Kicking off the series and the snow season, the first video showcases DC snowboarder Devun Walsh. See highlights from the Whistler backcountry of the Boss himself, video after the break.

Keep an eye out for the new videos each week by checking out the DC Snow website at www.dcshoes.com/snow, and the DC Snow Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/dcsnowboarding.

Don’t miss the after-party with DC at 9PM, and visit the Quicksilver store on the 11th to meet Devun, Aaron, and Lauri!

It's been a few years since I've ridden DC boots, and I have to say the quality, comfort, and overall boot performance has improved immensely since the last time.

The Judge is pretty light-weight boot, and has a small footprint relative to boot size. Overall it is an incredibly comfortable boot, with a deep ankle pocket that helps to hold your ankle down. The Judge features Boa Technology's Focus System, a fancy way of saying that it has two BOA reels, one that tightens the upper half and one that tightens the lower half. The Focus allows for a precise, easily adjustable fit, and makes a great boot even better.

The BOA system has been improved over the years, and is no longer synonymous with the stiff boot tongue it previously required. The Judge is a 7/10 on DC's stiffness scale, but I think it's more like a 5 on most other boot company's scale. It's a pretty lightweight boot but provides good support both laterally and toe-to-heel. Break-in time was about a week and half, and it was a pretty painless break-in period. It's stiff enough to give good power transmission to the board, but soft enough to allow you to tweak and play as much as you want.

On top of it all, the boot is one of the better looking boots I've seen recently – the blue and yellow seriously pops, and I've reveived numerous compliments on them. 

I love these snowpants! Subtle animal print, cute buttons and trim all say "I know I am cute; don't underestimate me!" By their looks, you wouldn’t believe how technical and heavy duty they are. They serve as much more than a shell and are insulated to keep winter cold out. For someone who is always cold, one pair of long underwear suffices on the colder days, and when it is warm, a shant or lighter weight pair of long underwear.  They don't look bulky.

They are super long and steeze through in through, which means of course that I have been walking over the pant legs for days.  They are holding up fairly well. The two-toned matte/ shiny black soft outer material makes it so that scuffs really do not show.

The pockets are large, easy to access and unobtrusive; there is even a small pocket on the inside. The only oddity is that the cargo pockets wrap around the back of the knee slightly and are harder to get into on lifts, but otherwise they are well planned out. They have loopholes to hang a pass on or to hang them on a door; they have Velcro inside the waist for size adjustment; and they have rockin suspenders that easily attach and detach. 

The BFF2 is a fun ride for all mountain and works well in a range of conditions. I like a reliable ride that isn't going to buck me around because it is too soft all over but also doesn't feel like a dead fish or a gangplank. Sometimes getting on a new board makes you have to think about what you are doing for the first few runs, but I felt at home straight away on this one. The BFF2 eases smoothly into turns while holding a solid edge. It is great in powder and rides well through choppy snow. It has spring for jumping off things and enough support in the tail that I was super comfortable landing.

It rides true to size and as a firm believer in shorter boards, I wouldn't go over a 148 if you are between 5'5" and 5'9 because it is plenty of board. It has cute graphics on it that look like a bunch of bubbles and remind me of a colorful aquarium. All it needs is fish stickers.

The Lotus boot is stiffer at first but has a really soft, comfortable liner and breaks in easily. The cushion under the heel sort of squishes when you walk, which is great because it absorbs impact. Looks-wise, they are gorgeous. The royal purple with a near-electric turquoise color, combined with a very subtle outside pattern (looks like flower petals) is all very attractive and I got several comments about them.

The boot is not heavy and tightens with a Boa system instead of laces. A single Boa is responsible for tightening the entire boot from a wheel at the calf, rather than a double Boa that allows for tightening the general boot/ upper level and the heel/ lower half.  The challenge with these boots is that with only one Boa I am limited in how precise I can be in pressure management, espcecially around my ankles. Though the boot is very well crafted, provides support through ample cushion in the heels/ liner, and has inner laces, it is hard to get a specific fit around the heels. What this means is that I am fine walking around, but riding hard all day long every day without the heel restraint sometimes makes my toes shove up into the front of the boot more than is normal. However, my suggestion would be to not discredit this boot and to actually try them on and see how they fit to your specific foot. At the expense of not getting a more tailored fit, you do get a really quick on and off boot and in the interest of convenience, I really like how easy it is! It is great to not deal with laces, and it is such a quick tightening process while on the hill.

This jacket has style, length, comfort and will very quickly win you over in its functionality for snowboarding. The sophistication comes from its large buttons, a high neck , and a belt (which you actually have to secure when you wear the coat because it looks funny just hanging). The external wrist cuffs are styled out, while inside there are cuffs that disallow snow from going down your sleeve. One oversight in the visual presentation of this jacket is found along the front zipper. A flap with artificial buttons zips up the front and makes it look really cute without the effort of needing to button multiple buttons. However, there is so narrow a strip of material to cover the zipper that it gives away the fact that it isn’t actually a jacket that you button at all.

Hot or cold, it is a heavier shell and will go well over a t-shirt or over several thick layers. Its length is great for covering up the days when you want to wear butt pads and don’t want to look like you have gained 10 pounds. With the low sitting belt and the bottom of the jacket coming down to the thighs, you could wear pillows underneath your snowpants and nobody would know.

Inside and outside there are large, numerous pockets, including one to put your music in. The high neck is lined with really soft fleece-like material and has magnets to close it and keep you snuggly. One drawback is that adding your own bandana or neckie to your layering won’t work well because the magnets can’t reach each other to close. It does come, however, with a built in balaclava that snaps in and out or folds into a small pocket!

I am impressed with the soft feel of the fabric and protection it provides from the elements. Though it could serve nicely as a town-coat, it really is created for snowboarding and being on the hill all day.

Living and breathing lacing technology 24/7, the design crew at Boa created the new H2 Coiler to complement the already radical Boa Focus system launched last season. “We are always looking to innovate and improve the performance of our products,” says Boa Director of Product Design, Brett Vladika. “And we designed the H2 Coiler to be our most secure, low-profile, high-power reel yet.”

BOA H2 Coiler

Meeting the sport’s highest-performance standards by delivering the perfect combination of on-the-fly micro-adjustability, bombproof construction and all-day secure closure, the H2 Coiler, combined with Boa’s revolutionary Focus System, offers snowboarders ultimate reliability to ride first chair-to-last call every day. Automatically winding in slack lace when tightening the reel, the Boa H2 Coiler boasts a stronger, lower profile push/pull mechanism to counter unintentional reel pop-outs on big landings, simple lace replacement and more custom colors options for product designers.

“The H2 Coiler was a big favorite among athletes and product designers during development and testing over the last two winters,” says Boa Sales Manager Ilya Minkin. “The Boa Focus Lacing System, featuring the H2 Coiler, delivers multi-zonal adjustability in all conditions, anywhere on the mountain.”

Ride Insano 2 Boot with H2 Coiler

About Boa Technology
With offices in Steamboat Springs, Denver, Colorado and Chiba, Japan, Boa Technology Inc., is the creator of the award-winning, patented Boa Lacing System. The revolutionary Boa® Lacing System optimizes boot design and enables a more “dialed in fit”. The ultimate result is superior performance and a level of customizable comfort never before experienced in the snowboard and ski boot industry. Visit Boatechnology.com for more information.