The Trenched Boot Stiffener Gets a Review!

Fair comment. I can't see the images, but don't doubt you have been playing around with straps of some kind for ages. Were ahead of your time in that department I would say. Width, thickness, length, material, buckle, they all matter I found. They do work and 100% make a difference to the control snowboarders get, especially on soft boots over a couple of weeks old. They address so many other issues people are not aware of also. I reckon you should come up with socks that are very thick only around the ankle area and sell those J-Bar things with them. Has to be a market for that I reckon. I'll buy some!

Posted by: @myoko

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I imagine this will be deleted and my membership cancelled, but I need to correct this.  @jeffg those Strapins you bought are at least 4-5 years old, you 100% did not buy them last season and would know that. The version I have been selling for 4+ years now are bulletproof.

@myoko I assume you are the Andrew W. Myoko Japan who wrote a testimonial on the STRAPINS website.  

Since you speak for the company, for the record, and according to THE record, my CC statement, I purchased the Strapins in winter 2024 for $36.00 from STRAPINS NOOSA HEADS AU. 

What you've so clearly articulated is that you or whoever the vendor is sold me a product that had been discontinued 4 years earlier.  You didn't sell me the latest version.  You unloaded long discontinued stock on an unsuspecting customer.  

And yet you have the audacity to try to publicly shame me for sharing my observations and experience with STRAPINS.

You clearly have no facts and your business practices suck.  I know when I made my purchase and what was delivered.  YOU DON'T!

Had you any brain cells you would have privately messaged me to learn the facts.  YOU DIDN'T!

Instead, you show your true colors and call yourself out by clearly demonstrating how the STRAPINS business shits on its own customers by selling them discontinued stock as the latest product without their consent.  And, a stupid public shaming attempt of the customer without any facts at all when the product struggles.

I have no idea who you are, your relationship with James or his products.  And frankly, I don't care.

Whoever you are, you're a DUMB ASS.  

@jeffg what a load of rubbish but you do you. I'm not going to give this anymore fuel, especially with this standard of rhetoric.

I’ll chime in to say that I’m riding both strapins and Trench straps.

I’ve been on the strapins for a couple of years and they do stand up.  The straps are a bit thinner and seem to stretch a bit, but I do like them around my ankle.

The Trench straps are beefier.  It doesn’t seem to fit as well under my binding ankle strap, though that’s partially due to the thick logo bit.  But despite being a little more slippery when I really tighten them (they can rotate around a bit), they stay in place a lot better at the top of my boot.

So yeah, I run them both… different products, different advantages.

I bought strapins this season, I don’t know if I got the old or revised model...

The fit nicely around my boots, they’re slim and don’t affect the feeling with the binding. I can easily tighten too much by alternating tightening the straps if I want to…

The Velcro is very strong. As others have noted they’re slim so they fit nicely in your pocket if you want to take them off when having lunch or take a break on/near the slopes. The insides of the straps are slippery so they slide around the boot nicely when tightening, but that also means they don’t fully stay put throughout the day as you’re flexing into the boot. 

After about 10-ish days mine are starting to fray a bit, especially the part of the strap that takes the force running through the buckle when tightening, so they’re not the most durable. About 10 days on the lower pair and maybe half that on the upper pair (I forgot that I put them in my goggle case first day of a week and rode with just one pair the rest of the week 🤦‍♂️). That said I think I’ll just run a seam with the sowing machine around the edge now before I’ve finished putting all my gear into hibernation to make them last a bit longer and see how that works in 9 months (😭)

Some pics to show the fraying I’m talking about. Also notice that bottom most one of them is starting to fray at the very end too. 

Compared to the booster straps for ski boots I could find locally I'd say they're decent value for money. Less than half the price for twice as many straps.

@superfelixYup, its a fine line between lighter/thinner (velcro), Nylon, like a seatbelt (needs a bulkier buckle and doesn't pull as tight) and the Booster Strap Material (very heavy, more than twice the price but the most durable). All 3 will work, but they all have their own drawbacks. Adding little things can make them better, but also makes them more expensive and affects the design when they will only achieve the same purpose. Making them is cheap I acknowledge, its all the other costs that add up is the problem, and thats before these tariffs (couldn't help myself). Anyway, all the best people.

Posted by: @myoko

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@jeffg what a load of rubbish but you do you. I'm not going to give this anymore fuel, especially with this standard of rhetoric.

@myoko Go fuck yourself !  

Posted by: @superfelix

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I bought strapins this season, I don’t know if I got the old or revised model...

Looks like you got the old ones.  Yours look just like the ones Andrew sent me. 

Seems Andrew is either sending people old stock OR he is fucking lying about people's experience using his product.

Having now seen numerous photos of other STRAPINS, it's clear Andrew is lying for no other reason than he's butthurt that James would NOT bend the knee to promote Andrew's STRAPINS product and James' TRENCHED straps are  designed smarter, better quality with better material. 

Andrew even went as far as to accuse James of copying his product and accuse me of lying about my STRAPINS experience.

A thorough review is appropriate.  Let's take a look.  

First we have the strap itself - 

TRENCHED:

James uses two pieces of durable material sewn together.  The one piece of thin fabric with the glued Velcro loop is sewn to a much thicker gauge second strap.  The strap is approx 3.4mm (0.135”) with Velcro.

STRAPINS:

Andrew uses a single piece of thin fabric.  The Velcro loop material appears to be glued to the fabric.  It is not sewn.  The strap is approx 2mm (0.08”) with Velcro.

Second is the buckle-

TRENCHED:

James uses a round buckle doubled over and sewn to the thicker gauge strap.  The round buckle allows for smoother tensioning and doesn't tear into the fabric when under load.  A much more intelligent design decision.

STRAPINS: 

Andrew uses a square buckle attached to the thin strap which is folded over the buckle and sewn together. When under load, the square buckle is more prone to tearing into the fabric securing the buckle as demonstrated by the photo below.

Third is the tab-

TRENCHED:

James’ tab appears to be the most robust part of the strap.  Is over 6.25mm (¼”) thick with a reinforced tip, rubberized material and Velcro hook material double sewn to the main strap.  This will not fray.  The logo sits a couple MM above and provides a helpful grip when pulling the tab with wet gloves. This is intelligent design.

STRAPINS:

Andrew's tab utilizes the thinnest portion of the entire strap.  The actual strap material, outside of the Velcro hooks, is maybe 1mm.  The tab is a separate piece of material with glued Velcro hooks sewn to the end of the main strap.There is NO reinforcement at the tip of the tab.These limitations lead to tearing of the tab as seen in the photo below.

Forth is Size and Weight-

Both products are the same length and width. The length of the Velcro hook material is also the same.  The buckles are relatively the same size differing in shape.  

Due to its robust design and construction, the TRENCHED straps weigh more and pack thicker.

Fifth is Customer Service-

TRENCHED:

My only interaction with James has been through the forum and private email.  When I placed my order, some time went by and I reached out on the forum seeking an update.  James responded apologetically informing me that he is new at this and things fell through the cracks.  He got my order out promptly and did so with some personal humility.  In other words, he ‘manned up’ and took responsibility.

STRAPINS:

I placed an order in 2024.  As I recall the product was delivered promptly with no issues.  The straps have about 25 days of use.  Early 2025 season one strap began to fail. I have many straps to fill the gap so it wasn't a big deal and I didn't think anything of it.  Life went on. I never interacted with STRAPINS personal prior to April 2025.

In March 2025, I bought TRENCHER straps. I wrote about my experience with the two straps on the Carvers Connection forum. 

A month after my review, I was publicly attacked by Andrew W, who is presumably the owner of the STRAPINS business, and who accused me of lying about my review; that I used a STRAPINS version from 4-5 years ago that is not nearly as bulletproof as the version sold in 2024. And, in the same post that Andrew W accused me of lying, he accused James of copying the STRAPINS design.   

I don't know and have never met either person.

Conclusion- 

This has been my experience with both products and business owners.  

The products speak for themselves as do the owners in how they publicly engage with their customers.

Now that's a quality review based on facts and a rested head. Your earlier comment was understandable but a bit harsh for this public forum. I congratulate you on this calm and detailed review that throws light on both products and the probable support they will likely receive.

I got StrapIns last year and I got Trenched straps this year - now I only use the Trenched straps - they work better for me. 

Posted by: @jeffg

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When I placed my order, some time went by and I reached out on the forum seeking an update.  James responded apologetically informing me that he is new at this and things fell through the cracks.  He got my order out promptly and did so with some personal humility. 

I Found a box with your name on it with risers and gear this morning @jeffg as I was cleaning up my mini warehouse/ dark corner of the dining room.  It was packed and weighed, ready to ship and then it seems to have been covered by my collection of empty boxes and packing materials.  I thought it was kind of funny.

It seems that your order didn't so much "fall through the cracks" as it did get buried under a pile...  I also found a shoe I had been missing since January.  Spring cleaning eh?

So apologies again for shipping that gear out so late.  I will try to be more organized next season and will set up a proper space for the job at hand...