Comments on: Jordan’s BD Factor 500 Mile Road Test

By: bullwheelrider

bullwheelrider — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 14:03:37 +0000

I second rod’s comments about the liners packing out. Within 15 days my boots started to get a bit loose and I was wishing I had a size smaller. I also had the Cuff alignment/ canting come loose occasionally on deep pow days. Thankfully someone in my group had a hex wrench the first time that happened, and I carried one going forward.

Otherwise they are great boots… and even became my boot of choice for resort ski days on groomers (with din blocks).

By: Jordan

Jordan — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 22:46:22 +0000

Paul,
I can’t say that I’ve noticed snow/water coming in the back of the boot thus far, but I am headed to a pretty wet area this weekend, I’ll report back.
J

By: Paul

Paul — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:37:01 +0000

Aside from breaking two buckles, breaking the walk mechanism (twice), and turning into a somewhat sloppy boot due to hollowing out of the plastic pivot point in the back, my Factors leak quite a bit of snow in through the flex part in the back of the boot (where cuff and bottom of boot meet). Have you had this problem at all? For a day tour it isn’t much of an issue, but dealing with soaking wet liners on an overnighter isn’t much fun.

By: Pierce

Pierce — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 14:51:36 +0000

My garmont radiums are the first pair of AT boots I haven’t broken in a season or less. The lower buckles are a little bent from rock scrambling or postholing, but they have held up well in comparison to my other boots.

The third buckle on the Denali TTs loved to get shorn off on rocks, and the cuff rivets on my adrenalins have been replaced about 8 times, both of which caused a major loss in downhill performance. I’ve always been disappointed in the durability of $700 AT boots, but then again, I probably fall into the same category as Jordan in terms of heft and abuse.

By: Ben W

Ben W — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 14:14:45 +0000

I’ve seen rapid wear on Spirit 3’s from hiking, scree scrambling, and mild mixed climbing (I wish I had enough days in the mountains in the last FOUR years to tear my boots up as much as Jordan), however, the 10 or so Factor users I’ve spoken with all said something like: “They’re great, except the (insert name of part) broke and the liner packed out in ten days.” Along with fitting properly the most important thing my AT boots can do is not break. Also, While the Factor walk mode is uncommonly smooth out of the box, it does not have as much range of motion as any of the competing models. Given that the Zzeus and Factor fit is pretty darn similar, I wouldn’t touch the Factor unless I was buying based on extremeness of color. Everyone knows radioactive green is more extreme than black.