In partnership with BOA Fit System
Work boot technology has changed quite a bit over the past couple of decades. Synthetic materials, air-infused midsoles, anti-bacterial treatments, and other enhancements have made them more comfortable and functional than ever. But one element that hasn’t received much attention is the lacing. For the most part, you lace up your boots the same way people have for centuries.
Until now.
The BOA Fit System offers an alternative. It’s not just different, it’s better. To discover more about how it changes your work boot experience, I hopped on a call with the BOA team to take a deeper dive and get some technical expertise to go along with our own experience with work boots featuring the BOA Fit System. In this article, I’ll share what I learned about the benefits and durability to help you decide if it’s the work boot upgrade you’ve been waiting for.
How the BOA Fit System Upgrades Your Work Boots
The BOA Fit System is an alternative to traditional laces and is made up of three key components: an adjustable dial, laces, and lace guides. It offers easy and quick fit adjustments. Push the dial in and turn to tighten the laces by millimeter increments. Pull the dial out to release.
It’s a simple process, and there are significant benefits that come with the design.
Precision Fit
The BOA Fit System gives you the ability to micro-adjust the fit of your work boots or shoes. As the day progresses, your feet naturally swell, and your boots feel tighter. With traditional laces, you untie and retie, hoping to get the right tension and maybe leaving them a little loose so you don’t have to retie again later. With BOA, you can adapt the fit in seconds to maintain a precise, customized fit throughout the day, right down to the millimeter.
In addition to foot swelling, the BOA Fit System offers a big benefit when faced with a changing environment, like dialing in extra tension to climb up a ladder or walk down a steep hill without sliding in your boot.
Uniform & Secure
The BOA Fit System also offers a more uniform fit. The tension is even across the guides, reducing pressure points that can cause discomfort.
That combination of a uniform, secure fit is optimized in the BOA PerformFit Wrap. By trading laces for the BOA Fit System, BOA developed an innovative shoe upper designed with panels that uniformly wrap over the foot to lock down the heel and increase midsole connection and allowing your forefoot the freedom it needs.
According to BOA’s peer-reviewed studies, the improved fit delivered by work boots with the BOA PerformFit Wrap offers proven performance advantages: up to 9% improved energy efficiency and up to 7% improved stability and control. That translates to more effective movement on the jobsite and less fatigue at the end of a shift.
If you want the ultimate in a customizable fit experience, look for work boots with a dual-dial BOA Fit System, like Timberland Pro’s Boondock. The single-dial system is excellent, but it was eye-opening the first time I tried a dual-dial BOA boot. By adjusting the tension separately for the upper and lower sections, you can lock in your heel and ankle more securely without putting too much pressure on your metatarsals.
Quick Release
The BOA Fit System turns a two-hand process into a one-hand process so you spend less time bending, kneeling, or sitting to deal with your laces. For some workers, that means quicker security checks throughout the day. For all workers, popping the BOA dial becomes the satisfying sound of a job well done.
Between Florida’s heat and humidity and not being as young as I used to be, each extra effort throughout the day adds up. Wearing boots with the BOA Fit System is one of several ways I can manage my efforts and stay productive through the entire day.
Addressing the Durability Question
Durability is critical in workwear. BOA is designed to deal with tough environments and tested well beyond what most of us will put it through over the life of our boots. In fact, more than 50,000 hours of design, development, and testing went into getting the BOA Fit System where it is today.
The dial is built to handle more than 5,500 cycles without any performance loss. Say you cycle the dial 4 times per day. That’s 1,375 days’ worth of performance that’s as good as the day you bought your boots. Based on a 5-day work week, you’re looking at more than 5 years of service.
Even though the laces are thin, don’t mistake them for being weak. Underneath the low-friction shielding, the core is steel cable. They’re strong enough to hold 10 times the tension required for a secure fit.
It’s in the field where products prove themselves, though, and the numbers don’t lie. The BOA Fit System boasts a warranty claim rate of less than 0.2%. We’ve put the durability to the test ourselves and have yet to experience a failure or need for component replacement on any of our BOA work boots. Take Red Wing’s Traction Tred Light boots. Clint has been wearing them almost every day since he got them more than two years ago. They’re due for a resole, but the BOA Fit System hasn’t shown any signs of wear or weakness.
If you manage to damage the dial or laces, they’re covered by BOA’s Lifetime Guarantee. It takes just 5 to 10 minutes to fill out the form online, and you’ll have the components you need in 48 hours. Since they’re field-repairable, there’s no need to take them into a store or ship them off somewhere.
But what if you’re the type of person who always wants to be prepared for the unexpected, or you’re going into a work environment where boot failure is not an option? No worries, you can buy a spare dial and lace set and know you’ll have what you need if something happens.
Ready for a BOA Upgrade on Your Next Work Boots?
The BOA Fit System isn’t exclusive to any one work boot brand. On construction jobsites, you’ll find it on boots from Red Wing, Timberland Pro, Wolverine, Danner, and Ariat, to name a few. And the list continues to expand each year.
Just like it’s not exclusive to any workwear brand, the BOA Fit System isn’t only found on work boots. Skiing and snowboarding boots, golf shoes, hiking boots, running shoes, and other categories enjoy the benefits. Even my cycling shoes have it. The BOA Fit System proved itself among elite athletes in extreme sports before making the jump to jobsites.
Ready to try the BOA Fit System on your next pair of work boots? See which models currently include it!
