Well I finally got my RAD boots, just pulled the liners out of the oven and am currently heat molding them as we speak. As far as high end boots to compare with these I can compare 2009 Slingshot D3's and 2007 Ronix Cell's.
1) FIT/FINISH - First off, these are a Slingshot product so 10 off the bat. But seriously, I was shocked at the quality of these boots. They bolted to my board (2012 Slingshot Lyman) perfectly, lace tightening and loosening is super easy. I really can't ask for much more simplicity and quality out of a boot.
2) COMFORT - I always felt that my D3's felt good, but not a WOW feeling. Although my feet are hot in the liners right now, I can feel a significant amount of cushion here that I didn't feel in the D3 or Cell boots.
3) STYLE: These boots remind me of a white pair of Jordan shoes with the cracked leather look on the bottom. I like the white a lot, and the Slingshot badges look really cool, just curious to see how long they will stay on the boot.
My first impression is that these are awesome and insanely comfortable boots, but I really won't know until I ride them. When I ride my D3's I don't feel any discomfort, I don't really feel anything, just my board on the water, I'm interested to see if I feel these boots more than the D3's.
I won't throw out the go buy them now recommendation just yet, but I have a feeling I will be saying that on Monday.
**timer just went off, molding is done.**
I can definitely feel the impressions of my feet in the liners, I ordered these in a size 11, my D3's were a 12 and felt big. The guys at Slingshot told me not to worry about molding them right away, but when I put them on they felt pretty snug so I molded them, they still feel tighter than what I am used to but they should pack out some from riding them good and hard.
Here is a shot of them on my board
Threaded Mode