Review: Burton Hail Snowboard Boots

Dave here at The House talking about one of the cooler snowboard boots we got in the shop: the Burton Hail snowboard boots. Tons of features go into this one. It’s one of their Park series of snowboard boots.
What you’re looking at here is, first off, you’ve got the shrinkage tech. It’s going to basically take the snowboard boots they had from previous years and reduce it by one full size on the exterior, really good if you’ve got a larger foot and you’re looking to avoid the toe or heel drag. From there, you got an articulating cuff, which actually you can see easier here. It totally separates the upper part from the lower part of the snowboard boot, allows it to flex on itself more like a hinge would. You don’t get the bunching or crimping that you typically would get on a snowboard boot that’s solid all the way through. It does also have more flex panels here to keep the snowboard boot from deforming when your knees are bending, which you constantly do while you’re riding.
Other than that, this year they added a 270 airbag. Pretty much three quarters of the snowboard boot has an airbag directly underneath the foot. Super good at absorbing hard, icepack landings. It definitely acts as a suspension as you’re going through uneven terrain. They also gave it the power lace 2-to-1 power lacing system. Basically this little tab will go back to the tongue. As you tighten the laces, it pulls the tongue back; really gives you good heel hold with that lacing setup. Also added new hooks this year, a little bit quicker to get on and off. Another airbag on the rear here; that’s going to be really, really good at keeping the high rack from biting on the top of the snowboard boot there. A nice series of snowboard boots.
This is the one that has the harness for the liner actually attached to the snowboard boot, so when you pull on the laces, it not only holds your foot in the liner but it holds the whole liner into the snowboard boot itself to give you really, really good heel hold. The liner itself is going to be a Flex 2 liner. This is second in command for the Park series of liners. A nice, tall back here; a flex panel is going to keep you from getting bite on the back of your calves, super comfortable. It does have the Velcro to center the tongue. You got rid of the power strap. This makes them a lot quicker to get on and off, and it holds a lot better throughout the day. As always it’s going to be fully heat moldable liner. The best way to do that is to rock around the house for two or three nights in a row, or just go ride in them. That definitely is the way I prefer.
If you have a hot spot or some pressure point, you can take them to the shop and mold them out. It will alleviate that point of pressure. You got really good Achilles grabbers in the back of the liner there, directional nap so it holds your sock in place. It gives you heel hold, once again, and keeps your socks from moving around throughout the day. Lycra toe panel is going to be really good for letting your toes wiggle. It’s going to promote blood flow to the extremity of the foot and keep your toesies warmsies. You got a three layer foot bed in this one, really, really good shock absorption in this one. It’s definitely going to help take up the icy landings along with that airbag. And then all of it as far as the liner and the foot bed go are coated with the Aegis antibacterial lining so it doesn’t smell. It keeps the funk away, keeps them fresh.
The Burton Hail snowboard boots. Super, super awesome freestyle snowboard boot, definitely a lot of bang for the buck here.