32 lashed with stiffener or 32 305 boots?

So I bought a new pair of boots last week. I recently developed a
pinched nerve from my 03/04 Nitro Team boots, and wanted a replacement.
A guy at the local shop had me try 32 Lashed, said it was comparable
but lighter. It fit well so I bought it.

Anyway I had terrible foot pain with them on Saturday. I was adjusting
lacing or binding straps frequently. The only runs I did without pain,
I had less control, and too much exertion, probably from things being
loose. I switched my front foot back to the Nitros, and all was well.

Not only do the seem way flexier than the Nitro Team (I though both
were supposed to be "medium" flex), the shell is really soft and my
crude older Burton Custom straps dig in pretty hard, which I think was
the cause of my pain.

I replaced the straps today with contoured ones.

The shop will let me trade up for the 32 305 which has an amazing
retention system. They will also look into getting the optional tounge
stiffener insert from 32 (Medium or stiff?) for the Lashed.

I was leaning toward the stiffener, but now that I think about it the
305 seems like a safer bet. I'm prone to heel lift, and there probably
isn't a better boot to help with that. And the shell is harder, less
likely to give me pain from the straps. Furthermore, I can trade up
now, but if I try to use 'em again, the boots won't be pristine, and if
they don't work for me, I'd have to Ebay 'em.

On the other hand the Lashed sure is light (300g lighter per boot than
my Team), and if I can ride it comfortably it should be pretty nice.

Have you ridden these boots? Have you used the 32 stiffener insert?
Have you fixed foot pain with better binding straps?

Thanks!

wrote:
Not only do the seem way flexier than the Nitro Team (I though both
were supposed to be "medium" flex), the shell is really soft and my
crude older Burton Custom straps dig in pretty hard, which I think was
the cause of my pain.

The shop will let me trade up for the 32 305 which has an amazing
retention system. They will also look into getting the optional tounge
stiffener insert from 32 (Medium or stiff?) for the Lashed.

I was leaning toward the stiffener, but now that I think about it the
305 seems like a safer bet. I'm prone to heel lift, and there probably
isn't a better boot to help with that. And the shell is harder, less
likely to give me pain from the straps. Furthermore, I can trade up
now, but if I try to use 'em again, the boots won't be pristine, and if
they don't work for me, I'd have to Ebay 'em.

On the other hand the Lashed sure is light (300g lighter per boot than
my Team), and if I can ride it comfortably it should be pretty nice.

Have you ridden these boots? Have you used the 32 stiffener insert?
Have you fixed foot pain with better binding straps?

Thanks!

Hi, I have the ThirtyTwo Forecasts which are officially the "stiff"
boot but ThirtyTwo boots are soft in general so it's really a medium
stiffness boot (in contrast Nitros tend to be a little stiffer - I've
owned two pair of Nitro Meijis). I've tried on the Lashed and they are
definitely a "soft" boot in my opinion. Even with an insert stiffener,
you are going to get that much stiffer because the whole shell is
floppy all around as you mentioned. I would go for the 305. I agree
that the harder shell will help you avoid strap pain. Also realize that
strap pain is usually because you are overtightening you binding in an
attempt to make you ankle stay down (which is really a problem with the
boot) Lighter boots are nice, but let's be honest, 300g is less than a
pound. It's only going to affect your riding a tiny bit if anything
(will make grabs, shifties, ollie, spins a tiny bit easier... probably
less than if you simply did a few knee raises each week to strength
your hip flexors)

Tips on ThirtyTwo boots.

1. When molding your liners, don't tighten you laces very much... this
way once they molded you can get a good fit with only a little bit of
tightening.

2. I've found that significant tightening any of the forefoot laces
cause me tremendous arch pain. Instead I gently take out the slack, but
only tighten the "upper" laces above of the ankle. I've found this lets
me get decent tightening without killing my foot.

3. I too am prone to heellift and I find the internal ankle harness to
be insufficient. The hardness in the 305s looks to be the same style (4
pairs of rings with a drawstring). I untied the inner drawstring and
inserted a dakine heel ancher in place of the second pair of rings and
that works a lot better.

4. To take up space, you can consider putting in a foam wedge under
your heel to take up the space. Use this as a last resort.

Good luck!

Hi All,

A quick note on my ThirtyTwo Lashed boots experience.

Mine had a manufacturing defect:

The stitching on one of the linings came around the top of the toes, thus making the whole lining longer. This caused pain in my toes.

Before you buy ANY boot, be sure to get the lining out and look for quality before you get to the mountain!