G4 Boa Boots - Review

Today was the first day on the water with my new G4 boa boots and my first impression was......stiff and that they look like moon boots. now i'm hoping that they will just need some break in time but i don't ever recall owning a pair of boots that required some miles before they became comfortable. anyway one of the things i did like right off the bat was how easy it was to get my foot in, basically no hands required. not sure if it's cause of the new design or not but it was effortless. as i walked around i couldn't help make the comparison to skiing/snowboarding. when it comes to stiffness and flexibility, i compared my G4's to ski boots and my korkers to snowboard boots. maybe it wasn't quite that drastic but similar. the G4's are a lot stiffer and heavier. as the day progressed and a few miles were put on them i kind of got used to them but i don't think they actually started to break in, way to early for that. on the plus side of being stiff is that it seems that ankle support would an improvement. another thing that i really like is that the d-ring that the gravel guards hook to sit higher on the boot making it a much less stretch to connect the gravel guards. i got the simms cause i need a boot that can handle all the time i put on the water. simms meet that demand. i love my korkers but they just don't hold up to all the abuse that i dish out so adding these G4's to my foot wear will help me prolong the life of my korkers.  another thing i should mention is that i put the simms hardbite studds in my boots and if you place the studs in all the designated areas for them then you'll have to buy 2 packs of them cause 1 pack only covers about a boot and a half.

so, my assessment would be that overall it is a good boot but nothing special and i guess for around $230 i would expect a bit more.

PROS - Easy to slip on and off
           - Better ankle support then my korkers
           - Better D-ring placement
           - Simms so they will be rugged

CONS - Ugly (moon boot look)
            - Overly stiff
            - Pricey ($230ish)