BEHIND THE LINES: Ride Boots
mike lewis
- April 03 2009
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Ride Snowboards has been tying together a solid boot line since back in the day. Boot Engineer Treu Hahenberger gave us the truth on the ingredients for next year’s boot menu:
What’s new for you ‘09/10 boots?
We have a new high-end women’s coiler boot, the Cadence, which is part of a collab series we did with Matix Clothing. We also have a killer new freestyle boot, called the Insano. This boot is super light with the new Blown Lite Meta outsole for a barefoot light feel and features the added convenience of the Boa Coiler.
We also have the new Strike, which is an all terrain boot that provides long lasting support and an aggressive stance. It features Intuition™ Support foam and our new TallBoy Harness™.
What overall trends are you seeing in the boot market?
We have been leading the charge in the reduction of weight and length, and the chase of being the lightest and having the smallest footprint still seems to be a key trend. Also it seems people are no longer looking for the super stiff boots as they had been in the past, but looking for a mobile, flexible boot that doesn’t break down quickly and can be put to the test.
Men’s RFL, Color: Black. MSRP: $329.99
The RFL reclaims Ride’s OG status as the leader in lightweight boot design and is one-upping all others when it comes to compact freestyle boots as it dips below 800 grams without sacrificing stiffness, durability or feel. Featuring the crazy lightweight new Blown Lite Meta outsole, new Intuition™ Dream Liner with Mobile Foam and new Waffle Footbed, the RFL has tech for days.
What new construction techniques do you see breaking out next year?
With the RFL Boot we developed a new style of construction in which we are moving more and more of the structural aspects from the shell into the liner. By doing this, the riders’ input is instantly transmitted to the board with out the lag that can occur with some traditional styles of boots.
What about graphic treatments and colors?
Graphics are essential to the snowboarding world because we are part of the fashion and footwear industries. We are doing a few new and fun things like printing under meshes, utilizing heat pressed foils and using reflective materials to really give the boots a subtle deep rich look.
How about specific technologies or fabrics?
We have a bunch of new technologies in the line starting at entry-level boots and go all the way to the top end of the collection. We have a few new outsoles this year for men and women. The principal of this is the Blown Light Meta outsole that incorporates an ultra light blown phylon outsole, ice picks in the toe for a little extra traction when you need it and an all temperature TPE gel pod in the heel for shock absorption. We also have 2 new harnesses in our line to focus how we want to capture the foot in the boot for different styles of riding. There are different needs when riding park and freestyle versus big mountain charging, and we focus on meeting those needs with our existing Secure Fit Harness™, our new Transition Wrap Harness™ and new TallBoy Harness™.
Are price points trending up or down for you?
Price points are trending up slightly across the board. We have made steps to isolate this as much as possible and keep it from really affecting the consumer in a large way.
Women’s Cadence, Color: Black. MSRP: $249.99
Not only does this high-end women’s boot feature the high style of our Matix Women’s collab, but it also has key techs, like the new Blown Lite Meta outsole, to take any charging lady to new levels of mobility. Combining the Boa Coiler with The Closer Lace Guide, Intuition™ Mobile Foam and Lock Down™ with new Transition Wrap Harness™ for a precisely perfect fit.
What are you most stoked on in your ’09/‘10 boot offerings?
I am most stoked on 2 models, the RFL and the Strapper Keeper. The RFL combines the pinnacle of all of our technologies and makes for a super light boot that doesn’t sacrifice response, life span or comfort. The new Strapper Keeper really allows you to customize how you lace it and offers a unique customizable fit. The graphics are a part of our Classroom Collaboration project where we worked with a 7th grade art class at Denny Middle School here in Seattle to develop graphics to use on this boot, which is a part of the Crush series of goods. We came out with a super fun boot that also gave us the chance to give back to our community in way of donating art supplies to the struggling school program and taking the students for a day of riding.
206-805-4892 or toll free 800-972-4067
rider@ridesnowboards.com
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