DC Control Boa Snowboard Boots Review

O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Control BOA are capable of.

Demo Info

Boots: DC Control BOA 2025

Size: 10 (US Men's Sizing)

Date: December 4, 2024

Foot to Boot Fit

Length Fit:

I felt like my toes were back from the end and by enough to be enough to be half a size. They were a good fit for testing purposes, but would likely pack out to be a little too big for me. 

Plenty of wiggle room for the tops of the toes too, which I like, so long as they aren't too sloppy overall. 

Width Fit:

I found I could move my forefoot side to side a little. I’d say even a touch more than the Adidas Response (my control boots), which are quite wide. So I would say mid-wide to wide, leaning on wide. However, in the 9.5, which it felt like would likely be the better fit for me in the long run, they wouldn’t feel as wide. But still mid-wide I would say.  

In-Step:

I found a bit of pressure bit towards the ankle end of the in-step, but it was nothing major. Nothing that was too uncomfortable.

Around Ankles:

Tiny bit on top front side of inner ankle bone and bottom back side of outer ankle bone. But very minimal. If I wasn’t looking for it, I'm not sure I would even notice it.

True to Size?: 

I would say this is better in the 9.5 for me. I think the 9.5 would be quite tight and a little uncomfortable to start with, but I feel like the 9.5 would be a better length and width and would pack out to be just right in the longer term. I think the 10 would pack out a little too much and end up being a bit too big after a while. 

All of the above was how they felt for both in-house testing and the on-snow test.

Boot to Binding Fit

They were pretty snug into the heel cup of my control bindings (Burton Malavita), but didn't have to squeeze them in or anything. A little bit of space at the toe end, which is typical. All felt snug and overall fit well strapped up in my bindings, without having any sticking points. 

In the ankle strap fit really close to how the Response fits for me. Wouldn’t be able to fit it any better adjusting the strap. Just as is is just right. Same for the toe strap. 

Overhang on the DC Control was a little more than on the Response, as you’d expect, given it’s a 10 and the Response is a 9.5 and lower profile.

Carving/Slow Speed Response

Quick turns at slow speeds felt close to as good as when I did my test run with the Adidas Response, but not quite. But I'd say they'd work their way to being at least as good and would likely have been a little better for this in the 9.5 for me. 

Carving felt really decent. Better than with my Response. But my Response are now softer than they once were. But the Control should still remain decent carvers even after having more days on them - and again, the 9.5 would likely improve carving performance-wise as well. 

Heel Hold

Despite feeling like the Control were bordering on being too big in the 10, the Heel Hold was still really decent. Based on other boots I've worn for longer though, I think the 10 would become worse for me over time for heel hold. However, as I've mentioned a few times, the 9.5 would likely be the better long term fit for me and that would have better heel hold to start and as time wore on.  

Adjustability

The DC Control is a double BOA boot with the BOAs tightening the shell of the boot, as is typical with most double BOA systems (though not all). In the Control's case, the front BOA tightens two BOA cables that tighten the upper portion of the boot and the side BOA controls 2 cables that tighten the lower section. They have complete independence from one another (no overlap - i.e. one of the cables being affected by both BOAs), so you can get a separate tightness for the lower sections and upper sections. 

Having only 4 cables is less than usual, but it didn't seem to affect the adjustability. 

Comfort

To begin with, when riding in them, I experienced a little bit of calf bite and shin bite. They felt quite rigid, but they very quickly softened up (as I've found tends to happen with DC boots) and both the calf-bite and shin-bite went away quickly and they were overall nice and comfortable with any pressure points being minor and easing even further over time. 

I found the footbeds to be average at best. Definitely not the worst I’ve seen. But not great either. I would get aftermarket footbeds for these. 

Shock Absorption

I felt like they didn't absorb shock quite as well as my Response, but still decent enough. A little better than average. 

Board Feel

At first they didn't feel great for board feel - e.g. when pressing, ollying etc, as they felt quite rigid and like they were lacking articulation. But as described in the comfort section above, they quickly softened up and by the end of testing had really decent board feel. 

Traction/Sole Quality

The whole outsole appears/feels like it’s rubber and with the sole name being “Contact UniLite® Rubber Outsole”, this is more evidence that it’s rubber. This helps for grip and durability vs something like an EVA sole.

Good pattern variation and average tread depth. Overall feels/looks like good quality and should grip well and last well. 

Reduced Footprint.

They're not super low profile but they are more low profile than average. 

Entry/Exit

It was nice and easy to get my feet into these boots. Really easy to open the boot right out - like really easy – you don’t have to force it at all – the BOA cables just release really easily and allow you to get them really wide open. This might be partly because they only use 4 BOA cables. 

For the liner, there's a strap at the top of the liner – a little bit of extra time to do that up but worth it for the better shin fit  - and then there’s a typical liner lacing harness to complete tightening up of the liner. The toggle for tightening is pretty small and looks and feels pretty cheap, but it seemed to do the job well. 

The Shell is a standard independent double boa with the front boa operating the top 2 cables and the side boa operating the bottom 2 cables.