Ride Nova 2001

Review Date
November 30, 2004

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 3 of 5

Used product for
Countless

Reviewed by: jblaski ,  Intermediate

Price Paid:  $150.00 at eBay

Favorite place to ride:
Cascade Mtn.

Riding Style:
All Mountain/Freeride

Product Year:
2002

Summary:
After 3 years of riding these, I figured I was experienced enough to write about them.

Strengths:
-Overall, quite comfortable, liner is shaped very well.
-Kept my feet very dry in all conditions.
-Good support, I've never had a problem with ankle support.
-Despite all rumors, I've never had these break away from my bindings. I enjoy large, non-park jumps and have frequently taken hard falls, no problems.
-Feet are held in place very well. Liner, laces, and ratchet strap all work well with no problems with heel lift.
-Materials used are of good quality. Three years of riding, scuffs and scrapes are the biggest flaw, all are normal usage.
-Used these boots in conventional bindings, they worked very well.

Weaknesses:
-Do run half to one size small.
-The foot inserts in one boot was creases from factory. Easily replaced.
-Boots are heavy. Easily noticable after a long day of riding.
-Lost the filler screws that take up space where the ratchet goes. (Ratchet can be placed in 2 different locations, extra screws filled up the empty holes)
-Did I mention they were heavy?

Similar Products Used:
Burton, K2, Vans

Review Date
January 8, 2004

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
2-5

Reviewed by: jennio(Unregistered User) ,  Intermediate

Price Paid:  $70.00 at ebay

Favorite place to ride:
devil's head

Riding Style:
FreeStyle

Product Year:
2002

Summary:
Easy for newbies, great for exiting lifts.

Strengths:
Ease of use. You can even click them on while you're on the lift. Say, "So long" to all your friends sitting with their butts in the snow while you smoothly exit the lift and coast down the hillside.

Weaknesses:
Powder gets packed into toe binding quite easily. There is a trick, though. I brought a plastic knife with me(any blunt tool will do so long as it won't scratch your bindings or impale you if you fall on it.) While I was on the lift, I would clean out the binding, click my foot in and voila!

Similar Products Used:
burton step-ins (rental)

Review Date
December 1, 2002

Overall Rating
 2 of 5

Value Rating
 3 of 5

Used product for
One

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1 votes

Reviewed by: ToothlessWithTatoos(Unregistered User) ,  Intermediate , from Upstate, NY

Price Paid:  $50.00 at cheapsnowboards.com

Favorite place to ride:
Holiday Valley

Riding Style:
Groomed/Slalom

Product Year:
2001

Summary:
A servicable boot, but not worth full-price. I got it on close-out as part of a set with K2 Clicker HB bindings (total was $100).

Runs a size small: order a full size larger than you need. The foot-bed is a little hard & uneven; I suggest throwing away the insert that comes with it & replacing it with a high-quality gel insert with good arch support, available from most drug stores (Dr. Scholls, etc.).

It's a soft boot with a lace-up liner & ratchet strap; if your heel slips, its because you have the wrong size boot or don't have it adjusted properly. The decorative stitching makes this boot bulkier & heavier than it needs to be.

Manufacturing quality is not good. It came shipped with a right & left boot, but 2 right foot liners. The store shipped a replacement left foot liner. There was a lot of excess stitching material & glue inside that made the foot-bed lumpy. This contributed to foot discomfort my first time out. I've trimmed most of it out to make the foot-bed flatter.

It had good ankle support & positive control with no heel slippage, but by the end of the day my feet were in pain. The next time out I will have the lumps out of the foot-bed & better sole inserts. That should take care of it.

Strengths:
Functional design: it can do what it needs to do if you fix a few problems yourself.

For me, the price was right & I was willing to put some efort into making it work.

Weaknesses:
Bulky & heavy. Hard & lumpy foot-bed. Poor quality manufacturing.

Similar Products Used:
Rosignol & Salomon rentals set up for N-type bindings.