Salomon X Approach Lace SJ BOA Review

Hello and welcome to my Salomon X Approach snowboard boot review.

In this review I will take a look at the X Approach as freestyle snowboard boots.

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

Overall Rating

Boots: Salomon X Approach Lace SJ BOA

Price: $329 (USD recommended retail)

Style: Freestyle

Other Uses: All-Mountain

Flex Rating: Medium

Flex Feel: Medium (5/10)

Rating Score: 85.2/100

Compared to other Freestyle Boots

Overview of the X Approach’s Specs

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

SPECS

SIZING

Who are the X Approach Most Suited to?

The X Approach is best suited to those who spend most of their time in the park or doing playful all-mountain freestyle stuff or just casual groomer laps. They would make really good intermediate boots, IMO as well as good park boots. 

Not quite beginner boots for most, but for stronger or bigger riders, they should work as beginner boots. 

Best matched to boards in the 3/10 to 6/10 flex range and even more optimal for that 4/10 to 5/10 flex range, IMO. 

The X Approach in More Detail

O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the X Approach are capable of.

Demo Info

Boots: Salomon X Approach 2025

Size: 10.0 (US Men's Sizing)

Date: December 11, 2024

Easy of Entry/Lacing Up

Making a point of opening out all but the very end lace bit, they were pretty easy to get into. A tiny bit of push down force required.

Liner

The X Approach has a typical lacing harness on the liner, in addition to the BOA harness "Str8jkt". I was able to get the lacing harness good and tight even before the Str8jkt . After tightening the Str8jkt it already had better than average heel hold (as good as my control boots already at that point before tightening the shell at all). 

Shell

Interestingly, it didn't feel like it made a noticeable difference for heel hold after tying the shell's laces, maybe just a touch. However, it does snug up the rest of the boot, so it's not like you wouldn't have to do up the shell's lacing! Overall heel hold felt really good. However, that would change when testing on snow - but more on that later. 

Overall not super fast to lace these up, but there's lots of adjustability, so its worth it for the time they take. 

Boot to Foot Fit

First impressions from first try on was that that fit snug, bordering on tight, but not so tight that it felt they would be too small. 

Length:

When standing in the X Approach my toes were touching the ends of the boot. I would say more than just brushing the end but not so close to the end that it was causing pressure. When bending at the knees and leaning forward my toes pulled back slightly - enough so that they weren’t touching.  

I found I had a good bit of wiggle room for the tops of my toes, which I like

Width: 

I couldn't move my forefoot side to side - so it was quite snug in there, but not so much so that it was pushing against it or anything uncomfortable. Maybe medium bordering on narrow. For my toes, they weren't squeezed, but there also wasn't any spare room to the sides of them. Overall, I would say medium bordering no narrow. 

In-Step: 

There was a little bit of pressure on my right foot's in-step -  towards the top of the in-step, where the top of the foot meets the ankle. It was potentially coming from extra pressure from the Str8jkt? But it wasn't anything too uncomfortable.

Around Ankles: There was a little bit, but nothing super noticeable, especially for a first try on. 

On-Snow: The fit on the on-snow test day was very similar, with the in-step pressure lessening throughout the testing and the ankle pressure all but gone by the end. I didn't find the narrowness of the boots a problem. I have average width feet.   

True to Size?:

I’d say true to size. I wouldn’t go smaller, but I feel if I went bigger it would pack out to be too big. Just right in the 10, I would say.

Boot to Binding Fit

Heel width: It was easy to get the boots to the back of the heel cup of my control bindings. Really similar amount of space in heel cup as with my control boots. I could move the heel of the boot side to side a little, before strapping in, but once strapped in it was nice and snug in there. 

Toe width: Plenty of space at the toe end of the boot. More than most, so even the outside is narrower than typical. 

Ankle Strap: Despite that narrowness, I still needed to lengthen the ankle straps by one hole for them to fit most optimally in my control bindings. They felt  a little higher around the ankle.

Toe Strap: Also needed to lengthen the toe strap by one hole to fit most optimally. But with the low profile nature of my control boots, this wasn't a surprise and I have to do this for a majority of boots we test. 

Shock Absorption

Stomp Test: They felt like they had pretty good shock absorption in the Stomp Test, but not quite as good as my control boots, but pretty close. 

On-Snow: They weren't terrible and weren't far off my control boots, but they were just that little step down in terms of shock and chatter absorption.

Board Feel

The board feel felt really decent and made these boots real nice for ollie initiation, butters/presses, etc.  

Carving

Overall I found these boots were better when riding slow to moderate speeds and with a more playful style. They didn't hold up as well for high angle carves, particularly at higher speeds, but they weren't terrible on a carve or anything - but middle of the road. 

Slow Speed Response

They felt significantly better for short/sharp turns at slower speeds than they did for higher speed, aggressive carves. 

Adjustability

Really good adjustability. The traditional lacing always provides good shell adjustability and it was super easy to re-tighten the liner, if needed, without opening the shell, as you could just crank the BOA to tighten the Str8jkt. 

The only other thing I'd want is Velcro for the tops of the liner, but overall really good adjustability. 

Comfort

Overall comfort really good. I got no cramping, no shin bite and what pressure points there were, weren't anything too bad and were already lessening after having them out for one session (plus wearing them around the house). 

Heel Hold

While heel hold felt excellent when I first tried them on, it didn't feel as good riding in them. I'm not sure what changed. The overall snugness of the boots was similar to the first try on, so I don't think they'd just packed out super quickly or anything like that. It still wasn't that bad or anything, but 

Reduced Footprint

They're nothing super long, but not very low profile either. At 3.2cm longer than their mondopoint, they have a longer sole than typical, but they do have slightly more toe bevel than average, which mitigates some of that extra length in the sole. 

Traction/Sole Quality

The red parts of the sole felt like rubber and good and grippy. But the black parts didn’t feel like rubber. So, some rubber content, but not fully rubber. Tread depth was I would say just under average. Not great for longevity but probably helps with board feel. Decent pattern variety. 

Score Breakdown and Final Verdict

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

The X Approach were all round a really good boot with a good mix of shock absorption and board feel and good slow speed response. And really good adjustability to help you dial in your fit. 

Likely to feel too soft for advanced to expert riders looking to bomb, but well suited to playful all-mountain freestyle and park riding, intermediate riders and more casual/cautious groomer riders.