Ride Trident Review

Hello and welcome to my Ride Trident review.

In this review I will take a look at the Trident as freeride snowboard boots.

As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Trident a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how they compare with other freeride boots.

Overall Rating

Boots: Ride Trident

Price: $559 (USD recommended retail)

Style: Freeride 

Flex Rating: Stiff (8/10)

Flex Feel: Stiff (8/10)

Rating Score: 86.7/100

Compared to other Freeride Boots

Overview of the Trident’s Specs

Who are the Trident Most Suited to?

The Trident are great boots for anyone looking for a stiff boot, with just that little bit of forgiveness compared to the stiffest, for freeriding or hard charging all-mountain riding. 

Pairs best with boards around that mid-stiff mark - 7/10, 8/10 ideally. But works for 6/10 and 9/10 boards too. 

Not for a beginner at all - definitely too stiff for that. 

The Trident in More Detail

Board Demoed With: Rossignol One LF 2018

Bindings Demoed With: Burton Malavita

Outersole Length:  31.2cm (mondo 28cm)

Difference between Mondo & Outersole: 3.2cm

Backstay Height: 27.8cm

Weight: 1040 grams*

* Average of a sample of boots I weighed was 1006 grams, so a just a little heavier than the average, but pretty close to average. Heaviest were 1320 grams and lightest were 740 grams. Stiffer boots tend to be heavier, so for their flex, they are quite light. 

Flex

These boots are stiff, but just that little bit more forgiving than the stiffest snowboard boots. Vs the Insano, Vans Verse, Burton Driver X and K2 Thraxis that I rode at a simialar time they were just that bit more flexy. I would say 8/10, but maybe bordering on 7.5/10.

Fit

Width: Certainly not wide, but certainly not narrow, just a good medium. Perfect fit for my average width feet. 

True to Size?: True to size for me. I rode them in a 10 and I usually ride a 10 and they were the perfect fit

High or Low Arch: Snug on the top of the foot but with no pressure points, so I'd say medium in terms of arch.    

Responsiveness

Really nice on a carve - can hold that carve nice and deep and long. Made my board a little better on a carve vs most boots. 

At slower speeds not as agile as something like my test boots (Vans Aura) but there's still some agility there for sure - not complete planks. 

Heel Hold

There's some very minimal heel lift, but it's barely noticeable. And only noticeable when you're really concentrating on it. When riding it's not noticeable at all. 

Adjustability

With 3 separate boas, these boots are highly adjustable and easy to adjust on the fly. The 2 boas that tighten the outer boot are independent so you can have a different tightness on the lower and upper sections of the boot. 

And I really like the 3rd boa which controls the harness around the liner of the boot. This makes it super easy to adjust that harness without having to open up the outer boot. 

There's also velcro on the top of the liner, which you'd need to open the outer boot to access. I didn't find these needed tightening whilst I rode them. 

Let’s Break up this text with a Video

Comfort

Nice and comfortable. Not a lush, cush feeling but no pressure points and no cramping, which is main thing.

Shock Absorption

Not going to blow your mind in terms of shock absorption but still decent enough. 

Board Feel

Not amazing - and that was expected with boots this stiff, but they're not dead feeling either. There is some board feel there. 

Traction

The sole looks and feels good quality. Seems like it would last a good while and the tread pattern and depth and firmness would give me confidence hiking in this boot. 

Reduced Footprint

For Ride boots the outer sole was longer than typical. Still not super bulky or anything, but the ones I rode/measured had a longer outersole vs mondo than what's typical for Ride. 

Entry/Exit

Getting my foot in and out was really easy - and then it's just a case of tightening the velcro and then cranking the 3 boas. 

There are a few elements going on, so it's not as quick as something like a single boa - but it's not slow either and it's really easy. 

The liner boa takes a bit to crank - doesn't feel like you can crank it that easily, but put a bit of effort in and it locks your heel nicely in place.

Score Breakdown and Final Verdict

Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.

The Tridents are super nice boots. High quality, highly adjustable - pretty much everything about them is awesome. The only reason they weren't in my top 5 freeride boards, is just that pretty much every boot in that category is super high quality, so it doesn't take away from the Trident - just in a very tough category.

Good stiffness and response with just a little bit of forgiveness in there, which I liked. And I'm always a fan of having that internal boa so you can adjust the inner harness on the fly, without opening the outer boot.