Burton Limelight BOA Snowboard Boots Review

Hello and welcome to my Burton Limelight BOA snowboard boots review.

In this review I will take a look at the Limelight BOA as all-mountain snowboard boots.

As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Limelight BOA a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how they compare with other women's all-mountain boots.

Overall Rating

Boots: Burton Limelight BOA

Price: $339 (USD recommended retail)

Style: All-Mountain 

Flex Rating: Medium

Flex Feel: Medium (5/10)

Rating Score: 81.7/100

Compared to other Women's All-Mountain Boots

Overview of the Limelight BOA’s Specs

Who are the Limelight BOA Most Suited to?

The Limelight BOA are best suited to anyone looking for an easy to manage boot that still has good adjustability and good quality.

The Double BOA system is easy to use and offers decent adjustability, while the mid-flex of these boots is great for anyone wanting to be able to do a bit of everything. Or for bigger riders, good as a playful, softer flexing boot and for smaller riders good as a carving boot that doesn't feel too stiff for them. 

They are best matched, IMO, to boards in the 3/10 to 6/10 flex range and even better for 4/10 to 5/10 flexing boards. 

Not quite for beginners, but higher end beginners and beginners who are bigger or more athletic will likely get on fine with them. 

THE Limelight BOA IN MORE DETAIL

Bindings angles: +15/-15

Board Demoed With: Ride Saturday

Bindings Demoed With: Ride DVA

Rider Height: 5'7" (170cm)

Rider Weight: 125lbs (56kg)

Rider Boot Size: Women's US8.0 (Ride Hera Control Boot)

Outersole Length:  27.8cm (mondo 25cm)

Difference between Mondo & Outersole: 2.8cm

Backstay Height: 10.6" (27cm)

Weight: 1lb 10oz (740 grams)*

* Average of a sample of  women's boots I've weighed was 1lbs 15oz (883g). Heaviest I've weighed were 2lbs 10oz (1200g) and lightest were 1lb 7oz (640g). These boots are really light and you notice it as soon as you pick them up. On snow they felt very similar to my control boots in terms of weight.

Flex

Flex felt very much medium. Very similar to my control boots (Ride Hera). 

Foot Fit

Width: 

From first try on they felt quite tight on the sides of the foot and toes. On one foot (L) lateral side of pinky toe had slight pressure point. Quite minor and didn't feel it on Right side. 

On snow they were were still quite tight but the pressure point disappeared quickly and they were comfortable for the sides of my feet and toes. 

True to Size?: 

From first try on they were tighter than I would have liked them overall. In terms of the length all toes were touching with the end of my big toe being quite cramped with a slight pressure point. The Rest of my toes didn't have pressure points but have little to no wiggle room. 

For the tops of the toes, there was no pressure and it was snug with next to no wiggle room. 

On snow toes were touching and with a bit of pressure, but not too bad in terms of pressure, except for big toe. End of big toe is quite crammed and has a slight pressure point. Rest of foot is only snug, no pressure points. 

I would say borderline running a little small - as in I would have been more comfortable in an 8.5. But the 8 would likely have packed out enough to make it just right, if I had more break in time. We do spend time breaking them in, but not fully - and I think a little more time to break them in and they would have fit fine, but taking a bit more time to break in than the average boot for the 8 to be right. 

So I'd say they run 1/4 size small - and 8.25, if it existed would likely have been the right balance between breaking in quicker and staying good once packed out. I feel an 8.5 might have packed out a little too much and while it would have been good for testing, would likely have been too big after fulling packing out. 

In-Step: 

They were snug on top of foot, but not to a point of being uncomfortable. Same when riding. 

Around Ankles: 

Like the rest of the boot they were snug around the ankles but no pressure points and not uncomfortable. Nicely snug. Same when riding.

Binding Fit

The ankle strap on my bindings (Ride DVA) was set just right as it was already for my control boots.

The toe straps had to be shortened by 2 holes. These were lower profile boots than my control boots. 

The heel of the boot was snug into the heel cup of the bindings. It was snug but still fairly easy to get it right into the back, without having to force it or anything. 

Traction/Sole Quality

The quality of the sole is decent, without being amazing and the traction seemed OK walking in them. They have a medium tread depth and a good amount of pattern variety. 

There's a little flex towards the toe of the sole, but the heel end and through the middle is pretty stiff. And it doesn't feel super cush or anything. No like gel or anything that I can see but shock absorption on snow and in the stomp test was good. 

Carving

They were good for supporting moderate speed, moderately deep carves. They were very similar to my control boots when it came to carving feel. Not as suited to higher speed, deeper carves - not really stiff enough to support them. 

Slow Speed Response

They felt really good at slow speeds. They didn't require too much effort and had quite a forgiving feel to them. 

Heel Hold

When I first tried these boots on they had some of the best heel hold I'd felt - close to zero. This was mostly down to how snug they felt initially. 

After heat molding and getting them out on snow, after they had eased off on that initial tightness, they still had very good heel hold, but not quite the same uncompromising heel lock that they gave when I first tried them on. Still really good though and as locked down as I'd need my heels to be. 

Very similar to my control boots. 

Adjustability

The liner uses a standard lacing harness and has 2 hook and loop closures at the top to help get it nice and snug around the shins. 

The shell of the boot has 2 separate BOAs. The Front BOA operates the top 4 cables (or in Burton's case New England ropes) the first of which runs across the top of the boot - upper shin area. Then there is a crisscross of two ropes that tighten aronud the lower shin/upper ankle area. And the 4th that focuses more on the lower ankle. 

The Side BOA operates the 2 lower ropes which are focused on tightening over the top of your foot. 

The BOAs are completely independent of each other, meaning you can leave the bottom 2 laces loose and really crank the top ones or visa versa or anything in between. Not the same level of adjustability that you get with traditional laces, but still a lot better than a single boa system. 

The liner is, of course heat moldable, like a majority of snowboard boot liners on the market, which also allows you to speed up the time that the liner molds to your foot.  

Comfort

Overall the boots are comfortable. The liner is pretty lush and there aren't any obvious hot spots. The comfort issues that I had were mostly surrounding the fact that they felt like they were a touch too small for me. In a bigger size, they would have been more comfortable. 

The biggest area for discomfort for me was my big toes. And this became worse as I rode more in them and there was some slight numbing. Again, this would likely not be an issue if I was in an 8.5 and the 8 would likely pack out a little more over time. 

Shock Absorption

In the in-house stomp test, there was noticeably better shock absorption vs my control boots. But not as good as some of the best shock absorbers I've tested. 

On snow, it was also noticeable that the shock absorption when landing jumps/ollies etc. was better, as was the chatter absorption. 

Entry/Exit

Getting my foot into the boot when first trying on was fairly easy but a little harder to get it in vs my control boots. 

After heat molding and getting them out on snow I found they were pretty much average/normal in terms of the ease of getting my foot in. 

The lacing system consists of a traditional lacing liner lacing system. The laces and the tightening toggle thing are of good quality, which is typical of Burton in this area. Also on the liner are two hook and loop closures either side of the top of the liner. This is an extra step, but it also allows you to get the liner more snug around your shins. 

The outer boot uses a Double BOA system. The front BOA tightens the top 4 cables and the side BOA tightens the bottom 2 cables. As is always the case with BOA, they make it really easy to tighten the boots as much as you need. And also keep things tidy (think no laces dragging on the ground, when doing them up). 

The front BOA is a self-coiler (not the official name, can't think of it right now!). Which basically just means that it will self coil to a certain extend when you open it and let it go, which saves some of the tightening work. 

Score Breakdown and Final Verdict

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

The Limelight BOA are good quality all round boots that have no obvious weaknesses. 

They have a great level of flex which I find is my sweet spot - not so stiff that they are unforgiving and harder to ride slow, but no soft that they don't offer enough control or support when carving.