The following is a list of what we think are the 5 best freestyle snowboard boots for the 2024-2025 season of all those that we have tested and rated.
Who is this list for?
This category features boots in the flex range 5.5/10 and below. While it is labelled "freestyle" these boots are suitable for all-mountain-riding too, for those that have a more playful style, like things more at a more slow to medium pace, are a more casual rider or are a lighter weight rider that can find stiffer boots too hard to flex.
As always on SnowboardingProfiles.com the boots are given a rating out of 100 based on my scoring system. This is not an exact science (especially with boots as personal fit is so important) but will provide a way to give you a quick look at the performance of each boot.
Category Stats
Of the 26 current model freestyle snowboard boots that we tested:
OK, let's have a look at the top 10 for 2025!
#10: Salomon X Approach Lace SJ BOA
Flex: Medium (5/10)
Rating score: 85.2/100
Price: View More Info and Current Prices at the links in the tabs below.
Lacing System: Hybrid - Trad lace with BOA
Starting off the list at #10, we have Salomon's X Approach snowboard boots.
The X Approach are new for 2025 and carry on where the Launch Lace BOA SJ left off. Among other great qualities, they provide excellent adjustability with their hybrid lacing system, helping you to dial in a fit that works with your feet/ankles/calves.
>>See Full Review (review coming soon)
Score Breakdown for the X Approach
| Factor | Rating (/5) | Weighted |
|---|---|---|
| Shock Absorption | 3.5 | 14/20 |
| Board Feel | 4 | 12/15 |
| Carving | 3 | 6/10 |
| Slow Speed Response | 4 | 8/10 |
| Adjustability | 4.5 | 13.5/15 |
| Comfort | 4 | 8/10 |
| Heel Hold | 3.5 | 7/10 |
| Reduced Footprint | 3 | 3/5 |
| Traction | 3.5 | 3.5/5 |
| TOTAL (after normalizing): | 85.2/100 |
#9: Nitro Club Boa
Flex: Medium (4.5/10)
Rating score: 86.9/100
Price: View More Info and Current Prices at the links in the tabs below.
Lacing System: Double BOA
Nitro's Club BOA is up next and are the softest flexing option in this list. Coming in at just under medium flex, the Club BOA offer a good amount of flex to give you a forgiving ride that's easy to tweak and get creative with, but not so soft that you can't take them over the whole mountain.
They are blessed with excellent board feel and an all round quality feel.
>>See Full Review (review coming soon)
Score Breakdown for the Club BOA
| Factor | Rating (/5) | Weighted |
|---|---|---|
| Shock Absorption | 3.5 | 14/20 |
| Board Feel | 4.5 | 13.5/15 |
| Carving | 3 | 6/10 |
| Slow Speed Response | 4.5 | 9/10 |
| Adjustability | 4 | 12/15 |
| Comfort | 4 | 8/10 |
| Heel Hold | 4 | 8/10 |
| Reduced Footprint | 3 | 3/5 |
| Traction | 3 | 3/5 |
| TOTAL (after normalizing): | 86.9/100 |
#8: Burton Swath Boa
Flex: Medium (5/10)
Rating score: 87.5/100
Price: View More Info and Current Prices at the links in the tabs below.
Lacing System: Double BOA
In at #8, we have Burton’s Swath Boa boots.
The Swath Boa are an awesome boot for riding the whole mountain, riding the park, riding freestyle over the whole mountain or combining all of the above.
With great performance across all the things we test for, they strike a great balance for freestyle/all-mountain-freestyle riding.
Score Breakdown for the Swath BOA
| Factor | Rating (/5) | Weighted |
|---|---|---|
| Shock Absorption | 3.5 | 14/20 |
| Board Feel | 4 | 12/15 |
| Carving | 3.5 | 7/10 |
| Slow Speed Response | 4 | 8/10 |
| Adjustability | 4 | 12/15 |
| Comfort | 4.5 | 9/10 |
| Heel Hold | 4 | 8/10 |
| Reduced Footprint | 4 | 4/5 |
| Traction | 3 | 3/5 |
| TOTAL (after normalizing): | 87.5/100 |
#7: Thirty Two Light
Flex: Medium (5/10)
Rating score: 88.1/100
Price: View More Info and Current Prices at the links in the tabs below.
Lacing System: Traditional Lacing
Next up, we have ThirtyTwo's Light snowboard boots.
The Light provide awesome board feel through their flat light sole and great adjustability courtesy of their traditional lacing.
All round these boots work super well for creative freestyle riding.
As an added bonus, the Light are the lowest priced boots on this list.
Score Breakdown for the Light
| Factor | Rating (/5) | Weighted |
|---|---|---|
| Shock Absorption | 4 | 16/20 |
| Board Feel | 4.5 | 13.5/15 |
| Carving | 3 | 6/10 |
| Slow Speed Response | 4 | 8/10 |
| Adjustability | 4.5 | 13.5/15 |
| Comfort | 4 | 8/10 |
| Heel Hold | 3.5 | 7/10 |
| Reduced Footprint | 3 | 3/5 |
| Traction | 2.5 | 2.5/5 |
| TOTAL (after normalizing): | 88.1/100 |
#6: Thirty Two Diesel Hybrid
Flex: Medium (5/10)
Rating score: 88.6/100
Price: View More Info and Current Prices at the links in the tabs below.
Lacing System: Hybrid - Trad lace with BOA
The Diesel Hybrid, like #10 above and #3 and #2 below, feature a hybrid lacing system that delivers the best of both worlds from both traditional lacing and BOA.
We found them to have next level board feel, great slow speed response and found them super comfortable, making for a great all round boot for park or all-mountain-freestyle riding.
Score Breakdown for the Diesel Hybrid
| Factor | Rating (/5) | Weighted |
|---|---|---|
| Shock Absorption | 3 | 12/20 |
| Board Feel | 5 | 15/15 |
| Carving | 3 | 6/10 |
| Slow Speed Response | 4.5 | 9/10 |
| Adjustability | 4.5 | 13.5/15 |
| Comfort | 4.5 | 9/10 |
| Heel Hold | 4 | 8/10 |
| Reduced Footprint | 3.5 | 3.5/5 |
| Traction | 2 | 2/5 |
| TOTAL (after normalizing): | 88.6/100 |
#5: Vans Hi Standard Pro
Flex: Medium (5.5/10)
Rating score: 90.3/100
Price: View More Info and Current Prices at the links in the tabs below.
Lacing System: Traditional Lacing
At #5 we have the Vans Hi Standard Pro.
The Hi-Standards achieve a great balance between shock absorption and board feel - both important qualities for freestyle riding, IMO.
And they also offer great comfort, reduced footprint and adjustability.
Score Breakdown for the Hi-Standard Pro
| Factor | Rating (/5) | Weighted |
|---|---|---|
| Shock Absorption | 4 | 16/20 |
| Board Feel | 4 | 12/15 |
| Carving | 3.5 | 7/10 |
| Slow Speed Response | 4.5 | 9/10 |
| Adjustability | 4.5 | 13.5/15 |
| Comfort | 4 | 8/10 |
| Heel Hold | 3.5 | 7/10 |
| Reduced Footprint | 4 | 4/5 |
| Traction | 3 | 3/5 |
| TOTAL (after normalizing): | 90.3/100 |
#4: Vans Aura Pro
Flex: Medium (5/10)
Rating score: 90.9/100
Price: View More Info and Current Prices at the links in the tabs below.
Lacing System: Double BOA
The next entry in our list is the Vans Aura Pro.
The Aura Pro are not to be confused with the Aura "OG" - a more budget friendly, softer flexing, single boa version.
Like the Hi Standard Pro (see #5 above) they have that great combination of both shock absorption and board feel - they are in a lot of ways Double Boa versions of the Hi Standard Pro.
The Aura Pro’s are super comfortable, have great shock absorption and really good heel hold.
They also have a good bit of footprint reduction - and are just overall a well rounded boot for freestyle or all-mountain-freestyle riding.
Score Breakdown for the Aura Pro
| Factor | Rating (/5) | Weighted |
|---|---|---|
| Shock Absorption | 4 | 16/20 |
| Board Feel | 4 | 12/15 |
| Carving | 3.5 | 7/10 |
| Slow Speed Response | 4.5 | 9/10 |
| Adjustability | 4 | 12/15 |
| Comfort | 4 | 8/10 |
| Heel Hold | 4.5 | 9/10 |
| Reduced Footprint | 4 | 4/5 |
| Traction | 3 | 3/5 |
| TOTAL (after normalizing): | 90.9/100 |
#3: K2 Overdraft
Flex: Medium (5/10)
Rating score: 91.5/100
Price: View More Info and Current Prices at the links in the tabs below.
Lacing System: Hybrid - Trad lace with BOA
In at #3, are the K2 Overdraft.
With so many great qualities, the Overdraft are probably the best value-for-money boots going around. They are second lowest costing boots in this list but have the quality of boots in a much higher price range.
>>See Full Review (review coming soon)
Score Breakdown for the Overdraft
| Factor | Rating (/5) | Weighted |
|---|---|---|
| Shock Absorption | 4 | 16/20 |
| Board Feel | 4 | 12/15 |
| Carving | 3.5 | 7/10 |
| Slow Speed Response | 4 | 8/10 |
| Adjustability | 4.5 | 13.5/15 |
| Comfort | 4 | 8/10 |
| Heel Hold | 4 | 8/10 |
| Reduced Footprint | 4 | 4/5 |
| Traction | 4 | 4/5 |
| TOTAL (after normalizing): | 91.5/100 |
#2: Vans Invado Pro
Flex: Medium (5.5/10)
Rating score: 92/100
Price: View More Info and Current Prices at the links in the tabs below.
Lacing System: Hybrid - Trad lace with BOA
This year we changed the flex cut-off for this list to be 5.5 (and for the all-mountain category to be from 6/10 flex minimum), which moves this boot to this category (previously made the all-mountain list).
The Invado Pro feature a hybrid lacing system that offers some of the best adjustability going around and allows to really dial in the fit of these boots to fit your feet as well as possible.
They also manage that great shock absorption/board feel combo along with a nicely reduced footprint to reduce the chances of boot drag.
Score Breakdown for the Invado Pro
| Factor | Rating (/5) | Weighted |
|---|---|---|
| Shock Absorption | 4 | 16/20 |
| Board Feel | 4 | 12/15 |
| Carving | 3.5 | 7/10 |
| Slow Speed Response | 4 | 8/10 |
| Adjustability | 5 | 15/15 |
| Comfort | 3.5 | 7/10 |
| Heel Hold | 4.5 | 9/10 |
| Reduced Footprint | 4 | 4/5 |
| Traction | 3 | 3/5 |
| TOTAL (after normalizing): | 92/100 |
#1: Nidecker Rift
Flex: Medium (5.5/10)
Rating score: 93.2/100
Price: View More Info and Current Prices at the links in the tabs below.
Lacing System: Double BOA
And finally taking the #1 position this year, we have Nidecker's Rift snowboard boots.
The Rift, like the Invado Pro at #2 above, have been moved to this category from the all-mountain category. When they were in the all-mountain category, they topped that list, and now here they top list.
For out of the box, day 1 comfort, the Rift are the best that I've had the pleasure to put my feet into. From the very get-go, they felt like I'd been wearing them for years.
Of course that alone wouldn't get the Rift into the #1 spot - they also tested really well across all the other factors we tested and proved to be a really nice, capable boot for everything we did in them.
Score Breakdown for the Rift
| Factor | Rating (/5) | Weighted |
|---|---|---|
| Shock Absorption | 4.5 | 18/20 |
| Board Feel | 3.5 | 10.5/15 |
| Carving | 3.5 | 7/10 |
| Slow Speed Response | 4 | 8/10 |
| Adjustability | 4 | 12/15 |
| Comfort | 5 | 10/10 |
| Heel Hold | 4.5 | 9/10 |
| Reduced Footprint | 3.5 | 3.5/5 |
| Traction | 4 | 4/5 |
| TOTAL (after normalizing): | 93.2/100 |
Thanks for Checking Out Our Top Rated Men's Freestyle Snowboard Boots
Thanks for checking out our top rated men's freestyle snowboard boots. I hope this has helped you to narrow down your options for your next pair of boots.
Check out the links in the where to buy boxes (the ones with the flags) for prices, availability and more info on the boots. And the full review links for more details on how we experienced each pair of boots.
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