BOA Fit System Ski Boot Solution Claims Scientifically Proven Performance Advantage

BOA Technology, the creator of the award-winning patented BOA® Fit System, launched its inaugural Alpine Ski Boot solution in partnership with four leading global ski brands: K2, Salomon, Atomic, and Fischer. The solution delivers an elevated user experience, the durability to withstand the most extreme alpine conditions, and scientifically proven fit and performance advantage backed by athlete validation and a recently published peer-reviewed study.

BOA designers, engineers, and product developers combined their 20+ years of experience acquired across multiple industries to build the most powerful, durable, and integrated platform in the history of the company, backed by the BOA® Lifetime Guarantee. The solution was under development for more than five years, dedicating over 50,000 hours spent internally, with brand partners and on snow with expert skiers to bring the solution to life.

The BOA Performance Fit Lab, established in 2018 to scientifically prove the performance advantage of BOA in multiple sports, conducted a dedicated alpine ski study published in Frontier in Sports and Active Living. The study states the BOA Fit System delivers the following meaningful performance benefits for skiers:

• IMPROVED PRESSURE DISTRIBUTION: A 13% reduction in peak pressure on the top of the foot while still delivering a precise uniform fit, micro-adjustable in millimeter increments.
• IMPROVED RESPONSIVENESS AND POWER TRANSFER DURING TURNS: Up to 6% increase in peak forces underneath the foot and 10% improvement in the rate of force production at turn initiation.

Across multiple athlete disciplines from freeride to racing, BOA utilized user insight from world-class athletes to optimize the system. World Champion and double Olympic Gold medalist Benjamin Raich says, "As a racer, you are always intensely focused on finding every performance advantage. The BOA alpine project has been an incredible opportunity to leverage this experience and work closely with their team to improve boot fit and skiing performance for the next generation of athletes." Additionally, BOA announces today the signing of BC-based, professional K2 Skis athlete Sam Kuch to the BOA team. Kuch's freestyle-inspired approach to backcountry lines earned him "Discovery of the Year" at the IF3 Awards in 2018. Kuch will ski the new K2 Mindbender 130 BOA.

The BOA Alpine boot system took five years to develop, involving 50,000+ hours of design, engineering, collaborative devel- opment with brand partners, and rigorous durability and performance testing.

• The micro-adjustability of the BOA Fit System allows adjustments of 0.25mm at a time in both directions for a precision fit.
• The H+i1 dial underwent 3,000 open and close cycles during testing – equivalent to adjusting your boot after each run, 15 runs per day, over 200 days.
• Pounded, frozen, submerged—you name it, we’ve tested it. BOA’s latest innovation delivers extreme durability and is built to withstand all alpine-terrain environ- ments—groomers, park rails, bumps, jumps, and adventures in the backcountry.
• In cases of sever impact, the cartridge is engineered to eject from the bayonet to avoid catastrophic damage. It can then be easily reinserted by hand.
• 19 strands of stainless steel permeated and wrapped in Nylon coated by 90 more strands of stainless steel.

"The BOA Alpine project was the biggest and boldest initiative since 2001 when Gary Hammerslag had the vision and tenacity to create a solution for snowboard boots, which delivered a material improvement in fit and user experience," says Shawn Neville, CEO of BOA Technology. "Two decades later, with 259 Registered Patents and over 200 million sold systems, BOA remains deeply committed to pushing the limits of human performance through its scientifically proven solutions and partnership with the leading brands across snowsports, cycling, athletic, outdoor, workwear, and medical bracing, to make their best gear even better."