Men's Snowboard Boots - Should Women Even Consider Wearing Them?

Even though women's gear has become more andmen's boot is that women tend to have narrower
more common in snowboarding over the years, it'sfeet and may experience significant heel lift if they
still a lot easier to find men's snowboard boots. That'sstep into a men's boot. That can cause not only a
because there are just more of them. Snowboardingperformance problem, but pain and discomfort. In
was originally a sport dominated by men and thataddition, women tend to have lower calf muscles
means that some of the more established brandsthan men. The higher back on a men's boot may dig
have been churning out men's gear a lot more thanright into the middle of the calf muscle on a woman
women's gear. A lot of women can get frustrated byand cause quite a lot of irritation during a full day of
this and might consider buying men's gear for anyriding.
number of reasons. But there are a few things toBut the differences between the foot and the boot
consider before buying a men's boot for a woman'saren't the only reason you should reconsider buying a
foot.boot outside your gender. The way the boots fit
It can be very tempting for many girls to buy awith the bindings is crucial. If you have women's
men's snowboard boot. For whatever reason, manybindings, but a men's snowboard boot, you may have
companies think that girls only want pink butterfliestrouble getting the boot to fit in the binding properly.
and purple stars on their gear. If you're looking forThis is because boots are made to fit specifically with
something a little more gender neutral, men's gear isbindings and mixing men's and women's gear can
where you're most likely to turn. Men's gear alsothrow off the fit. Not only might you have poor
tends to have a wider range in terms of function.performance, but you could be putting yourself at a
Almost every company offers more men'ssafety risk if your boots don't fit into your bindings.
snowboard boots than women's; some companiesThe truth is that it really isn't the end of the world if
even have twice as many men's boots! Sometimesyou're a woman who wants to buy some men's
that lack of selection can make finding the right bootboots. But you may not get all the fun out of your
almost impossible for a female snowboarder.experience that you would if you had a boot better
So just get a men's snowboard boot, right? Not sodesigned for your foot. It's always a good idea to
fast. Unless you have feet and legs suited to men'sbuy the boot that was designed the best for you. If
boots, you might regret your decision to buy bootsyou're still set on getting a men's snowboard boot,
made for the other gender. At the anatomical level,you may want to shop around a little longer to see if
women's feet and legs are quite a bit different thanyou can't find a women's boot that you like.
men's. One of the biggest problems with getting a