Review - K2 Waive Splitboard Boot (out the box review)
What we liked …
All the upgrades on the Aspect
What we didn’t
Price, although already seen it for less than RRP (i.e. K2’s recommended price)
Out the Box only
Verdict
OUR RATING
4 out of 5
THE SHORT READ…
A bomber boot for all things split. K2 splitboard-specific boots are a big leader in the splitboarding industry.
The Long Read…
I’ve not actually worn these in anger, but I thought I’d give an ‘out the box review’, as it’s the time of year when people will be looking at upgrading their kit.
I love my K2 Aspects (which the Waive now supersedes), they’re my go to soft-boot for splitboarding, but they do have flaws, see our review here. What’s really interesting, with the spanking new for 22/23 season, K2 Waive splitboard specific boot is that they seem to have taken onboard all the negative review comments written about the Aspects and addressed them with some gusto.
The outer has vibration-damping Harshmellow™ material around a Vibram sole, which ensures quality, but I’d like to see a little more depth to the tread. The boot itself is bloody stiff, perfect for the way up and an aggressive ride down. The Waive has a crampon-compatible heel stabiliser that helps keep your heel aligned on the walk up, and aims to gives an extra security when walking in crampons, but the toe has a normal style soft-boot design so you’ll still be in semi-automatic crampons.
There’s an addition of a snow-proof lace cover, that comes up to ankle hight, covering the lower lace section, that is fastened by Velcro. A boot top Velcro power strap, that pulls you in tight works well, as the last power strap on the Aspect was let down by the boots flexible rear cuff. But here’s where the real innovations start, as the Waive has a very clever rear calf section that has an independent BOA dial, enabling the whole upper rear section of the boot to open up for a much-improved stride ability when skinning, so defined walk and ride modes.
The bomber Intuition Pro Foam Liner with Spaceheater looks warm, comfortable, and is heat-moldable. Some would say you can’t get better inners than Intuition, and I’m not one to argue with them. There’s a heel retention device that’s designed to keeps your foot position solid, and help remove any heel lift when the terrain gets technical and you want a good bite into the slope.
There’s also a flexible light blue articulated section to the inner, that aids the boots lateral movement, and again while I’ve not actually used the boots yet, I have it on first-hand account -albeit from a K2 rep- that you really can feel the ride difference to a normal inner.
The Waive runs from UK size 5 to 13, but as with the Aspect, there’s a limited run on them and they’re harder to get than Glastonbury tickets, so grab a pair asap if you think they’re for you.
SUMMARY…
It’s hard to do this just by looking at the boot, but it would appear that the K2 Waive will see you through many an adventure and it’s build quality and design looks top notch. More to follow once I’ve actually shredded in them.