DC TRAVIS RICE SNOWBOARD BOOTS REVIEW

Price: £300
Flex: 8
Sizes: 6-12
Lacing system: Boa

For the first time ever, Travis Rice is launching a signature snowboard boot, and it’s as badass as a boot can possibly be. You’d expect nothing less from the world’s biggest burliest backcountry rider right? This is designed to handle everything that Travis could possibly throw at it. Which, as anyone who’s watched him ride will testify, is a considerable amount. As the man himself says: “I virtually spend my life in my boots” so these are designed to handle “day after day of abuse” and “make your feet smile from sun up to après.”

The backstay and ‘3D tongue’ on this boot (which is stitched differently to a normal tongue to allow more natural leg movement) are very stiff. This of course means it’s very supportive and responsive, which is exactly what you need if you’re charging around at mach 10 and hitting big drops like Travis. If you’re a beginner though, you’ll want to look elsewhere. As one of our testers put it, this is “perfect for advanced riders, great for powder and really big kickers, but not forgiving enough to jib in”. What we found really remarkable about this boot however is how light it is – stiff boots often require more material to get that responsive flex, but technologies like DC’s ‘unilite sole’ help keep the weight and profile down, so it’s not bulky at all. The dual Boa system makes these easy to lace up and adjust. In fact throughout the design, meticulous attention has been paid to the detail, with touches like the anti-scuff pad on the inside of the toes (to prevent the boot from getting ruined when you ride a snowmobile) and the Mike Parillo artwork on the insole making these boots truly special.

dcshoes.com/snow

BUY THIS BOOT AT: snowboard-asylum.com, snowandrock.com, hardcloud.com, absolute-snow.co.uk, tribalriders.com