Ever since I saw that first tiny clip of Helen Schettini on YES, I’ve had a little girl crush on this inspiring and amazingly ballsy Canadian (and that’s an absolute first for me who wasn’t even into boy bands when Take That and the Backstreet Boys were all the rage).

And since my live, face-to-face interview with her, I’ve concentrated all the powers I could spare on charging as fearlessly as she does. Saying I’m not quite there yet would be more than just an overstatement as it would take me a couple of full on seasons in Whistler to get near her skills and steeze, but I might have found a short cut: a pair of the adidas Samba snowboard boots she’s rocking in her powder adventures. As a snowboard journalist I’ve tried more than a couple of different brands, models, lacing systems and so. And while a lot of them were very comfortable, easy to handle and great to ride, I had the feeling I hadn’t quite found the perfect boot to fit my foot yet (and since Cinderella we all know how important that perfect fit is, don’t we?!). Now I know I was right and changed my riding experience completely.

A bit stiffer than my natural preference, the Samba is far from comfortable when you first try it on. Especially that little mount underneath the arch, that felt like it was pushing into the foot. Which is exactly what it does – on purpose, as lifted arches activate all the muscles in your legs, especially the inner thighs. This improves body tension, hence adding power to your turns that makes them feel effortlessly, even on bumpy terrain.

After two days of hiking, they were reasonably broken in too and start to become more comfy every day I take them out to ride and unlike previous candidates, that were comfy from the beginning but lost their support after a season, I’m pretty sure these will stay with me a lot longer.

Stay tuned for more insights on the quest for the perfect boot next season… And watch this clip of her (if you haven’t seen it already), to get an idea of what I’m talking about with her skills & steeze…