Jeremiah Kristal wrote:

I'm sure that if I put as enough effort into getting soft boots
fitted
correctly I could get a good fit. I would still have to deal with
the
pressure of the straps (or continue to use step-ins). Of course
based
on past experience if I were to drop real money for new soft boots, I
would want the same level of service I've received with my hard boot
fitting at the Starting Gate. Maybe there are standard snowboard
shops that do good fittings, but I wouldn't even know where to begin
looking.

So back to the original point, I'm sure some people have noticed
that
hardboots happen to fit them better after switching, but I don't see
hardboots as a general solution to bootfit issues - it's just silly
in
that you are changing some many other factors as well (would be like
switching from a sedan to a motorcycle because you don't like the
way
the driver seat feels).

I agree with your main point, though for technical riders are don't
do
park/pipe stuff, hard boots are a viable alternative. The problem
with hard boots is that it leads to buying lots of expensive
snowboards. (If you think a Burton T5 is expensive price a Madd or a
Virus.)

Jeremiah

Yea... that's the rub... so you go to a person and tell them that you
have this bootfit solution for them... but they have to get rid of all
their current equipment, pay $500+ for new equipment, plus spend 3-4
months tweaking this new equipment and relearning how to
snowboarding... but then... then they'll be set :P

Baka Dasai wrote:
What you say is all true, but if the original poster was in the
position
where nothing else was going to work, then hard boots would become a
viable option. Similarly, if he was hard-boot-curious, it could have
been the right piece of advice at the right time. If neither of
these
was true, he could have safely ignored my post as just another
hard-booting crank trying to hijack an unrelated thread

Lol... yes, if the original poster has exhausted all possible options,
and if he was "hard-boot-curious" then this could be what he needs to
discover his true "bootwear preferences." That being said, his problems
(and actually I would say your problems) could probably be solved
provided you put in enough time, effort, and money into it... obviously
no one know until you've tried everything...