$299 Intermediate to Expert Freeride to All Mountain The Ride Insano BOA is a good stiff flexing responsive BOA boot that like many Ride boots will last a long time. This sits in the same category to other boots like the Burton Driver X, Salomon Malamute and many other stiff boots out there. The 2011 and 2012 Insano has made a nice upgrade from Single BOA to Double BOA. This makes for better upper and lower adjustability and this is expected for a stiff boot of this price. The Insano has made a step in the right direction but we'd like to see this Double BOA not share the middle part around the ankle. So if you tighten the upper it tightens the ankle and if you tighten the lower it tightens the ankle. Some Double BOA boots are completely seperate. If you want seperate upper/lower adjustability similar to speed lace then this might not be the boot for you. However if you want something better than Single BOA the Insano is a great call. The Insano is still a great stiff super aggressive boot for the price and could make many riders pretty happy.
The Good Ride Take on Ride Snowboards They are from the same parent company as K2 and have many similarities in terms of board design and company policy. Ride’s customer service is better than K2’s and actually has a # to call on their site instead of just an on-line form. Ride, like K2 seems almost secretive when it comes to having third party entities like us or end users like you review their gear. So many companies like Burton, Rome, YES, Arbor ect. are really proud of their gear and try to do everything they can to get you to ride them. Ride seems to do the bare minimum and despite its large size has very few demo products. Their policy seems to be if you want to try it you have to buy it. Ride chooses mainly to work with variations of flat/rocker snowboards but has recently started to work with hybrid camber. Their hybrid camber is different than YES and Rossignol and leans more on the flat camber side of things but we still like to see them go in this direction. We have found that we like some of their shapes but other boards we weren’t fans of . Like K2 Ride’s rocker shapes always seem to be pretty flat between the feet and it makes for one of the better rocker set up out there. Ride makes pretty good bindings and many people swear by them. They have more parts than most bindings but all in all they do a very good job despite the fact that a lot of the binding is metal. We are big fans of the canted foot bed but can’t say we are a fan of their Contraband strap system. They make good boots that last for a long time but boots are so personal all we can speak to is their build and longevity.
PRINTABLE FOOT SIZE CHART: Choose your printer size:
STYLE: All Mountain
COLORS: Black, Green
The perfect combination of proven performance features and the latest in lightweight goodness, the 2012 Ride Insano Focus Boa snowboard boot is a charging freestyle snowboard boot dominates. Featuring the premium fit of our Intuition™ Dream Liner with Mobile Foam and Boa Focus with The Closer lace guide, the Insano offers precise fit and first-class function.Combined with the supportive Impacto insole and the Blown Light Meta outsole for a barefoot light feel.
BOOT FLEX-O-METER:
CONSTRUCTION:
INTUITION™ Dream Liner IN2GRATED™ CONSTRUCTION Cored Ankle Pockets Internal J Bars External J Bars Impacto insole Tallboy Harness™ The Closer Lace Guide Boa Focus Blown Light Meta
FEATURED TECH
INTUITION™ DREAM LINER
Multi-density foam surrounded in a supportive skeletal structure for maximum rebound and dreamy performance.
IN2GRATED™ CONSTRUCTION
In2grated™ Construction creates the lightest weight, shortest-length performance boots on the market, hands down. The removable liner is factory molded inside the shell to create the most efficient “net fit,” leading to less pack out for better overall comfort.
THE CLOSER LACE GUIDE
The Closer lace guide is centered over the forefoot to drive lace power down low and even the lace tension throughout the entire boot. Accompanied by Boa Lacing systems, the even tightening of The Closer takes speed lacing to the next level and provides an incredibly comfortable fit.
BOA FOCUS
Speed lace system with reels that allow for a precise fit in two zones.
Ride Insano 2011
ULTIMATE FREESTYLE BOA BOOT
A new performance freestyle attack boot that brings it all with the added convenience of the Boa Coiler and The Closer lace guide. Featuring Intuition™ Mobile Foam to dial in the perfect fit and the new Blown Light Meta outsole for a barefoot light feel. Insano fit, ease and style.
MSRP: USD 249.99
STYLE: Mobility
COLORS: Black, Red
SIZES: U.S. Men’s 7-13 (8.5, 9.5, 10.5, 11.5)
CONSTRUCTION FEATURES: Liner: Intuition™ Mobile Foam Liner Technology, w/ Aegis™ Antimicrobial Coating Liner Fit: Thermo-Formable Internal & External J Bars Under Foot Support: 3D Formed Dual Density EVA Insole NEW! Sole: Blown Light Meta w/ Gelpod Impact Heel and Ice Picks Liner Lacing: Lock Down™ Speed Lace w/ Transition Wrap Harness™ Shell Lacing: H2 Boa Coiler Lacing System w/ The Closer Details: Floating Boa cable guides, 3D Formed Tongue Features
INTUITION™ DREAM LINER Multi-density foam surrounded in a supportive skeletal structure for maximum rebound and dreamy performance.
BOA SHELL LACING The most user-friendly system out there! Boa’s convenience offers a secure and solid closure with a superior overall fit. In addition to the easy to use reels, our Closer Lace Guide, Focus lacing pattern and floating cable guides all play a part in even lace tension and superior fit.
THE CLOSER LACE GUIDE Powers up the forefoot tension for even tightening and superior fit. The Closer lace guide is centered over the forefoot to drive lace power down low and even the lace tension throughout the entire boot. Accompanied by Ride’s Lock Down™ or Boa Lacing systems, The Closer eliminates a common problem in many speed lace setups of cinching around the calf while the forefoot remains loose. The even tightening of The Closer takes speed lacing to the next level and provides an incredibly comfortable fit.
BLOWN LITE META These super tech outsoles are made of a specially formulated Phylon material that takes lightweight to new levels without sacrificing all-temperature traction or durability. Pioneered by Ride in 2006, this cutting edge outsole technology is now offered in two distinct levels.
Blown Lite Meta A second generation Blown Light Sole that is 100% Phylon. The absence of rubber makes for the ultimate in barefoot-light performance. With integrated ice pick inserts under the ball of the foot for superior hiking traction and a gelpod in the heel for landing impact relief, the Meta is super light without the compromise.
INTUITION™ FOAM LINERS The best custom fit on the market. Intuition™ Liner Technology creates the lightest, best-forming, longest-lasting liners available. Utilizing the in-shop custom heat forming process or your own body heat over the course of a few days riding, this liner custom forms to the shape of your foot. Providing something for every riding style, Intuition™ Foam is available in 4 unique varieties: plush, support, mobile and dream liner. Taking our Intuition™ Liners to the next level, select models feature cored ankle pockets and internal J-bars for added comfort and support, making ours the most advanced liner available.
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.
