Girlfriend put them on her mizuno ronins for Kona, another short distance athlete has the Zoots. The general opinion is just as fast as elastic laces, but the Boa system appears to provide a better or more uniform tension (fit) also super easy to adjust if your feet start swelling. Also more range generally than an elastic lace, i.e. you can really leave them wide open for T2.

Not sure about the extra weight though :-)

Maurice

Hello kjmcawesome and Maurice,

As the Account Manager for the Running category at Boa Technology, I am always interested to hear questions about our system. A fellow athlete saw your conversation, and sent it to me. I have to say, I 100% agree with Maurice. Those features and benefits listed are several of the advantages added by Boa. Great question about the weight Maurice, and think of it this way: if you add a bit of that transition water/sweat, the laces absorb it. Boa won't.

The Zoots are great, and they are examples of the factory installed version of our system. The Mizuno Ronins that Maurice referred to were most likely retrofit at our booth inside the Kona expo. We offer that retrofit version so that athletes like yourselves have a chance to experience the value that Boa adds.

We will be back at Kona next year, as well as events such as Outdoor Retailer, The Running Event, and possibly IMAZ again next year. Come over an have your shoes retrofit. If you have any other questions, please feel free to email me here at Boa. clark@boatechnology.com

Happy Holidays!
-Clark

Is there a way to get shies retrofit without coming to an event? Wear boa on golf shoes, snowboard boots and the elastic laces have never worked for me. Would love to try em on running shoes!

Hello LonghornSpencer,

Great question, and I like the enthusiasm. Unfortunately, we are only offering the retrofit version on site for now. But, if I do my job well, and relay the voices of the athletes to the brands, soon there will be Boa choices on the wall at your local running shop. If you want to help on that front, head into that brick and mortar shop, and use your voice. Ask them for Boa on your favorite Brand's shoes. Your voice is loud, so use it.

And yes, Boa is as good on running shoes as it is on Snowboard boots, cycling shoes, and golf shoes!

Cheers,
-Clark

I had the Boa system installed on my running shoes at IMAz. The only problem I've had so far is that I didnt bring 10 pairs with me. The system is outstanding for running.

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Swimmer
http://www.usprotri.com/LAMASTRA.html
http://www.bodyphyxinternational.com

I'm a zoot fanboy, but that being said, the boa system is a fantastic product with unbelievable customer service.

Zoot introduced the boa system on the ali'i 2 years ago on the black and yellow version. The dial was on top of the foot and the lace was coated wire. Worked really well especially for races where you can adjust the tension very quickly and precisely mid run if your feet swell or just a general discomfort. The best part about the boa system is the ability to equally spread a very precise amount to tension to make the fit of your shoe perfect, just tight enough so the shoe doesn't move around on you, which is a huge energy and comfort savings!

Zoot used the same system for the ultra race and it had the same affect. Great product.

Zoot got feedback about some discomfort of the wire and the placement of the dial on top of the foot. I agreed with this slight annoyance and thought maybe some extra padding of material on the tongue would do it. But zoot engineers did one better.

The zoot ali'i 14 came out and it had it all. Super light EVA foam, 6mm drop, seamless upper, and a new boa system. The dial was placed on the upper outside and can't be felt at all. The wire was replaced with a plastic lace that is so comfortable that you don't realize it's there.

As for customer service; my dog chewed off the dial on my specialized s-works Tri-vents. The shoe is expensive, $400. I was really upset. The dial was white and the lace was the coated wire. After pondering if I really wanted to spend another $400 on bike shoes, I went on the boa website. On there they have a support page. They basically ask you what happened and what type of dial it was on a form you submit online. After you submit, it takes you directly to an order site to get up to 2 boa replacement systems. At checkout, they 100% discount the items and ship out to you. Not zoot, not specialized, but boa direct to you. When the package arrived it had the dial, a tool, a coated wire and the plastic cable, and the step by step illustrated directions. I replaced my white dial (well it was actually already off thanks to my dog) with a black dial and I replaced my wire with the comfort black plastic cable. Took 5 minutes for both shoes. Works perfectly!!

Thanks Boa!!!!

The bottom line, the system works well. The zoot ali'i 14 is the best shoe for race day and long runs, especially when comfort is an absolute necessity.

I would love to see boa come out with an add-on pack. Your repair instructions are so easy to follow that I think most people can install themselves. Or setup major shoe chains with the option to install them. Or even a company like runningwarehouse.com.

I've been wearing Hoka cliftons for 2 months and they run well, but I get a lot of discomfort on top of my foot and I constantly play around with the laces to make them more comfortable. I think the plastic cable boa system could fix that issue.

Please bring the boa system to the masses as and add-on item for all shoes.

We will be back at Kona next year, as well as events such as Outdoor Retailer, The Running Event, and possibly IMAZ again next year. Come over an have your shoes retrofit. If you have any other questions, please feel free to email me here at Boa

Clark,

The Boa retro-fit that you have set up and offerd the last few years at Ironman Hawaii in the Expo is the coolest thing at the Expo!. While others go gaga over the cool bikes and wheels, it's the little things like this that, I think are really awesome!

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

I raced with the Zoots with Boa for a season then switched to the ultra race without the elastic laces.

The boa system is awesome but I found it a few seconds slower and I would have to stop to re tighten after the first 500m

All in all it is a great system but I just find it a little too slow for Sprint distance racing.

That also being said I have never had the boa lace break on me where as a couple of weeks ago my elastic lace snapped right before my run (shoes probably had well under 100km into them)

check these out...ive run in these. theyre smooth and similar to the kinvaras. love the boa closure.

http://shop.topoathletic.com/...38&model=Runduro

Disclaimer: Topo Ambasador.

I was at my local running shop this weekend and took a survey about possibly using the Boa lacing system in a running shoe.

I tried to pry out of the surveyor what brands Boa was working with but he either didn't know or just would not budge on the info. He had a generic shoe with the lacing system on it. I never had an opportunity to see or use it with Zoot (or Mizuno, I think had one model). Anyway, playing with it in the store, I'd definitely give them a shot. Although one question stopped me short of a "two thumbs up" survey response, cost. I was asked, if the same brand/model shoe came with the Boa system and traditional laces, how much would I expect to pay more for the Boa system? Would $15 be considered too much? I answered a meekly, yeah, it would definitely give me pause, but if I tried them out and LOVED them, I would consider the additional $15, or if a retro-fit kit could be made available, it could be enticing.

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The secret of a long life is you try not to shorten it.
-Nobody

I would run only with boa if you guys managed to make a partnership with hoka.

Can you tell us more about the agenda of the retro fit center and were ir will be ?!

asics also have a shoe with the boa closure, I think its called the dynamis or something close to that.

3 years after creating the thread, I'm still lacing up my shoes like a sucker.

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/kj

http://kjmcawesome.tumblr.com/

I have Boa on everything! Bike shoes, snowboard boots, etc... Hopefully boaclark can talk Hoka into using boa

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Yellowfin Endurance Coaching and Bike Fits
USAT Level 1, USAC Level 3

Yes, I have the ZOOT Ali'i shoes (which I've worn like 4-5 x) and don't really care for the BOA system. I like Riplaces better & tried all the other brands like Yankz & Lock Laces & Xtenex, & even some jimmy-rigged home made versions. The "X" cross over on the tendon on the top of foot gets irritated by most laces, but Rip Laces sent me a free pair to try (thanks!) and I'm sold on them for my NEW shoes. My old shoes still have older laces but use them only for short races now.

The only downside to the RIP laces is my narrow feet--pretty much have the smallest loop elastic from the set, so the shoes are still a bit sloppy fitting. They need to include some just a tad smaller--but other than that, no issue with them. No experience with cutting out BOA for other laces though.

new balance has a boa running shoe. i picked up a pair because i like the idea of it. i didnt much care for the shoe personally. seemed like i had a good hot spot right where the boa tightened down on the upper top of my foot leaving a lot of slack feeling in the toe box. imagine that.

on top of that the shoe just didnt feel as comfortable as my go-to vongos.

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80/20 Endurance Ambassador

Can you tell me which shoe is the one S. Kienle was wearing at Cozumel? it looks a lot like the NB FuelCore but i dont think its those.

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3toronto Triathlon

This is the NB T2 and will be available spring 18

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Owner at TRIPRO, The Netherlands

I've been fortunate enough to have some other shoes retrofitted by BoaClark in addition to the retrofits at Kona/ other events. I love them and wish all my shoes had the BOA. Once they are tight, they never budge I have never felt a pinch. Just dial and go. Never double knot/ tie too tight/loose etc. I did once over tighten the dial in a race and literally just stopped ,crouched down and loosened the dial O' so quick, much faster /easier than re tying them! Ill be racing for sure the the new NB1500 T2 this year. So yes I''ll endorse them!

Wasn't the whole point of speed laces to set it once and forget it? You put them on and go for a run and when your swell up you adjust the laces to fit and bam! Your shoes are set pretty much forever without another thought

With boa laces...
- they are slower cos you put on the shoe and then instead of being done you have to fiddle with the mechanism
-you're still guessing how tight to tighten them each time you put them on
-is there a reverse micro adjust? Or only a release button? With lace locks you can loosen by a mm or whatever so you don't have to start again
- wouldn't there be some benefit for laces to stretch slightly for running instead of being rigid wires? Footshape changes a lot during each step cycle with foot compression

I could see the extra support could come in handy if running trails or snowboarding or rollerblading