Ride Insano 2017 - 2011 Review by The Good Ride

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The Ride Insano BOA is a good stiff flexing responsive BOA boot. This sits in the same category to other boots like the Burton Driver X, Salomon Malamute and many other stiff boots out there.

Ethics Statement: We don’t get paid by the manufacturer to write these reviews.  No one is perfect and we do make money from the “Where To Buy” links below, but this is our best attempt at an honest and objective review from an average riders’ perspective.

James’ Foot Specs
Foot Size: Right 9 and Left 8.75
Foot Width: Right and Left between a D/E
Arch Length: Right 9.5 and Left 9
Calves (Widest Point): 17”
Calves (At top of boot): 12”

Flex:  Very stiff and almost unmovable at first. It keeps it’s flex pretty well over time and doesn’t break down or pack out very quickly.

Response:  Like all stiff flexing boots the response is very quick to the point that it’s better to be on a harder turning board because it could make an easier turning board twitchy and put you in uncomfortable situations.

Comfort: I think that in general, most feel will be fine with this boot but I do find it a little less comfortable than some boots out there at first.  Over time it breaks in and becomes part of your feet.

Heel Hold: This double boa system really focuses on the ankle and locks that thing in.  Both BOA coilers really work it around the ankle

Adjustability:  With this great heel hold comes poor adjustability.  Don’t think that because there are 2 BOA systems in here that it’s very adjustable.  It’s just slightly better than a single BOA boot.  Both BOA coils overlap around the ankle so it’s more for zeroing in on the ankle than having separate upper and lower adjustability. For example, if you want a tight upper and a loose lower it can’t happen because the upper coil wraps around the ankle too. For some that’s good and for others it’s bad.  Just depends on what you want.

Flex Retention:  Really holds it’s flex well over time.  Yeah, all boots break down but this doesn’t break down as much as some out there.  You can easily get 100 days out of these boots without them becoming a noodle.

Shock Absorption: Not the ultra cushiest out there but really good for the amount of volume. If paired with a Ride binding like the Capo or another equally shock absorbent binding then you have a lot of protection for that awkward and hopefully occasional flat landing.

Traction:  Really good traction that seems to hold fine from parking lot to peak.

Footprint: Ride is right up there with Burton when it comes to having a very reduced footprint.  I’d say the only difference between ride and Burton is the angle of approach (off-roading term) is better with Burton but these are really reduced.

On & Off Ease: BOA systems are super fast off but can be deceptively slow putting them on. First off you have to twist the coil for a very long time to get them tight and if you over tighten you have to almost start over again. If you have these boots dialed they are only a little slower getting them on than speed lace but if you micro adjust a lot you will find yourself twisting this BOA’s a lot more than you would think.

All in all the Ride Insano is a great boot that doesn’t have as many drawbacks as it does positive attributes.  If you want to lock in that heel/ankle and want a super stiff boot then this could be a new friend.