Yikes! Sounds like it has a great conceptual idea but I dont want to take a chance of a failure during a trip or on the job in a remote area.
When I was on the mountain the other day I was asking people about their feeling toward the Boa system and everyone was just occasional users, but loved it. However there was one guy who lived up there and used his gear every other day and he was very adamant that the Boa system needed refinement. He said that he had 2 pairs of boots with the Boa system and that both suffered loosening and breakage problems after ~20 days of use. He said they would warranty the parts but he would have to do the repair himself. After hearing this I needed to get more info on the closure system.
So thank you all again for the feedback
I have a set of K2 BOA snowboard boots that have been on the snow roughly 100 days so far after 2 seasons, and while they do loosen up after a few runs, they take literally 15 seconds to tighten back up. On the other hand, I have been through probably 10 pairs of conventional laced snowboard boots over the years, and those systems require much more maintenance throughout the day than BOAs, no question. While they do have their own set of issues, they are far easier to accommodate than conventional laces loosening and coming untied.
I also own a pair of Cabelas Speed Hunter boots with the BOA system, and absolutely prefer them to my standard laced boots- probably have 50 days in 2 years in the woods so far. They crank down way harder for increased ankle support, and you can pop the tension right away to rest for 5 minutes, then crank em back down in seconds and get back on the trail.
Here is what many reviews and manufacturers fail to tell people: BOAs use steel laces, that are much stronger than fabric laces, but also much more brittle. You cant kick rocks, snowboard edges, or anything like that without consequences. The boot reps around here tell me that 99% of the time, when people come in to complain about their laces breaking(snowboard boots) its because they sit on the chairlift with their board braced right on the laces of their free foot. When you kick your steel snowboard edge multiple times a day right on the most vulnerable part of the whole system, of course the life of the lace would be pretty limited.
I would honestly recommend the BOAs if you want a bomber lacing system, but you have to realize that they do come with their own unique limitations, just as fabric laces have their own weaknesses. Depending on how you put your boots through the ringer, it could be a huge improvement over traditional laces if you know to protect em a little bit.
Edit: what are you planning on doing with these boots? If you are working or playing someplace you are worried about breakage, its pretty easy to carry an extra pair of steel laces or boa device just in case, not really any different than carrying an extra pair of fabric laces- something we should all be doing anyways, whether its a day on the slopes or a weekend in the backcountry...
