Ride's Deadbolt Zonal boots are a nice all-mountain boot that offer good adjustability and no real weaknesses. They're a do-it-all boot that leans slightly towards the more freeride/harder charging side of things, but still have a good amount of forgiveness to them.
In this review I will take a look at the Deadbolt as all-mountain snowboard boots.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Deadbolt a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how they compare with other all-mountain boots.
Overall Rating
Boots: Ride Deadbolt
Price: $409 (USD recommended retail)
Style: All-Mountain
Flex Rating: Medium-Stiff (7/10)
Flex Feel: Medium-Stiff (7/10)
Rating Score: 85.3/100
Compared to other All-Mountain Boots
Of the 25 current model men's all-mountain snowboard boots that we tested:
❄️ The Deadbolt Zonal ranked 9th out of 25
Overview of the Deadbolt’s Specs
Check out the tables for the Deadbolt's specs and available sizes.
Specs
STYLE:
ALL-MOUNTAIN
PRICE:
$409
Ability Level:
flex:
weight:
Felt normal
LACING SYSTEM:
Double Boa
Sizes
US MEN'S SIZE | UK SIZE | EURO SIZE | MONDOPOINT |
|---|---|---|---|
7 | 6 | 39.5 | 25 |
7.5 | 6.5 | 40 | 25.5 |
8 | 7 | 40.5 | 26 |
8.5 | 7.5 | 41.5 | 26.5 |
9 | 8 | 42 | 27 |
9.5 | 8.5 | 42.5 | 27.5 |
10 | 9 | 43.5 | 28 |
10.5 | 9.5 | 44 | 28.5 |
11 | 10 | 44.5 | 29 |
11.5 | 10.5 | 45 | 29.5 |
12 | 11 | 46 | 30 |
13 | 12 | 48 | 31 |
Who are the Deadbolt Most Suited to?
The Deadbolt are best suited to someone looking for stiffer than average boots that can handle some pretty high angle carves well, but at the same time have some forgiveness to them and still work well for slower speed/more casual riding.
Best matched to boards in the 5/10 to 8/10 flex range. Ideal board flex match 6/10 to 7/10.
THE Deadbolt IN MORE DETAIL
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Deadbolt are capable of.
Demo Info
Boots: Ride Deadbolt 2024
Size: 10 (US Men's Sizing)
Date: January 24, 2024
Conditions
Overhead: Raining, fairly heavy at times.
Not great visibility - 50-60%. Quite hard to see ahead to pick line, but not awful.
Temperature (°F): 34 (25 with wind chill) morning and 36 (27 with wind chill) afternoon.
Temperature (°C): 1 (-4 with wind chill) morning and 2 (-3 with wind chill) afternoon.
24 hour snow: 0.5" (1cm)
48 hour snow: 0.5" (1cm)
7 day snow: 0.5" (1cm)
On groomer: Soft packed with slushy patches. Slushier as the day went on.
Off groomer: Shallow powder - there had been snow overnight. It was OK first thing, but got pretty sloppy as the day went on, with the rain.
Setup
Bindings angles: +15/-15
Board Tested With: Lib Tech Terrain Wrecker
Bindings Tested With: Burton Malavita
Control Boots: Adidas Response ADV, size 9.5
Rider Height: 6'0"
Rider Weight: 180lbs
Outersole Length: 30.9cm (mondo 28cm)
Difference between Mondo & Outersole: 2.9cm
Backstay Height: 11.1" (28.2cm)
Forward Lean: 6.1°
Weight: 2lbs .45oz (920 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 Fit:
The Deadbolts seemed quite true to length, with my toes just brushing the end. There was a little less space on top of my toes, but they didn’t feel compressed or painful.
Width Fit:
They are slightly wider than what I would call average. I felt they were close to mid-wide - medium at the narrowest.
In-Step:
There was slightly less pressure on the top of my foot compared to the average boot. So, these could be a decent option for those who have a higher instep.
Around Ankles:
I had some issues with the ankle fit in these boots, with pressure points on the inside and outside of both ankles. I noticed this whether I was riding or just walking around.
They have independent double Boa’s for the shell and a liner lace, so good marks for adjustability, but I recommend spending a decent amount of time wearing them in the shop to get a sense of whether they are a good match for your feet or not.
True to Size?:
The Deadbolts are basically true-to-size, IMO, with some caveats that I would call more of fit issues than sizing. Having a bit more pressure on the top of the toes may help someone who tends to grip a lot with your toes feel more secure, but it’s not uncomfortable, just different.
Boot to Binding Fit
I had zero issues fitting these boots to my bindings. They aren’t bulky and are slightly lighter than the average.
Carving/Slow Speed Response
The Deadbolt’s were on the stiffer end of the spectrum (7 out of 10) which predictably was reflected in a higher carving score (4 out of 5). They still performed slightly better than normal at slow speeds, but overall they will appeal more to the all-mountain rider/carver rather than a jibber or beginner.
Heel Hold
A bit of a mixed review here… wearing them inside I definitely noticed more heel lift. Not excessively sloppy, but my heels came up more than expected. However, when riding I seemed to stay locked in pretty good. Perhaps fine tuning the adjustment and having the binding straps as reinforcement helped the whole system come together.
Where the Boa cables come across on the front of the Deadbolt there is a bigger gap between the upper section cables and lower section cable, than on most BOA boots.
Ride might be wanting to make it easy to see the separated, i.e. Zonal, Boa system, but it may come at the expense of keeping your heel sucked in. I was able to crank down the Boa and it worked well enough, but it resulted in a tighter feel than some may not prefer.
Adjustability
As mentioned in the section on ankle fit, the Deadbolt’s have external independent Boa’s as well as a standard inner lace harness for the liner. There is no upper shin strap or other frills, but overall the adjustability is quite good.
It took me a bit to get used to how to run the liner lacing and clip, but after some practice I liked it, and it even allows adjustability of the liner lacing, without undoing the whole boot, which is cool.
Comfort
The boots felt comfy when I first put my foot in them, with slightly more pressure on my ankles than normal. The Boa cables are a little more like rope rather than steel cables which gave a nicer feel.
Shock Absorption
These absorb shock more than many Ride boots, but still not quite as much as my control boots.
Board Feel
The Deadbolt’s have a progressive sole flex, i.e. less in the toes and gradually stiffening towards the heels (which is typical of most boots) and overall a fairly normal but maybe slightly stiffer than the average sole flex.
As noted in the Carving section, their overall flex was on the stiffer side of the spectrum. Both overall flex and sole stiffness might be too much if you like to do a lot of presses, tweaks, rails, ollies etc. Since the conditions on test day were soft and mushy the board feel might have been a bit muted as well.
Traction/Sole Quality
I liked the quality of the soles. Good variety of tread pattern, average depth, grippy material which should be great for short hikes or navigating the parking lot.
Reduced Footprint.
They are a little more reduced, in terms of length, versus average, but not super low profile or anything - 2.9cm longer on outsole vs mondo.
Entry/Exit
The Deadbolts are easy to get in and out of. Although I like having a hook and loop strap on the liner, the lack of one made entry simpler and the liner lace did a good job of snugging up the boot.
As is the case with all BOA boots, it's easy to tighten the shell and there's no laces to get soaked in the carpark, when it's wet/slushy. And it's nice and fast.
The liner lacing was nice in that you can clip it on and then tighten and it self-holds to the point you tightened it, without having to drag the clip down. Then you can have a couple more pulls at it to get it tighter, if you want.
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
RATING | SCORE WEIGHTING | |
|---|---|---|
CARVING | 4.0 | 12/15 |
SLOW SPEED RESPONSE | 4.0 | 8/10 |
HEEL HOLD | 4.5 | 13.5/15 |
ADJUSTABILITY | 4.0 | 12/15 |
COMFORT | 3.5 | 10.5/15 |
SHOCK ABSORPTION | 3.5 | 10.5/15 |
TRACTION | 4.0 | 8/10 |
REDUCED FOOTPRINT | 4.0 | 4/5 |
TOTAL after normalizing | 85.3/100 |
The Deadbolt are overall a nice versatile boot that are well built and with no apparent weaknesses.
Would make a great one boot for a quiver with boards within a 4/10 to 8/10 flex range and for a rider who wants something a little stiffer than average, but not oppressively stiff.
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
If you’re interested in learning more about the Deadbolt, are ready to buy or want to research current prices and sizing availability, check out the links below.
If you want to see how the Deadbolt compared to other all-mountain boots, or want to check out some other options, check out the link below.
Nate, great review as always. Just bought a pair of 10.5 Deadbolts and they fit my wide feet and narrow ankles well. With the slightly reduced footprint, should I go with M or L Union Atlas? Union recommends L at 10.5 in general.
Hey Tad, thanks for your message, and apologies for the slow reply.
It’s a touch call. I’ve had 10s in the M that have felt like they’re as big as you’d want to go, but I’ve also had 10s that have had room to spare. Hard to say for sure. I’d say the L is your safest bet, though my instinct says the Deadbolt 10.5 would fit the M.
Hope this somewhat helps with your decision (if it didn’t come too late!)