Buckles vs BOA on Ski Boots in the FREESKIER Gear Lab

Featured Image: FREESKIER Gear Lab

Picking the right ski boot for you can be tough. Deciding between BOA and buckles can be even tougher. This is the great debate of our time in the wide world of skiing, with the new technology diving people as quickly as it's bringing them together. What do we make of it? The better question is, what can you ski in it?

As far as boots go, it's different for everyone, and what works depends on you. So instead of selling you one way or the other, we're diving into a few different models, comparing and contrasting each and letting you decide what the right choice is.

Our friends from Powder7 tapped in to give us a hand breaking down the ins and outs of each boot. This time around, we're looking at:

K2 Cortex 130 Zonal BOA

Tecnica Mach 1 LV 130

Armada AR One 130

Each of these boots is a favorite on the market this year, but for very different reasons. Why the debate, you ask? Dive into the diveo below to find out, and be sure to visit a bootfitting near you before you jump into a new year!

From YouTube:

We Teamed Up with Powder7 to bring you our take on some new ski boot tech for 2026. We hope you enjoy!

Visit the Gear Lab on Freeskier.com for more reviews of skis, boots, bindings, outerwear, helmets, goggles and more.

Visit the Gear Lab: Freeskier.com/gear