Hiredgun

Sure the twisting wheel cable locking system (BOA) appealed to me because it seemed cool and sexy and I bought off on the idea that it must secure the boot to my foot much better than traditional laces because these boots were a bit more expensive and advertised as a mountaineering/crampon ready boots. Now that I have these boots though I am not sure that there is any advantage to the cable locking system. They fit no worst or better than the many other boots I already own. Micro adjustments are just as easy with traditional laces, in fact there are less options when tightening as the whole boot tightens evenly with the BOA and you cannot skip lace or so on. They are, though, not nearly as warm as I had hoped. One friend pointed out that in the back country the wheel could foul w/ grit/dirt or the cable could break and there is no way of "rigging" up something temporary to get off the mountain - good point. So the only advantage I can think of is that they can be tightened/loosened while wearing gloves, even mitts while mobile..okay, but is that worth the disadvantage of no "back up" way to secure the boot to my foot if the system fails or fouls? Then I risk a far more dangerous situation of a completely loose boot w/ no options. To me I think that risk far outweighs the convenience of mid-stride boot tightening.

Bought two of these (me and wife) for cover-up while skiing and snowshoeing. Other reviews warned agains it. Bought anyway, and low and behold, they are all right! Returned! They are miss sized, runs way larger than stated. Mostly though, the material is sewn where the face opening is miss-alligned from the nose part, that, or our faces are! Get my point! The nose is WAY left of the face opening. Has to be a defect that they let slip through I am sure. The opening in the nose also is way too high and rubs. This would be a great item if they were custom made to fit our faces, which is to say they are a bad idea. Underarmor has a great alternative.