Nidecker Rift Pro Snowboard Boot Review: How It Rides And Who It Is For Review by The Good Ride

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How The Nidecker Rift Pro Snowboard Boot Was Tested:

I borrowed the Nidecker Rift Pro for an extended demo and sent it back. I would like to own one for testing and comparing.

Size: 9 US
Days: 3
Conditions:  and an early morning slackountry time with Drift Boards & Union Rovers
Riders:  James (Size 9, 5’10”, 185-190lbs). I’ve tested and compared close to 900 model boards, over 180 bindings and 100+ boots
James’ Foot Specs
Foot Size: 9 US
Foot Width: E
Arch Length: Right 9.5 and Left 9
Instep: (Left and Right) 10.5”
Calf Circumference: Top of boot 17” & Bottom of boot 12”
Insoles: Factory Insoles one day and then I put in my Footprint Kingfoam Orthotic Elite
Bindings: Union Force, and then used it for a binding test one day.
Redundancy: Strap-ins in case boots or bindings break.
Jacket: Skyline Fuse Jacket
Pant: Burton AK Gore-Tex Pro 3L Hover Pant, Skyline Faze Pant
Helmet: Smith Method
Goggle: Smith 4D Mag
Gloves: Burton AK Clutch Mitt, Burton AK Tech Leather Glove

Boards:

Nidecker Megalight, Nidecker Gun

Similar (but not the same) Boots:

Nitro Team TLS, Nitro Team BOA, Bataleon Acid BOA 2025

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Weight

The Nidecker Rift Pros weigh 2lbs 7oz with the regular insole installed. Compared to last year’s Battalion Acid Boa, these are 2lbs 6oz. So almost the same weight. And compared to my Nitro Team TLSs, these are 2lbs 5oz. All are middle range when it comes to boot weight.

Sizing/Fit

The Nidecker Rift Pro fits my size 9 US feet really well. Compared to the Bataleon Acid BOA in a size nine, they feel like nine and a quarter instead of the nine they should be, and the Team TLS fit perfectly true.

The Nidecker Rift Pro is close to the Team TLS in terms of fit, but maybe a touch big. And when this liner packs out a little bit, it might be a touch bigger, but you can put some boot-fitting foam in there. I wouldn’t size down or size up to fit this boot.

In terms of width, this fits my E-width foot, which is the beginning of wide, really well. And I didn’t have to heat mold it to get my foot to feel comfortable and not feel pinched on the sides.

The Acid Boa did the same. It was a very comfortable boot day one, and the same with my Nitro Team TLS.

These are all great for wider feet. I do like the wider toe box of the Nidecker Rift Pro and the Acid Boa a little better than the Team TLS. I wish they had a little wider toe box, but overall it’s not a huge complaint. So if you’re like a C, a D or an E these are going to fit really well. But if you’re a little wider than an E, maybe an E and a half or EE, you might be able to get this to work because the liner is heat-moldable, and you can press in this area a bit to get it to fit better.

Insole

When it comes to the insole, there’s not much to it. It’s got a little cush here, but I liked this boot a lot better with my King Foam Orthotic Elite insole. Just gave me a little extra shock absorption and a little extra arch support. This isn’t a great insole, but none come with a boot.

Adjustability/Heel Hold

The Double BOA is separate, so it operates the bottom and the top half. And it’s perfect upper- and lower-separation. I personally love this because I have swollen ankles. I almost never have heel lift. So I want to keep the lower a little less tight and then the upper medium.

I could close this in a little better around the ankle than I could with the Battalion Acid Boa, which runs a bit wide. And this area here doesn’t close very well over the ankle. So it’s better for people with wider ankles or who don’t have heel lift issues, where this is more mid-level. There are a lot better boots out there that can handle heel lift, but you can always add boot-fitting foam here or inside the shell to press it in more and keep your heel from lifting.

And this is pretty fast in-and-out.

Liner

What I love about this liner — I think it is going to be on the regular Rift as well, but I’m not 100% sure because I didn’t get that to review — is that it’s really easy to use. But now you have Velcro all the way through, where before it used to stop right here and here. And this can wrap pretty tightly for most people. So you can now bring this all the way in like this, and it’s fine.

Flex & Response

This is much stiffer/responsive than the regular Rift. And I love that because it has a medium-stiff flex that’s much more responsive. With the old Rift, it felt really loose around the top of this boot, and there was like a delayed response. Now it’s much tighter, with almost no delay.

Compared to the Battalion Acid Boot, you have much easier flex in the ankle area, but a much more supportive and tight response in the top area. There’s only one Velcro point right here, so you can wrap it continuously, but the liner’s tongue fits really snug against the shell’s tongue, and they work together almost perfectly. So you have more leverage up top with the Acid Boa boot. And when you have ankle straps on, and if you have a good, supportive, responsive ankle strap, it’s just about the same as the Nidecker Rift Pro. But the Nidecker Rift Pro is more continuous throughout and is much stiffer around the ankle.

Flex Retention

Now, this isn’t a fair comparison, because these Team TLSs have a lot more days on them over these boots here. It’s not a completely fair comparison, but overall it’s pretty good. And I love that they have this plasticky, rubbery spine here that helps retain the flex. And then a little more reinforcement here. It’s not a lot in comparison to, let’s say, the Team that goes almost all the way to the top, or the Acid Boa that comes up much higher. But like both of these boots, it has perfect articulation that extends almost to the shell here, which prevents shell distortion and retains the flex for a long time.

Durability

Then you have this rubbery plastic throughout this area, extending all the way down into the toe to make it very durable. It’s going to help preserve the flex and be much more durable than these boots. This has a neoprene articulation point, so there’s no shell distortion. It’s very well built. But this area can get some nicks, and it’ll break down faster than a rubbery plastic toe area and entire back area. I tell you, get to here. This is the only part that’s not rubbery plastic. Then you have a normal shell material up here that’s very similar to the Acid Boa, most likely made in the same factory. So all three of these boots have excellent flex retention. You can ride well over 100 days and still have a lot of your boots’ flex left.

Depending on how hard you crank down your ankle straps and break down the boot, and how hard you ride. But if you’re an average rider like me, I would say 150 to 200 days is well within the realm of possibility. And I don’t think you’ll have any issues with wear, either.

Shock Absorption & Traction

I actually preferred the Rift Pro to the Bataleon Acid BOA boot. They have about the same amount of EVA foam here, but this sole seems a little softer, so the midsole feels a little more shock-absorbent. However, I do like the Vibram Sole here for a little better traction across all temperatures, though this traction wasn’t bad either. And then, when it comes to shock absorption, it was definitely my Team TLS; that air bag is so much better. And then you still have a Vibram outsole too. That’s very thick. So you get the best of both worlds with this. This is the winner here. With all three of these boots being so shock absorbent, I thought they would feel more isolated from the feel underfoot with the binding.

Board Feel

And they’re not the best if you like a lot of feel underfoot and you want a minimized sole so your connection to the binding is better. But they’re not bad for having all the shock absorption. And these days in my life, with the butter slowly dripping off the popcorn, I want more shock absorption, and I’m okay with a less board-to-binding feel. I think these still do great in that way.

Footprint

The footprint of the Nidkecker Rift Pro boot from toe to heel, measured against a wall, is 30.2cm. Compared to the Acid Boa, they’re about 30.3 to 30.4 centimeters, whereas my Nitro Team TLS are 29.5 centimeters. That is a shit ton less. And while millimeters might not matter in sex, they sure do matter in snowboarding. And if you want a more reduced footprint to eliminate toe and heel drag, the Team TLS is going to be the best. These are almost the same.

Final Thoughts

So, other than maybe a little bit too long a footprint, there’s not much to complain about this boot. I think the Nidecker Rift Pro is excellent. I’m going to be recommending the hell out of it. It’s what I wish the SLX still was.

This is a boot I wouldn’t mind having in my quiver and using to test other boards. I had very few complaints in the few days I rode it. I’m sure over time, little things could start to annoy me like every boot does. But if you have always been interested in the Rift and want more responsiveness and a boot that’s going to last longer than almost every other boot in Nidecker’s line, the Nidecker Rift Pro is the way to go. These might not start out as stiff, but they’re going to hold their flex and response a lot longer, and when those stiffer boots are almost socks, these will still be going strong. So excellent recommendation. Give them a look.