Burton Mint Snowboard Boots Review

Hello and welcome to my Burton Mint snowboard boot review.

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

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

Overall Rating

Boots: Burton Mint 

Price: $249 (USD recommended retail)

Style: All-Mountain-Freestyle/Beginner

Flex Rating: Soft-Medium (1-4/10)

Flex Feel: Soft (3/10)

Rating Score: 78.2/100

Compared to other Women's All-Mountain-Freestyle Boots

Overview of the Mint’s Specs

Check out the tables for the Mint’s specs and available sizes.

Specs

Who are the Mint Most Suited to?

The Mint are best suited to beginner riders or those who are new to the park and want a forgiving boot that gives them lots of freedom to flex and tweak. 

One of the better starter boots but for seasoned park riders and all-mountain-freestyle riders you may find them a bit lacking. 

Best matched to softer flexing boards in the 1/10 to 4/10 flex range. 

The Mint in More Detail

Setup 

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:  28.1cm (mondo 25cm)

Difference between Mondo & Outersole: 3.1cm

Backstay Height: 11.0" (27.9cm)

Forward Lean: 6.5° 

Weight: 1lb 7oz (640 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). 

Fit

True to Size?: 

My toes were definitely all the way to the end of the boot. I was surprised that there was really no pressure here. I was also surprised that as the day progressed, and the heat molding started to take effect, my toes were still touching. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but these boots are definitely on the shorter side.

Width: 

After some time in them, I can confirm, the Mints are not made for the wide-footed. These boots were feeling tight around my feet from the jump, and my toes felt especially crammed. There was noticeable pressure on the sides of my toes as soon as I was in the boots. This did open up a little, but not enough to relieve the discomfort. The area around the middle of my feet seemed to mold out more. It was still feeling quite tight, but not as uncomfortable as the toebox.

Top of Foot (instep): 

I would say these are just fairly low-volume boots all around. For both the toe area and the middle of the foot, they left a lot to be desired in terms of vertical wiggle room. They weren’t tight enough that I felt pressure across the top of my foot when I initially put them on. After some ride time though, I began to notice some, and it seemed to increase throughout the day.

Ankle:

I had a similar issue around my ankles as that of the in-step. There was no real pressure point to start, but after some ride time, I could feel a bit. It wasn’t necessarily uncomfortable, but it was noticeably tighter in this area than the average snowboard boot.

Shock Absorption

For how light they were and felt like they didn't really have much to them, the shock absorption and impact resistance was better than I would've thought with the Mints. Certainly not the best ever, but decent enough, especially for this price-point. 

Board Feel

The board feel was pretty good, too. The boots were well-balanced. Even though the shock-absorbing qualities were decent, it didn’t limit the board feel so much that it felt lost from beneath me.

Traction/Sole Quality

The traction/quality on these boots' sole was significantly less than the boot I ride daily. Enough so that I noticed. I would say this isn’t terribly surprising with the Mints being on the lower end of Burton’s line-up. 

Carving

Not recommended. These boots felt fairly stiff when I first put them on, but as soon as I was on the slopes, I knew that wasn’t the case. They just felt super soft and playful, and I essentially had no support going into higher-angle carves…especially at higher speeds.

Slow Speed Response

This is where these boots felt much more at home.  The Mints performed extremely well here. They’re super flexible, leading to great response when slowed down. These would make a great park boot or beginner boot.

Adjustability

The advantage of going with the Speed Lace version of these boots, over the BOA version (which is just a single BOA), is that you do get independent adjustability for the lower and upper sections of the boot. 

I still don't feel like I can get quite as dialed in with speed zone vs a double boa or traditional lacing, but definitely an advantage over single boa. 

Comfort

I know, I know, I said these were tight, but in general, the boots were actually fairly comfortable. Outside of the small toe box and the sense of tightness, they didn’t feel bad. I think sizing up a half size would have been great, and I would have found them to provide a really good level of comfort.

Heel Hold

My heel felt pretty secure when I was first in the boot and out walking around. After a few laps, I wasn't feeling so secure! My heel ended up slipping a few times, which added to the lack of stability. I was surprised by this given the tight fit. Retightening helped, but the heel hold was never amazing. 

Entry/Exit

Even though these boots had a snug feel when laced in, they weren’t so tight that I struggled to get them on or off. They opened up a lot, and it was super easy to slide into them.

Lacing them back up once my foot was in was the only area of difficulty.

Full transparency: if you haven’t spent much time around the Speedzone lacing system, it can be somewhat awkward. It may require a little extra instruction, but it does work well once you have it figured out. Getting those plastic things to stay in their pouches on the other hand, that's a different story. 

Score Breakdown and Final Verdict

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

The Mint were nice and light and really easy for slow speed turns and super forgiving. 

When it cam to riding faster or trying to carve, they lacked the support needed, so I would recommend these to those who are new to snowboarding and want a nice forgiving boot that will help them build confidence quickly and to new park riders who want a super forgiving boot to use to start getting creative with tricks.