This top 12 has been updated for the 2022-23 season.
Depending on your foot size and your snowboard’s width (or potential snowboard’s width), the best option for snowboard boots is sometimes to go for a low profile option.
This is particularly the case for anyone wanting to fit on a narrower snowboard than they otherwise could with a normal profile snowboard boot or if those who already have a snowboard that is too narrow for their boots and they are getting toe and/or heel drag in their normal profile boots.
Check out the end of this post for an explanation of what low profile means.
My Top 12
The boots below represent my top 12 low profile boots.
In order to give options for a variety of styles this list has been broken down into 4 different flex levels. The following also applies for this list:
MEDIUM-SOFT FLEX OPTIONS
LOW PROFILE BOOT #12:
Boot: Ride Anthem
- CA
- UK/EU
Flex: Medium-Soft (4/10)
Lacing System: Single BOA
Best Uses: Beginners, Beginner Park Riders, Casual All-Mountain
Starting off the list at #12, we have Ride's Anthem boots.
The Anthem's provide a good bit of footprint reduction (with the outersole being just 2.7cm longer than the mondo on the size I measured).
They are a great options for beginners and those just starting out in the park, offering a forgiving flex that's soft but not too soft. They rated #7 in my Top 10 Beginner Boots list.
LOW PROFILE BOOT #11:
Boot: Burton Moto
- CA
- UK/EU
Flex: Medium-Soft (3/10)
Lacing System: Speed Lacing
Best Uses: Beginners, Beginner Park Riders, Low Cost Playful Park/Freestyle Riding
Next up we have Burton’s Moto. The Moto is the softest flexing boot in this list and the equal cheapest (if getting the traditional lace version). It's great as a beginner boot or for playful freestyle riding.
The Moto’s are #1 in my list of the top 10 beginner boots.
You can get the Moto in either a speed lace (shown above), traditional lace or BOA version.
LOW PROFILE BOOT #10:
Boot: Vans Hi-Standard OG
- CA
- UK/EU
Flex: Medium-soft (3.5/10)
Lacing System: Traditional Lacing
Best Uses: Beginners, Beginner Park Riders, Low Cost Playful Park/Freestyle Riding
Next we have the Vans Hi-Standard OGs.
The Hi-Standard OGs are the equal lowest priced boots in this list. If you like, or are OK with, Traditional Lacing, then the Hi-Standard OG offers a great low cost, beginner boot option or for playful freestyle riding. The Hi-Standard OG are my #2 beginner boots for 2022-23.
If you'd prefer BOA, then the Vans Aura OG, is kind of like a BOA (single BOA) version of the Hi-Standard. And the Invado OG are like a traditional lace/BOA hybrid version.
MEDIUM FLEX OPTIONS
LOW PROFILE BOOT #9:
Boot: Salomon Launch Lace BOA SJ
- CA
- UK/EU
Flex: Medium (5/10)
Lacing System: Freestyle/Park, Moderate All-Mountain, All-Mountain-Freestyle
Best Uses: Freestyle, All-Mountain-Freestyle, Moderate All-Mountain
The first of our medium-flex boots, are the Salomon Launch Lace BOA.
These boots feature a hybrid trad lace/BOA system, where you get the adjustability of the traditional lacing system for the outer boot and the convenience and heel hold ability of a BOA that works on a harness around the liner of the boot around the ankle.
The Salomon Launch Lace BOA feature at #4 in my Top Freestyle Boots List
LOW PROFILE BOOT #8:
Boot: Vans Hi-Standard Pro
- CA
- UK/EU
Flex: Medium (5/10)
Lacing System: Traditional Lace
Best Uses: Freestyle/Park, Moderate All-Mountain, All-Mountain-Freestyle
Next up we have the Vans Hi-Standard Pro.
The Hi-Standard Pro are a high-quality traditional lace boot with a medium flex. In a lot of ways a traditional lace version of the Aura Pro (see #6 below).
They came in at #2 in my Top Freestyle Boots List.
LOW PROFILE BOOT #7:
Boot: Burton Swath Boa
- CA
- UK/EU
Flex: Medium (5/10)
Lacing System: Double Boa
Best Uses: Freestyle/Park, Moderate All-Mountain, All-Mountain-Freestyle
Burton’s Swath Boa boots come in next.
If you need something low profile that will be great in the park but will also handle the rest of the mountain, then the Swath Boa are a great option.
They made the #3 spot in my top 5 freestyle boots list.
LOW PROFILE BOOT #6:
Boot: Vans Aura Pro
- CA
- UK/EU
Flex: Medium (5/10)
Lacing System: Double Boa
Best Uses: Freestyle/Park, Moderate All-Mountain, All-Mountain-Freestyle
Next up we have the Vans Aura Pro.
The Aura Pro's are great all-round boots, particularly good for riding freestyle and for anyone who needs a boot that’s a little more high performance than a beginner boot, but still forgiving enough.
The Aura Pro’s are my number 1 rated freestyle boot for 2022-23
MEDIUM-STIFF FLEX OPTIONS
LOW PROFILE BOOT #5:
Boot: Burton Photon
- CA
- UK/EU
Flex: Medium-Stiff (6.5/10)
Lacing System: Speed Lace
Best Uses: All-Mountain, All-Mountain Freestyle
The first of our medium-stiff options is the Burton Photon.
They Photon, like any boot that makes this list, have a nice low profile outer boot, allowing you to potentially fit on a narrower board.
They are just a great all-round boot that works great as a do-it-all boot. They made the #9 spot in my Top 10 All-Mountain Boots.
LOW PROFILE BOOT #4:
Boot: Vans Infuse
- CA
- UK/EU
Flex: Medium Stiff (7/10)
Lacing System: Traditional Lacing with Boa
Best Uses: All-Mountain, Aggressive-All-Mountain, Freeride, More Aggressive Park/Freestyle
The Vans Infuse are unique boots in that they have removable tongue stiffeners. So whilst I’ve rated them as a 7/10 in flex here – in reality you can have them as stiff as 8/10 or as soft as 6/10, depending on whether you leave both tongue stiffeners out, have one in and one out or have both in.
That makes these boots incredibly versatile – they also get the best of both worlds from Boa and traditional lace – great adjustability and great heel hold. That plus being super comfortable (if they fit your foot well) and really responsive, makes these one of the best low profile boots going around – especially if you have multiple boards but just want one pair of boots.
They were my #2 all-mountain boots for 2022-23.
LOW PROFILE BOOT #3:
Boot: Burton Ion Boa
- CA
- UK/EU
Flex: Medium-Stiff (7.5/10)
Lacing System: Double Boa
Best Uses: All-Mountain, Aggressive-All-Mountain, Freeride
Taking a step up in flex again, we next have the Burton Ion Boa.
The Ion’s are super responsive. A great all-mountain or aggressive all-mountain option or for freeriding if you prefer something that’s not mega-stiff – there’s a bit of forgiveness.
The Ion come in both a speed lace option and a BOA option.
The Ion Boas rated #1 on my top 10 all mountain boots list for 2022-23!
STIFF FLEX OPTIONS
LOW PROFILE BOOT #2:
Boot: Thirty Two TM-TWO XLT
- CA
- UK/EU
Flex: Stiff (9/10)
Lacing System: Traditional Lace with velcro cuff
Best Uses: Aggressive-All-Mountain, Freeride
The first of our stiff boots (only 2 stiff boots here instead of 3 this year - there are 4 medium flex options earlier in this list this year).
The Thirty Two TM-TWO XLTs are the tougher, more intense older brother of the TM-TWOs.
They also feature a more rugged sole for better traction when hiking, making these great options for freeriding or bombing the groomers hard.
And, importantly to make this list, they are quite low profile too - more so than the average Thirty Two boot. They made #5 in my Top 5 Freeride Boots list this year.
LOW PROFILE BOOT #1:
Boot: Burton Driver X
- CA
- UK/EU
Flex: Stiff (9.5/10)
Lacing System: Speed Lace
Best Uses: Aggressive-All-Mountain, Freeride
Finally we have Burton’s Driver X boots. Super stiff, super responsive and with awesome reduced footprint tech.
These are my #2 freeride boots and the stiffest of the low profile boots in this list. If you like your boots stiff, and need that reduced outer-sole, then the Driver X are an awesome choice.
What Does Low Profile Mean?
Low profile (aka reduced footprint or boot shrinkage) essentially means that the outer-sole of the boot is reduced for the same equivalent inner.
For example: A low profile boot might be the same length on the outside of the boot as a regular profile boot that's half a size or even a whole size smaller. E.g. if you ride a size 11 low profile boot, it might have the length on the outside the same as a regular profile 10.5 or even 10, depending on how low profile it is.
This can allow you to ride a narrower width board than you otherwise could have in a regular length boot.
I measure all boots I test and compare the outside length of the boot to the mondoprint of the boot. I find the average difference is around 3cm, so anything under that is low profile and anything above that is bulkier than average. The smallest difference I've measured was a mere 1.5cm longer than mondo. The largest I've measured was 4.5cm over mondo. Most boots have between 2cm and 4cm difference.
Thanks for Reading
I hope this post has helped to narrow down some low profile snowboard boot options for you. Check out the links under each boot above for more info on each boot and where to buy.
For 2022-2023 there's been quite a lot of changes to this list due to Adidas bowing out of the snowboard boot game. Adidas were the lowest profile boots I had measured and for 2021-2022 had 4 options in this list. So we had to replace those with no 2023 Adidas models being available.
As mentioned earlier, if you want more options and have a particular flex or style in mind and you’re looking for a low profile boot and want more options - or if you have a boot in mind and want my opinion as to whether it’s a good option for you, just leave a comment below.
Recent Comments