BOA lace system. Gimmick or actually useful?

[Lou Brown]

Looking into a pair of Delimbers next. Heard they’re pretty comfy and good for climbing but what’s with the laces? 

[Bocca]

Had a pair of the Pfanner Boas last year. Great boots if you’re on the ground. Not so great if you’re climbing most of the time. The mechanism gets rubbed on branches etc and eventually the wire will break. Which is what happened to mine. You get lifetime warranty with Boa which is good so they will send you replacements free of charge. 
 

however eventually one of the plastic eyele loops came apart from the boot stitching. Not a replaceable part so that was the end off them. 
 

they dominate the snowboard market and most of the new boots have the BOA system. Have a pair for snowboarding and wouldn’t go back to laces. But the wear and tear is completely different in our industry. 
 

I’d recommend them for Groundies. But not for climbers. 

[markieg31]

I tried a pair of pfanners with the boa closure. For me it just got tight at the top and not enough lower down! Didn't like it so sent them back. 

[flyingjoiner]

I have boas on my standard steelies, and then scafells

 

Prefer the feel of the laces, but boa is convenient.

[Mark_Skyland]

On 31/10/2025 at 17:38, Bocca said:

Had a pair of the Pfanner Boas last year. Great boots if you’re on the ground. Not so great if you’re climbing most of the time. The mechanism gets rubbed on branches etc and eventually the wire will break. Which is what happened to mine. You get lifetime warranty with Boa which is good so they will send you replacements free of charge. 
 

however eventually one of the plastic eyele loops came apart from the boot stitching. Not a replaceable part so that was the end off them. 
 

they dominate the snowboard market and most of the new boots have the BOA system. Have a pair for snowboarding and wouldn’t go back to laces. But the wear and tear is completely different in our industry. 
 

I’d recommend them for Groundies. But not for climbers. 

Good feedback. We sell a few boa system boots but not a lot so its good to hear how they are holding up in our industry.

 

I always thought that it wouldn't hold up to much abuse for pro tree climbers. Maybe a tougher, thicker version should be available. I remember one of the reps saying that it has been in used for snowboarding boots for years and has proven to be reliable. Like that is the same as getting it snagged on stubs and rubbing against wood as opposed to having snow sprayed on it!

 

 

[Bocca]

1 hour ago, markieg31 said:

I tried a pair of pfanners with the boa closure. For me it just got tight at the top and not enough lower down! Didn't like it so sent them back. 

Most of the snowboard boots with Boa systems have two dials. One on the front that does the top and one on the side that does the lower half. So you can get a really nice fit. Not seen any Arb versions with this, most likely because the bottom dial wouldn’t work with spikes/ascenders etc. 

[Bocca]

16 minutes ago, Mark_Skyland said:

Good feedback. We sell a few boa system boots but not a lot so its good to hear how they are holding up in our industry.

 

I always thought that it wouldn't hold up to much abuse for pro tree climbers. Maybe a tougher, thicker version should be available. I remember one of the reps saying that it has been in used for snowboarding boots for years and has proven to be reliable. Like that is the same as getting it snagged on stubs and rubbing against wood as opposed to having snow sprayed on it!

 

 

Yeah exactly. They just don’t hold up to the rigours of climbing. Great for Groundies tho. And snowboarding 😂

[Mark Bolam]

@Rich Rule what’s your input?

[Joe Newton]

If tying your laces is the toughest part of your day I recon you can live with that. 

[Mick Dempsey]

Little gains Joe..

Still hoping that power laces make it to the market