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Mountain Fit
Sponsor Content: Boa

Travis Rice鈥檚 Guide to Dialing In Your Snowboard Boots

Whether you鈥檙e after big objectives in the backcountry or bombing corduroy, the right boot fit can make all the difference

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Big-mountain snowboarder Travis Rice has made a career of riding impossibly steep lines with a speed and power all his own. Sometimes he uses a chairlift, snowmobile, or helicopter to buy altitude. Other times, like when he spent ten days splitboarding through Yellowstone National Park in search of first descents while filming for Teton Gravity Research鈥檚 latest film, he gets there on his own two feet. Regardless of how he summits, Rice says that riding at a high level in trying terrain all starts with his feet. Here鈥檚 how he gets set for the season.

Be Proactive with Fit

鈥淎s good as boot manufacturing is these days, everyone鈥檚 feet are still a little bit different,鈥 says Rice. His advice? Explore aftermarket insoles, get a full-on boot fit, or even do your own little tweaks. 鈥淔olks tend to have trepidation about manipulating their boots, but a little cut for more room here or better arch support there can hugely improve your ride.鈥

When trying on boots, Rice听recommends wearing the same socks you ride in and making听sure the toe box provides plenty of wiggle room. This ensures adequate circulation and a better chance of keeping your toes toasty鈥攗ltimately boosting听performance听and confidence. It makes sense: If you鈥檙e painfully wedged into cramped boots or hesitant because you can鈥檛 feel your toes, how are you going to feel about dropping in? 鈥淐onfidence all starts with your feet,鈥 he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 feet on up!鈥

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鈥淵our boot鈥檚 fit system is one of the most important aspects of its performance,鈥 says Rice. 鈥淚鈥檝e been in a for more than 15 years. I live in these boots and value constant and quick adjustability.鈥

The听Boa庐 Fit System听not only enables Rice to be ready to go in seconds but also lets him loosen and tighten the upper and lower zones of his boot independently and on the fly. 鈥淭hat adjustability allows me to manipulate fit based on changing conditions or different objectives. The fit I need in the terrain park is much more flexible, where with freeriding or top-to-bottom Jackson Hole Mountain Resort laps, you need more stability and a boot that will do the work for you. Boa gives me the ability to adjust on the fly. I鈥檓 constantly dialing it in.鈥

Do Some Pregaming

Just because you refined your kit and mental game by the end of last season, that doesn't mean you can just blow off the dust and think everything's good this winter. 鈥淏efore the season, I鈥檓 working on every aspect of my kit. I do a preseason check and lots of dry runs before I step into demanding terrain,鈥 says Rice. His checklist includes everything from wax, boot, and binding adjustments to taking avalanche refresher or first-responder courses.

Don鈥檛 Be a Drag

Rice鈥檚 biggest pet peeve is toe or heel drag on ill-adjusted bindings. 鈥淛ust take an extra minute to make sure your boots are centered from edge to edge. It鈥檚 easy to overlook, but drag will negatively impact your performance. If not centered, then maybe a bit more toe than heel,鈥 he recommends.

Be Savagely Present

鈥淭ake a deep breath and look at where you鈥檙e at. Look at who you鈥檙e with. These mountains and those friends and teammates demand that you be on high alert,鈥 says Rice. This is more than just a Zen-style philosophy鈥攊t鈥檚 also about being prepared to have your partners鈥 back should the unforeseen happen. 鈥淗aving your kit completely dialed frees you up to be hyper-present and make good observations and be in a clear state of mind. If you have an issue with your boots, that takes your concentration and isn鈥檛 fair to the mountains or your team.鈥


Dial in to fast, effortless, precision fit with the Boa Fit System. To learn more and check out the boots that Travis wears for peak performance, click .

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