Deeluxe fusion 24/25
The Snowboard boot is probably the most important device of your riding equipment. Snowboard and binding you can get used to, but if the boot doesn’t fit.. It can ruin a good Snowboard day. I had the pleasure to get my hands on the all new Deeluxe Fusion.
Fit
The Deeluxe Fusion is really comfortable, has a great fit, and feels good on the foot straight away. The boot features a significantly smaller footprint and a design optimized for skinning, hiking, and riding. Considering its solid appearance, it feels light for hiking and touring, and it even gives you enough confidence to walk on small ridges and tiptoe your way up over rocks. A four-way-stretch heel harness and a fish skin-like mash in the back of your liner give you an extraordinary heel hold in the boot. The liners can be thermally custom fitted up to 10x. I highly recommend you do so, especially if you have bigger feet, as it is possible to reduce your footprint up to a whole shoe size. With the Thermo Fit Liner and the Deeluxe Precision Fit Pads, you can buy a smaller shoe size as usual and reduce toe and heel drag on the Snowboard.
Watch the video on YouTube on how to fit:
Flex
The Flex of the Fusion is definitely on the stiffer side. Due to its stiffness, the boot is super supportive on the hike up and for traversing with the splitboard. Even after a whole season of shredding, it pretty much stays that way. Another positive effect of its stiff flex is the solid hold of the Vibram sole and the crampons on the boot, even in difficult terrain. It gives you that extra boost of trust in rocky or icy terrain. I used crampons several times with the boot, and the crampons stayed in place.
insulation
The Spark Fusion is equipped with a snow shield that protects the lower part of the boot from snow, ice, and moisture to keep your feet dry. To ensure it can withstand the harshest conditions, this boot features a proven Rock Guard made out of rubber that provides protection from rocks and ice. All those features of the Spark allow for a good insulated and solid boot overall.
Lacing System
The Spark Fusion uses the Deeluxe specific L3 lacing system with speed lacing to cradle the foot and calf, and it features the BOA Fit System to lock down the ankle and heel. The boot itself has a handy but durable quicklace/fastlace system. I did not have any problems with the locking system itself over the winter. In my eyes, the handling is easy and makes slipping in and out the boot smooth. The extra Velcro on top gives more stability when closed tight.
Sole
The Vibram sole and damping midsole make it a very good boot for walking on rock and hard snow conditions without your splitboard. The sharpened toe area is perfect for smaller footsteps in short climbing passages. The sole itself though is durable and survived the sharpest of rock contacts.
Features
One of the best features is the plastic backwelt featuring a grooved heel for semi-automatic crampons with more stability and quicker fixation as benefit. Another great feature is the long stride system built in the back of the boot, which basically allows for a bigger stride, resulting in a faster forward motion on flat terrain. Also, really great is the new snow shield on the lower part of the boot.
Overall
Overall, this boot is very recommendable for splitboard and Backcountry enthusiasts. It's good features, robust workmanship, stiffer flex and durability make it worth the money. It feels very solid, yet really comfortable on the foot. Furthermore, it offers all I need from a reliable splitboard boot plus a reduced sole length.
When buying this boot, take into consideration that it was designed for splitboard and freeride missions in the deepest backcountry, not the Funpark.
I used this boot almost daily throughout the winter, on tours and some Freeride/Bootbacking missions in all kinds of terrain, and it still looks ''almost'' as good as new.
Respect!!
