$229 Intermediate to Advanced All Mountain K2 seems to want to create every kind of lace hybrid lacing system out there. The K2 Portrait has a BOA on the inside and a single speed lace for the outer shell. It's awesome that you can control the liner from the outside but it's not awesome that there is no upper and lower adjustability. That being said the Lockheart, although not very adjustable, is very comfortable and performs very well on the mountain. The Lockheart's mid flex is perfect for almost any kind of board and has appeals to a wide range of riders. We'd like to see speed lace for the liner as well as upper and lower speed lace on the outer shell. If this happened the Lockheart would be an incredible boot. Still the heel hold, comfort and performance is very good. When it comes to comfort K2 does know how to build a boot around your feet.
The Good Ride Take on K2 K2 is a big company and is almost secretive when it comes to trying their gear before you buy it. So many companies are really proud of their gear and try to do everything they can to get you to ride it. K2 seems to do the bare minimum and despite its size has the least amount of gear to demo than almost any other company. Their policy seems to be if you want to try our stuff you have to buy it. K2 choose Flat Camber and rocker/camber snowboards and hasn’t chosen to work with any hybrid shapes. Some people love or hate their flat camber but their flat/rocker shapes seem to be some of the best out there and are well liked. When it comes to Bindings K2 spends a lot of time working on the quick release side of things instead of working on improved board flex and turn initiation like other companies have as of late. Their boots are well made and pretty comfortable but many don’t have the traditional upper and lower BOA system that others do. Instead they have an inner and outer lacing system which some like but to us it doesn’t make sense. Their customer support is not on par with some of the best out there. There is no customer service phone # on their site to call so you must contact them via email.
New to the line, the Lockheart applies the six years of K2 Alliance™ team design experience to a speedlace boot. Boa®Conda™ super secure ankle hold comes standard as do rich upper materials and refined details you’d expect form K2.
Boa Conda
Fit on the fly
The patented K2 CONDA System allows you to tighten, loosen or adjust your liner on-the-fly – from outside of the boot! The first time you try this, you’ll wonder how you ever rode without it.
How it works: A Boa® is attached to the CONDA minimized harness is securely built into the shell of the boot and tightens around the liner to lock your foot in position. Focus is on the superior ankle support and heel hold. The harness lace is threaded through a floating tongue lace guide, allowing riders to customize fit for maximum comfort.
Harshmellow - Boots
HEELS REJOICE
Formulated for long lasting impact absorption and vibration killing, the same Harshmellow material used in boards and bindings can be found in our boots. Integrated in the heel and forefoot areas of our top boots, minimizing rebound and making landings softer and more controlled.
Intuition Control-Foam 3D
Superior heel hold and refined comfort
• A blend of high and standard density thermo-forming Ultralon® foam • Internal/external “J” bars for increased heel hold • Fast-In™ liner lacing system • 3D molded EVA insole with HARSHMELLOW pods
Performance Outsole With Harshmellow
A minimized rubber outer sole is bonded to a super lightweight 3D molded midsole for the top shelf in grip, durability. Low profile design for enhanced board feel. Plus critically placed HARSHMELLOW inlays in the forefoot and heel for the ultimate in damping and shock absorption.
BOA vs. Speed Lace vs. Traditional Lace A Snowboard Boot Lacing System Comparison by The Good Ride.
The Good Ride Take on BOA Boots- A BOA Boot has a steel cable attached to some sort of plastic Coiler mechanism that tightens the boot instead of laces. There are 2 main types of BOA boots. 1. Single BOA- This uses just one BOA Coiler to adjust the entire boot. 2. Double BOA - This uses 2 BOA Coilers for upper and lower adjusting. Some have 1 for the outside and 1 for the inside but most are for upper and lower. BOA boots are the easiest to get on, get off and adjust out of any boot. Single BOA boots have the least upper/lower adjustability of any boot because the bottom and top is tightened by one coil. If you have a Double BOA (2 Dials for upper and lower) they are closer to other lacing systems but still not as good. Both the upper and lower dials adjust the ankle in the same place. This means you don't have complete separation like you do with Speed Lace and most Traditional Lace Boots. The biggest issue with BOA boots is if they break it requires a shop or the manufacturer to fix them. It’s usually not the cable that breaks but the dials. Out of all the boots you can crank a BOA tighter than any other boot which can be a good or bad thing. There have been some complaints that BOA boots can have some pressure points from the cable system when tightened too tight. The bottom line is BOA tech is a cool technological advancement that will work well with many riders and is super easy to adjust. In the end it comes down to personal preference and BOA could be right for you.
The Good Ride Take on Traditional Lace- Traditional Lace is what most people know. It’s reliable and easy to repair. Lace boots take a lot more effort than BOA or Speed Lace. Also many riders complain about blisters in attempts to get them tight. Some Lacing systems have handles at the top that connect to the laces and we love this. Another thing we like is when the upper lace hooks hold the lace in place so each section can tighten independently. When you have this along with a handle connected to the end of the laces it’s more adjustable than BOA and Speed lace. We really like this but it’s almost not a traditional lace boot. It’s more a hybrid but whatever you call it we like it! However it’s not great in terms of the time it takes to get things dialed out or make minor adjustments on the hill.
The Good Ride Take on Speed Lace- Speed lace is a perfect compromise between BOA and Traditional lace. It’s almost as fast as BOA and more adjustable. Some Traditional Lace is just as adjustable but speed lace is easier to do so. We really like how the upper and lower laces are 100% separate. This is a huge advantage over BOA Boots and some traditional laces that don’t lock at each hook. Speed Lace is super easy to tighten up and dial out. It’s also pretty easy to make small adjustments throughout the course of the day. If the laces break out on the hill it will be a lot more difficult to fix than traditional laces but it can be done without help from a shop or sending it back. If you are a 100 day a year rider then plan on changing out your laces half way through the season. We have been lucky so far and never had one break on the hill because any time they start to get frayed they break. We mainly ride speed lace boots but we aren't that high on ourselves to say that's the way it should be. Everyone is different.
All lacing systems have strengths and weaknesses. It’s up to you to figure out what will work the best.
