K2 Evasion Snowboard Boots Review

Hello and welcome to my K2 Evasion snowboard boots review.

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

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

Overall Rating

Boots: K2 Evasion

Price: $409 (USD recommended retail)

Style: All-Mountain 

Flex Rating: Medium-Stiff (7/10)

Flex Feel: Medium-Stiff (7.5/10)

Rating Score: 84.2/100

Compared to other All-Mountain Boots

Overview of the Evasion’s Specs

Check out the tables for the Evasion's specs and available sizes.

Specs

Sizes

Who are the Evasion Most Suited to?

The Evasion are best suited to someone looking for a stiffer boot but something with a little bit of give still. If you want that mid-stiff feel and something that's nice and supportive for carving and high speed riding, then the Evasion would be a solid choice. 

They have great adjustability too. So, if you get a decent initial fit, you should have no trouble customizing them to how you like them fitting.

Not suitable for beginners, IMO. Too stiff for that and not forgiving enough. 

Best matched to boards in that 6/10 to 9/10 flex range and even better in that 7/10 to 8/10 range.  

THE Evasion IN MORE DETAIL

Bindings angles: +15/-15

Board Tested With: Lib Tech Terrain Wrecker

Bindings Tested With: Burton Malavita, size M

Control Boots: Adidas Response ADV, size 9.5

Rider Height: 6'0"

Rider Weight: 180lbs

Outersole Length:  30.8cm (mondo 28cm)

Difference between Mondo & Outersole: 2.8cm

Backstay Height: 11.1" (28.2cm)

Weight: 2lbs 10oz (1180 grams)*

* Average of a sample of around 60 boots I've weighed was 1035g (2lbs 5oz). Heaviest I've weighed were 2lbs 15oz (1320g) and lightest were 1lb 8oz (680g). 

Foot to Boot Fit

Length/True to Size?: When first trying them on, they felt just right length-wise. But by the time I'd finished testing them at the resort, they felt like they could pack out to be a little bit too big. Would still be fine, but not quite ideal. Overall they feel a 1/4 of a size too big for me, which is typical of K2. Good for testing them in the 10, as I'm not in them for as long as I would be if I bought them. I've tried K2 9.5s and they have been uncomfortably tight to start with, but I feel that would be my best bet to persevere with the 9.5 until they felt good. 

So, for me, they're really on the border of being true to size (which for me would be the 10) and running 1/2 a size big. 

Width: They felt like a medium width to me. Which is, again, typical of K2 boots in my experience. They weren't super narrow but they weren't wide either. I had no real space at the sides of my toes, but no pressure either and same for the forefoot. 

In-Step: Felt fine for me. I had a little bit of pressure on the top of my feet, but that's typical for me with new boots. At first, When tightening the boa for the ankle harness, it was digging into the top of my feet, but when I repositioned and guided it as I coiled the BOA, it felt better.  

Around Ankles: I felt some ankle discomfort in these boots, particularly on my inner ankles. Though it wasn't that bad and I only felt it when walking in them and sitting on chairlift - didn't notice it when riding. 

Boot to Binding Fit

They fit in my bindings well (Burton Malavita). I was able to keep the ankle strap in the same position as with my control boots (Adidas Response ADV) and they were a great fit into the heel cup. 

They were just right width-wise for the bindings without too much space, but not tight or hard to get right back into the heel cup.

There was a little more room at toes but nothing that made them able to move around or anything, after tightening straps. 

I had to lengthen the toe strap a little, but that's not surprising, given my control boots are really low profile. 

Carving

These boots helped me to rip carves! They made my whole setup feel better for carving vs when I rode it with my control boots. I wanted to keep riding these boots for longer because of how good they felt for carving. 

Slow Speed Response

I found I could get relatively quick turns at slower speeds but needed to really drive into edges and put a lot of effort and weight into to do it compared with how it feels with my control boots.  Definitely preferred riding fast with these boots than slow. 

Heel Hold

When I first tried them on, the heel hold felt pretty good. Very similar to my control boots. But after riding in them for a bit and having them pack out a bit, the heel hold became worse. If I was in a 9.5, I imagine they would be really good heel hold-wise, but did have more heel lift than ideal in them after a while - even after retightening. 

Adjustability

These boots use traditional lacing, so naturally have really good adjustability. Then there's the BOA to add to that adjustability - getting that tighter to help with heel hold and being able to tighten that easily on the fly as you go. 

Interestingly the liner didn't have a lacing harness. Just the BOA and hook and loop straps at the top, but this didn't affect adjustability in my experience, except for making it simpler to put them on. 

There's also a power strap that wraps around the outside of the tongue, to help tighten things around the shin. 

Comfort

I found some mild shin bite - but nothing too bad - and pretty normal for stiffer boots. Some ankle discomfort on the inner ankle but only noticed it when walking and on chairlift, not while riding. 

Shock Absorption

Not quite as good in the in-house stomp testing as the Response (my control boots), but not too far off. They sounded a little hollower and less damp and felt that way too. 

On snow they weren't bad at absorbing shock from landings or general chatter but didn't feel as good for it as my control boots. 

Board Feel

Didn't provide a lot of board feel. Not as good as my control boots. This is typical of stiffer boots and when inspecting the sole I found that the sole was pretty stiff too. There was a tiny bit of give at the toe end of the sole (toe end is always softer), but very little in the mid-sole and I couldn't flex the heel end even a little. 

It's also got a bit of an arch in the middle too. Nothing crazy, but it's not super flat either - and there's quite a bit of bevel in the toe - though that bevel does start quite late - and then ramps up fairly aggressively.

Traction/Sole Quality

Typical of K2, the sole seems really nice in terms of the quality. Mid-level tred depth and good tred variety. 

Reduced Footprint

K2 aren't typical low profile boots, but I found the Evasion was actually lower profile than the average boot. The length was shorter than most K2 boots I've measured and there was a good amount of toe bevel. 

Entry/Exit

At first try on, after opening the boot out, I found it really easy to get my foot in - but it felt nice and snug once in - which is the best of both worlds. 

Liner: The liner has hook and loop closure at the top - one on each side, which I always like and finds it helps to keep things secure around the shins. Surprisingly, there was no actual liner lacing harness and it was secured by just the hook-and-loop closures at the top and then the BOA harness around the ankle. But this didn't seem to make it feel any less secure. 

Outer boot: The Evasion uses traditional laces, which is really good for adjustability but it does make getting them on and off take longer. I would personally make the sacrifice for the adjustability, but some would prefer there boots to be easier and faster to get on and off. 

Once getting the laces done up, there is a "power strap" that tightens around the top of the boot, which helps to get the boot nice and snug around the shins. If you want to keep it looser, you could choose to leave this loose, but it gives you the option to get it really tight around the shins. 

Finally, there's a zipper shroud that covers the bottom half of the laces. Good for keeping the weather out. It's another step, but you could always leave it open if you didn't want to zip it up in good weather. K2 claims it also helps to keep a secure fit. Not sure if it does that or not though. 

Score Breakdown and Final Verdict

Despite not being the perfect fit for me or having perfect heel hold or anything like that, and not being great at slower speeds, I really wanted to ride in these boots more. And the biggest reason for that was how good they felt for carving and bombing. 

They held up really well and made my whole setup feel noticeably better for carving and for support at higher speeds. 

Their great adjustability also means that you should be able to customize your fit really well, assuming you get a good initial fit in the boots.