your liner absorbs a significant amount of sweat, moisture, and snowmelt. Leaving your boots to dry naturally in the corner overnight is the single worst thing you can do for them.

Wet Boots are Cold Boots: Damp foam and liner material start the next morning cold, making your feet freeze instantly, even before you leave the lodge.
Odor and Bacteria: Bacteria thrive in warm, damp environments. A boot dryer eliminates this by thoroughly drying the entire liner, virtually eliminating the infamous “boot stink.”
Extend Lifespan: Moisture breaks down the foam, stitching, and glues in your boot much faster. Drying your boots after every session is the best way to double or triple their lifespan and keep the foam responsive.

Look for a dryer that uses gentle, forced warm air (convection) rather than intense heat. Extreme heat can damage the liners and melt the heat-moldable foam. A simple forced-air dryer in the $40 to $65 range is the best single investment you can make for your foot comfort and gear longevity.

Union Bindings Enters the Boot Market

For years, Union Bindings has dominated the binding market with a reputation for simplicity, quality, and bombproof durability. Now, they’re finally making the jump into footwear with their first-ever line of snowboard boots. The move makes perfect sense—who knows more about the connection between the foot and the board than a company that literally makes the system connecting them?

Their initial offering is focused on a premium approach, utilizing a Dual Zone BOA system for lightning-fast, precise outer closure. However, they integrate their proprietary Quick-Lock Lace Harness for the internal liner, ensuring a hyper-secure heel hold that works in perfect harmony with their binding lineup. This is a huge development, and it will be interesting to see if they can disrupt the boot market the way they did the binding market a decade or more ago.

The Unsung Hero of Snowboard Boots

The story of the snowboard boot doesn’t start with space-age tech; it starts with a pair of chunky, felt-lined Sorel winter boots. Before dedicated snowboarding footwear existed, riders had to choose between soft Sorels or hard-shell plastic ski boots (often held together with duct tape). The Sorel offered warmth and comfort, which was ideal for the softer-flex boards of the time, earning them the title of the first de facto snowboard boot.

This legacy continued when Sorel partnered with rider Scott Downey to create one of the very first actual signature pro models: the Scott “Upside” Downey boot. This boot bridged the gap between the casual warmth of the Sorel and the necessary support required for carving and jumping, setting the stage for every purpose-built snowboard boot that followed.

Word on the street suggests that Sorel is planning a rad project dropping next year that ties directly into this heritage. This is intriguing news for those who appreciate the roots of the sport.