Shell

Deeluxe shells all have a super nice finish, a tactile treat that doesn’t ever seem to tarnish much even after heavy use. The Formative’s foundation is the brand’s D-Tex membrane, which lets your feet breathe whilst keeping them warm and dry. The spine of the boot is pretty rigid to suit more aggressive riders, but a slight cutaway just above the instep lets you flex down through the ankle when you need to.

The tongue is surprisingly minimalist, perhaps overly so for freeride purists. However, a removable Flex Booster insert lets you stiffen up the tongue when you really want to send it. Conversely if you’re after a mellower feel (up to a point – this is still Elias’ boot, after all), you can just ease off the Powerstrap and the internal Boa closure, or run the classic lace a bit less tight.

Underneath it all is a sole which has targeted areas of extra grip that’ll come in handy when hiking a steep line, and extra cushioning in the heel to handle any tough landings. Instead of EVA foam, this features Rise foam by Bloom, a company that harvests algae to make an alternative material that’s better for the planet but just as kind to your feet.

“Rise’ foam by Bloom is an alternative to EVA that’s better for the planet but just as kind to your feet”

“Beyond aesthetics, snowboard boots aren’t always the easiest things to get excited about, they’re kind of the goalkeeper of the snowboarding kit list – if they’re bad you really know about it, but all too often they go without really getting the respect they’re due.

In a sea of similar boots, it’s great therefore to see Elias and Deeluxe teaming up to make inroads into new areas with the Formative. Eco snowboard boots seem to be a greatly under-explored avenue, even among a torrent of greenwashed gear across the board, and the bio-based foam replacement in these definitely adds to their appeal.

Materials aside, these felt like a proper premium pair of boots from the get go. They’re stiff but not overpowering, offer the full tasting menu of tightening techniques (lace+boa+powerstrap), have very comfy top tier liners, and come wrapped in a super clean bit of design that’s distinctive but won’t look out of place with almost any setup. They definitely felt up there in the stiffer end of the all-rounder flex spectrum, but they’ll happily turn their hand to whatever style of riding you fancy on a given day too. So unless you’re a planet-hating soft-boot savant, you’ve really got no excuse…”

“We’ve worked on a streamlined design for the Formative that requires less resources. Together with Elias we aim to continually evolve the Formative, using it as a means to pioneer fresh technology that reduces our impact on the environment. Although we’re super happy with this year’s Formative, we’re already busy working on the next generation of the boot. Stay tuned for more!”