Lace system for footwear

• US 20050126043A1
• Filed: 12/10/2003
• Published: 06/16/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Burton Corporation
• Original Assignee: Burton Corporation
• Inventors: Doyle, Christopher M., Lang, Florian, Reagan, Greg, Molin, Maurizio
• Granted Patent: US 7,281,341 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 36/50.500
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 11/00 Footwear with arrangements to facilitate putting-on or removing, e.g. with straps
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 3/0031 provided with a pocket, e.g. for keys or a card
• CPC Class Codes: A43C 1/003 Zone lacing, i.e. whereby different zones of the footwear have different lacing tightening degrees, using one or a plurality of laces laces combined with another system A43C11/008; zone tightening using straps A43C11/14
• CPC Class Codes: A43C 1/06 tightened by draw-strings
• CPC Class Codes: A43C 11/008 Combined fastenings, e.g. to accelerate undoing or fastening
• CPC Class Codes: A43C 11/14 Clamp fastenings , e.g. strap fastenings; Clamp-buckle fastenings; Fastenings with toggle levers
• CPC Class Codes: A43C 3/00 Hooks for laces making from sheet metal B21D53/46; Guards for hooks
• CPC Class Codes: A43C 7/00 Holding-devices for laces

Abstract

A boot incorporating techniques for making the process of tightening and loosening the laces of a boot more convenient for the wearer is disclosed. The boot may be provided with at least two independent lacing zones, the tensions of which are separately adjustable by the wearer. The zones may be secured by pulling on two laces, each of which tightens one of the two independent lacing zones. This arrangement allows the wearer to simultaneously tighten each zone, providing the wearer with the “feel” as though he or she is tightening a conventional single lacing zone boot. The laces may be simultaneously, yet independently secured by a lace lock at the upper and/or forward region of the boot. Slack may be created to facilitate loosening of the boot and easy removal of a foot from the boot by unhooking the lace from the lace guide without a corresponding distance of lace traveling through the lace lock. A release strap, graspable by the wearer, facilitates unhooking the lace.

Claims

1. A boot comprising:

a boot body having a lower region adapted to cover a foot of a wearer and an upper region adapted to cover at least a portion of a shin of the wearer;

a first lacing zone comprising a first lace adapted to tighten a first region of the boot, the first lace having a portion that is disposed at the upper region; and

a second lacing zone comprising a second lace adapted to tighten a second region of the boot, the second lace having a portion that is disposed at the upper region of the boot;

wherein both the first lace and the second lace are simultaneously securable at the upper region of the boot.

2. The boot of claim 1, wherein the first lacing zone comprises a lower lacing zone and wherein the first lace comprises a lower lace that is adapted to tighten the lower region of the boot.

3. The boot of claim 1, wherein the second lacing zone comprises an upper lacing zone and wherein the second lace comprises an upper lace that is adapted to tighten the upper region of the boot.

4. The boot of claim 1, further comprising at least one lace lock mounted to the boot body at the upper region thereof, the at least one lace lock being adapted to secure at least one of the first and second laces.

5. The boot of claim 4, wherein the at least one lace lock comprises a first lace lock adapted to secure the first lace and a second lace lock adapted to secure the second lace.

6. The boot of claim 5, wherein the first and second lace locks comprise lace cleats, each cleat comprising a body having opposing walls with locking teeth formed on each wall, the walls converging to form a wedge-shaped channel, the channel and locking teeth cooperating to hold a portion of the lace within the body of the cleat.

7. The boot of claim 6, wherein the boot body includes a tongue opening disposed in a shin-to-toe direction and a tongue disposed within the opening, wherein each cleat is mounted to the boot body such that each wedge-shaped channel is substantially parallel to the tongue opening.

8. The boot of claim 1, wherein the boot body comprises a body wall, a first lace channel is disposed in the body wall, a portion of the first lace is disposed within the first lace channel.

9. The boot of claim 8, further comprising a second lace channel disposed in the body wall, a portion of the second lace is disposed within the second lace channel.

10. The boot of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of lace guides adapted to receive one of the first and second laces, at least a subset of the plurality of lace guides having a generally C-shaped guiding surface.

11. The boot of claim 10, wherein at least one of guides comprises at least a partially closed guide that is adapted to capture the lace and prevent the lace from dislodging from the guide when tension in the lace is relieved.

12. The boot of claim 11, wherein one of the guides comprises an open guide that is adapted to permit the lace to dislodge from the guide when tension in the lace is relieved.

13. The boot of claim 12, further comprising a release strap coupled to at least one of the first and second laces, the release strap being graspable by the wearer to remove the lace from the open guide to create slack in the lace.

14. The boot of claim 1, wherein each of the first and second laces is laced in a lacing pattern characterized in that the lace follows a meandering path and does not cross over itself.

15. The boot of claim 1, wherein the first lace and the second lace may be tightened independently to achieve different levels of tightness in the first and the second lacing zones.

16. The boot of claim 1, wherein the first lace comprises a first free-end portion and a first handle disposed at the first free-end portion, the first handle being graspable by the wearer to tighten the first lace.

17. The boot of claim 16, wherein the second lace comprises a second free-end portion and a second handle disposed at the second free-end portion, the second handle being graspable by the wearer to tighten the second lace.

18. The boot of claim 17, wherein the boot body comprises at least one pocket adapted to receive at least one of the first and second handles.

19. The boot of claim 18, wherein the at least one pocket comprises first and second pockets, the first pocket is adapted to receive the first handle, and the second pocket is adapted to receive the second handle.

20. The boot of claim 18, wherein the at least one pocket comprise an elongate opening disposed in a wall of the boot body at the upper region and extending in a substantially vertical orientation.

21. The boot of claim 20, wherein the at least one pocket comprises first and second pockets, the first pocket is adapted to receive the first handle, and the second pocket is adapted to receive the second handle, and wherein the first pocket is disposed on a first side of the boot body and the second pocket is disposed on a second side of the boot body.

22. The boot of claim 2, wherein the lower lace comprises a first anchor end attached to the boot body adjacent a toe-area.

23. The boot of claim 22, wherein the second lacing zone comprises an upper lacing zone and wherein the second lace comprises an upper lace that is adapted to tighten the upper region of the boot and wherein the upper lace comprises a second anchor end attached to the boot body adjacent a shin-area.

24. The boot of claim 1, further comprising an indicator to indicate to the wearer that a lace corresponds to a particular lacing zone.

25. The boot of claim 1, wherein the boot body includes a rear side, wherein both the first lace and the second lace may be simultaneously secured at the upper region of the boot body forward of the rear side.

26. The boot of claim 1, wherein the boot is a snowboard boot.

27. A boot comprising:

a boot body having a lower region adapted to cover a foot of a wearer, an upper region adapted to cover at least a portion of a shin of the wearer, and a rear side that faces backward when the boot is worn by the wearer;

a first lacing zone comprising a first lace adapted to tighten a first region of the boot, the first lace having a portion that is disposed at the upper region; and

a second lacing zone comprising a second lace adapted to tighten a second region of the boot, the second lace having a portion that is disposed at the upper region of the boot;

wherein both the first lace and the second lace are simultaneously securable at a location forward of the rear side to completely secure the boot body to the wearer.

28. The boot of claim 27, wherein the first lacing zone comprises a lower lacing zone and wherein the first lace comprises a lower lace that is adapted to tighten the lower region of the boot.

29. The boot of claim 27, wherein the second lacing zone comprises an upper lacing zone and wherein the second lace comprises an upper lace that is adapted to tighten the upper region of the boot.

30. The boot of claim 27, further comprising at least one lace lock mounted to the boot body at the upper region thereof, the at least one lace lock is adapted to secure at least one of the first and second laces.

31. The boot of claim 30, wherein the at least one lace lock comprises a first lace lock adapted to secure the first lace and a second lace lock adapted to secure the second lace.

32. The boot of claim 31, wherein the first and second lace locks comprise lace cleats, each cleat comprising a body having opposing walls with locking teeth formed on each wall, the walls converging to form a wedge-shaped channel, the channel and locking teeth cooperating to hold a portion of the lace within the body of the cleat.

33. The boot of claim 32, wherein the boot body includes a tongue opening disposed in a shin-to-toe direction and a tongue disposed within the opening, wherein each cleat is mounted to the boot body such that each wedge-shaped channel is substantially parallel to the tongue opening.

34. The boot of claim 27, wherein the boot body comprises a body wall, a first lace channel is disposed in the body wall, a portion of the first lace is disposed within the first lace channel.

35. The boot of claim 34, further comprising a second lace channel disposed in the body wall, a portion of the second lace is disposed within the second lace channel.

36. The boot of claim 27, further comprising a plurality of lace guides adapted to receive one of the first and second laces, at least a subset of the plurality of lace guides having a generally C-shaped guiding surface.

37. The boot of claim 36, wherein at least one of guides comprises at least a partially closed guide that is adapted to capture the lace and prevent the lace from dislodging from the guide when tension in the lace is relieved.

38. The boot of claim 37, wherein one of the guides comprises an open guide that is adapted to permit the lace to dislodge from the guide when tension in the lace is relieved.

39. The boot of claim 38, further comprising a release strap coupled to at least one of the first and second laces, the release strap being graspable by the wearer to remove the lace from the open guide to create slack in the lace.

40. The boot of claim 27, wherein each of the first and second laces is laced in a lacing pattern characterized in that the lace follows a meandering path and does not cross over itself.

41. The boot of claim 27, wherein the first lace and the second lace may be tightened independently to achieve different levels of tightness in the first and the second lacing zones.

42. The boot of claim 27, wherein the first lace comprises a first free-end portion and a first handle disposed at the first free-end portion, the first handle being graspable by the wearer to tighten the first lace.

43. The boot of claim 42, wherein the second lace comprises a second free-end portion and a second handle disposed at the second free-end portion, the second handle being graspable by the wearer to tighten the second lace.

44. The boot of claim 43, wherein the boot body comprises at least one pocket adapted to receive at least one of the first and second handles.

45. The boot of claim 44, wherein the at least one pocket comprises first and second pockets, the first pocket is adapted to receive the first handle, and the second pocket is adapted to receive the second handle.

46. The boot of claim 44, wherein the at least one pocket comprise an elongate opening disposed in a wall of the boot body at the upper region and extending in a substantially vertical orientation.

47. The boot of claim 46, wherein the at least one pocket comprises first and second pockets, the first pocket is adapted to receive the first handle, and the second pocket is adapted to receive the second handle, and wherein the first pocket is disposed on a first side of the boot body and the second pocket is disposed on a second side of the boot body.

48. The boot of claim 28, wherein the lower lace comprises a first anchor end attached to the boot body adjacent a toe-area.

49. The boot of claim 48, wherein the second lacing zone comprises an upper lacing zone and wherein the second lace comprises an upper lace that is adapted to tighten the upper region of the boot and wherein the upper lace comprises a second anchor end attached to the boot body adjacent a shin-area.

50. The boot of claim 27, further comprising an indicator to indicate to the wearer that a lace corresponds to a particular lacing zone.

51. The boot of claim 27, wherein the boot body includes a rear side, wherein both the first lace and the second lace may be simultaneously secured at the upper region of the boot body forward of the rear side.

52. The boot of claim 27, wherein the boot is a snowboard boot.

53. A boot comprising:

a boot body;

a plurality of lace guides coupled to the boot body, at least one of the lace guides comprises a lace hook;

at least one lace guided by the lace guides, the at least one lace adapted to be dislodged from the hook;

at least one lace lock engageable with the at least one lace so that the boot may be tightened to the wearer, and

a release strap coupled to the at least one lace, the release strap being graspable to remove the at least one lace from the hook to so as to create slack in the at least one lace.

54. The boot of claim 53, wherein the release strap is graspable to remove the at least one lace from the hook so as to create slack in the at least one lace without the necessity of the at least one lace disengaging the at least one lace lock.

55. The boot of claim 53, wherein the at least one lace lock comprises a body that is adapted to receive a portion of the at least one lace therethrough, the at least one lace adapted to be tightened upon pulling the at least one lace in a tightening direction, wherein an amount of slack lace created upon removing the at least one lace from the hook is greater than an amount of lace available to pass through the at least one lace lock in a loosening direction.

56. The boot of claim 53, wherein the at least one lace comprises a first lace and a second lace, the boot body further comprising a lower, foot region adapted to cover a foot of a wearer, and an upper, shin region adapted to cover at least a portion of a shin of the wearer, the boot further comprising:

a first lacing zone comprising the first lace adapted to tighten the lower region of the boot body; and

a second lacing zone comprising the second lace adapted to tighten the upper region of the boot body.

57. The boot of claim 56, wherein the first lace and the second lace may be tightened independently to achieve different levels of tightness in the first lacing zone and the second lacing zone.

58. The boot of claim 56, wherein the first lace is free of a release strap.

59. The boot of claim 56, wherein the at least one lace lock comprises a first lace lock adapted to secure the first lace and a second lace lock adapted to secure the second lace.

60. The boot of claim 53, wherein the at least one lace lock comprises a lace cleat having a body including opposing walls with locking teeth formed on each wall, the walls converging to form a wedge-shaped channel, the channel and locking teeth cooperating to hold a portion of the at least one lace within the body of the cleat.

61. The boot of claim 60, wherein the boot includes a tongue opening disposed in a shin-to-toe direction and a tongue disposed within the opening, wherein the cleat is mounted to the boot body such that the wedge-shaped channel is substantially parallel to the tongue opening.

62. The boot of claim 53, wherein the boot body comprises a wall, a lace channel is disposed in the wall, a portion of the at least one lace is disposed within the lace channel.

63. The boot of claim 53, wherein the at least one lace is laced in a lacing pattern characterized in that the at least one lace follows a meandering path and does not cross over itself.

64. The boot of claim 53, wherein the at least one lace comprises a free-end portion and a handle disposed at the free-end portion, the handle being graspable by the wearer to tighten the at least one lace.

65. The boot of claim 56, wherein the first lace comprises a first free-end portion and a first handle disposed at the first free-end portion, the first handle being graspable by the wearer to tighten the first lace and wherein the second lace comprises a second free-end portion and a second handle disposed at the second free-end portion, the second handle being graspable by the wearer to tighten the second lace.

66. The boot of claim 65, further comprising at least one pocket adapted to receive at least one of the first and second handles.

67. The boot of claim 66, wherein the at least one pocket comprises first and second pockets, the first pocket is adapted to receive the first handle, and the second pocket is adapted to receive the second handle.

68. The boot of claim 66, wherein the at least one pocket comprise an elongate opening disposed in a wall of the boot body at the upper region and extending in a substantially vertical orientation.

69. The boot of claim 68, wherein the at least one pocket comprises first and second pockets, the first pocket is adapted to receive the first handle, and the second pocket is adapted to receive the second handle, and wherein the first pocket is disposed on a first side of the boot body and the second pocket is disposed on a second side of the boot body.

70. The boot of claim 56, wherein the first lace comprises a first anchor end attached to the boot adjacent a toe-area.

71. The boot of claim 70, wherein the second lace comprises a second anchor end attached to the boot adjacent a shin-area.

72. The boot of claim 56, further comprising an indicator to indicate to the wearer that a lace corresponds to a particular lacing zone.

73. The boot of claim 56, wherein both the first lace and the second lace may be simultaneously secured at the upper region of the boot body.

74. The boot of claim 56, wherein the boot body includes a rear side, wherein both the first lace and the second lace may be simultaneously secured at the upper region of the boot body forward of the rear side.

75. The boot of claim 53, wherein the boot is a snowboard boot.

76. A boot comprising

a boot body;

a plurality of lace guides coupled to the boot body, at least one of the lace guides comprises a lace hook;

at least one lace guided by the lace guides, the at least one lace adapted to be dislodged from the hook;

at least one lace lock engageable with the at least one lace so that the boot may be tightened to the wearer, and

wherein an amount of slack lace created upon removing the at least one lace from the hook is greater than an amount of slack lace that would otherwise be created upon disengaging the at least one lace from the at least one lace lock.

77. The boot of claim 76, wherein the at least one lace comprises a first lace and a second lace, the boot body further comprising a lower, foot region adapted to cover a foot of the wearer, and an upper, shin region adapted to cover at least a portion of a shin of the wearer, the boot further comprising:

a first lacing zone comprising the first lace adapted to tighten the lower region of the boot body; and

a second lacing zone comprising the second lace adapted to tighten the upper region of the boot body.

78. The boot of claim 77, wherein the first lace and the second lace may be tightened independently to achieve different levels of tightness in the first lacing zone and the second lacing zone.

79. The boot of claim 77, wherein the at least one lace lock comprises a first lace lock adapted to secure the first lace and a second lace lock adapted to secure the second lace.

80. The boot of claim 76, wherein the at least one lace lock comprises a lace cleat having a body including opposing walls with locking teeth formed on each wall, the walls converging to form a wedge-shaped channel, the channel and locking teeth cooperating to hold a portion of the at least one lace within the body of the cleat.

81. The boot of claim 80, wherein the boot includes a tongue opening disposed in a shin-to-toe direction and a tongue disposed within the opening, wherein the cleat is mounted to the boot body such that the wedge-shaped channel is substantially parallel to the tongue opening.

82. The boot of claim 76, wherein the boot body comprises a wall, a lace channel is disposed in the wall, a portion of the at least one lace is disposed within the lace channel.

83. The boot of claim 76, wherein the at least one lace is laced in a lacing pattern characterized in that the at least one lace follows a meandering path and does not cross over itself.

84. The boot of claim 76, wherein the at least one lace comprises a free end portion and a handle disposed at the free end portion, the handle being graspable by the wearer to tighten the first lace.

85. The boot of claim 77, wherein the first lace comprises a first free end portion and a first handle disposed at the first free end portion, the first handle being graspable by the wearer to tighten the first lace and wherein the second lace comprises a second free end portion and a second handle disposed at the second free end portion, the second handle being graspable by the wearer to tighten the second lace.

86. The boot of claim 85, further comprising at least one pocket adapted to receive at least one of the first and second handles.

87. The boot of claim 86, wherein the at least one pocket comprises first and second pockets, the first pocket is adapted to receive the first handle, and the second pocket is adapted to receive the second handle.

88. The boot of claim 86, wherein the at least one pocket comprise an elongate opening disposed in a wall of the boot body at the upper region and extending in a substantially vertical orientation.

89. The boot of claim 88, wherein the at least one pocket comprises first and second pockets, the first pocket is adapted to receive the first handle, and the second pocket is adapted to receive the second handle, and wherein the first pocket is disposed on a first side of the boot body and the second pocket is disposed on a second side of the boot body.

90. The boot of claim 77, wherein the first lace comprises a first anchor end attached to the boot adjacent a toe-area.

91. The boot of claim 90, wherein the second lace comprises a second anchor end attached to the boot adjacent a shin-area.

92. The boot of claim 76, further comprising an indicator to indicate to the wearer that a lace corresponds to a particular lacing zone.

93. The boot of claim 77, wherein both the first lace and the second lace may be simultaneously secured at the upper region of the boot body.

94. The boot of claim 77, wherein the boot body includes a rear side, wherein both the first lace and the second lace may be simultaneously secured at the upper region of the boot body forward of the rear side.

95. The boot of claim 76, wherein the boot is a snowboard boot.

96. A boot comprising

a boot body;

a plurality of lace guides coupled to the boot body, at least one of the lace guides comprises a lace hook;

at least one lace guided by the lace guides, the at least one lace adapted to be dislodged from the hook; and

at least one lace lock engageable with the at least one lace so that the boot may be tightened to a wearer, the at least one lace adapted to have a free-end portion extending from the at least one lace lock after the at least one lace has been tightened, wherein an amount of slack lace provided by the free-end portion of the at least one lace upon disengaging the at least one lace from the at least one lock is insufficient to permit easy removal of the boot from the wearer and wherein an amount of slack lace created upon removing the at least one lace from the lace hook aids in permitting easy removal of the boot from the wearer.

97. The boot of claim 96, wherein the at least one lace comprises a first lace and a second lace, the boot body further comprising a lower, foot region adapted to cover a foot of the wearer, and an upper, shin region adapted to cover at least a portion of a shin of the wearer, the boot further comprising:

a first lacing zone comprising the first lace adapted to tighten the lower region of the boot body; and

a second lacing zone comprising the second lace adapted to tighten the upper region of the boot body.

98. The boot of claim 97, wherein the first lace and the second lace may be tightened independently to achieve different levels of tightness in the first lacing zone and the second lacing zone.

99. The boot of claim 97, wherein the at least one lace lock comprises a first lace lock adapted to secure the first lace and a second lace lock adapted to secure the second lace.

100. The boot of claim 96, wherein the at least one lace lock comprises a lace cleat having a body including opposing walls with locking teeth formed on each wall, the walls converging to form a wedge-shaped channel, the channel and locking teeth cooperating to hold a portion of the at least one lace within the body of the cleat.

101. The boot of claim 100, wherein the boot includes a tongue opening disposed in a shin-to-toe direction and a tongue disposed within the opening, wherein the cleat is mounted to the boot body such that the wedge-shaped channel is substantially parallel to the tongue opening.

102. The boot of claim 96, wherein the boot body comprises a wall, a lace channel is disposed in the wall, a portion of the at least one lace is disposed within the lace channel.

103. The boot of claim 96, wherein the at least one lace is laced in a lacing pattern characterized in that the at least one lace follows a meandering path and does not cross over itself.

104. The boot of claim 96, wherein the at least one lace comprises a free-end portion and a handle disposed at the free-end portion, the handle being graspable by the wearer to tighten the first lace.

105. The boot of claim 97, wherein the first lace comprises a first free-end portion and a first handle disposed at the first free-end portion, the first handle being graspable by the wearer to tighten the first lace and wherein the second lace comprises a second free-end portion and a second handle disposed at the second free-end portion, the second handle being graspable by the wearer to tighten the second lace.

106. The boot of claim 105, further comprising at least one pocket adapted to receive at least one of the first and second handles.

107. The boot of claim 106, wherein the at least one pocket comprises first and second pockets, the first pocket is adapted to receive the first handle, and the second pocket is adapted to receive the second handle.

108. The boot of claim 106, wherein the at least one pocket comprise an elongate opening disposed in a wall of the boot body at the upper region and extending in a substantially vertical orientation.

109. The boot of claim 108, wherein the at least one pocket comprises first and second pockets, the first pocket is adapted to receive the first handle, and the second pocket is adapted to receive the second handle, and wherein the first pocket is disposed on a first side of the boot body and the second pocket is disposed on a second side of the boot body.

110. The boot of claim 97, wherein the first lace comprises a first anchor end attached to the boot adjacent a toe-area.

111. The boot of claim 110, wherein the second lace comprises a second anchor end attached to the boot adjacent a shin-area.

112. The boot of claim 96, further comprising an indicator to indicate to the wearer that a lace corresponds to a particular lacing zone.

113. The boot of claim 97, wherein both the first lace and the second lace may be simultaneously secured at the upper region of the boot body.

114. The boot of claim 97, wherein the boot body includes a rear side, wherein both the first lace and the second lace may be simultaneously secured at the upper region of the boot body forward of the rear side.

115. The boot of claim 96, wherein the boot is a snowboard boot.

116. The boot of claim 96, wherein the amount of slack lace provided by the free-end portion of the at least one lace upon disengaging the at least one lace from the at least one lock together with the amount of slack lace created upon removing the at least one lace from the hook permits easy removal of the boot from the wearer.

117. A method of using a boot, the boot having a boot body, a plurality of lace guides coupled to the boot body, at least one lace guided by the lace guides, and at least one lace lock cooperating with the at least one lace and engaging the at least one lace so that the at least one lace is holdable toward a tightening direction to tighten the boot body about the wearer, the at least one lace adapted to have a free-end portion extending from the at least one lace lock after the at least one lace has been tightened, wherein an amount of slack lace provided by the free-end portion of the at least one lace upon disengaging the at least one lace from the at least one lock may be insufficient to permit easy removal of the boot from the wearer, the method comprising:

removing the at least one lace from at least one lace guide to create a length of slack in the at least one lace to aid in permitting removal of the foot from the boot; and

drawing the lace through at least one of the other lace guides in a loosening direction.

119. The method of claim 117, further comprising:

disengaging the at least one lace from the at least on lace lock to create an additional length of lace slack that cooperates with the length of lace slack created upon removing the at least one lace from at least one lace guide to permit easy removal of the boot.

120. The method of claim 117, wherein the boot body further comprises a lower, foot region adapted to cover a foot of the wearer, and an upper, shin region adapted to cover at least a portion of a shin of the wearer, wherein the at least one lace comprises a lower lace cooperating with the lower region and an upper lace cooperating with the upper region, the method further comprising:

drawing the lower lace in the tightening direction to tighten the lower region of the boot body; and

drawing the upper lace in the tightening direction to tighten the upper region of the boot body.

121. The method of claim 120, further comprising drawing the upper and lower laces independently of each other to achieve different levels of tightness in the upper and lower regions, respectively.

122. The method of claim 120, further comprising securing the upper and lower laces at the upper region of the boot body.

123. The method of claim 122, further comprising simultaneously securing the upper and lower laces at the upper region of the boot body.

124. The method of claim 122, wherein the boot body includes a rear side, the method further comprising securing the upper and lower laces at the upper region of the boot body and forward of the rear side.

125. The method of claim 120, wherein the lower lace comprises a first free-end portion and a first handle disposed at the first free-end portion, and wherein the upper lace comprises a second free-end portion and a second handle disposed at the second free-end portion, wherein drawing the lower lace comprises pulling the first handle and wherein drawing the upper lace comprises pulling the second handle.

126. The method of claim 125, wherein the boot further comprises first and second pockets, the first pocket is adapted to receive the first handle and the second pocket is adapted to receive the second handle, the method further comprising inserting the first handle at least partially into the first pocket after the lower lace has been drawn to tighten the lower region, and inserting the second handle at least partially into the second pocket after the upper lace has been drawn to tighten the upper region.

118. The method of claim 1117, wherein the boot further comprises a release strap coupled to the at least one lace, wherein removing the at least one lace from at least one lace guide comprises grasping the release strap.

127. A soft snowboard boot comprising:

a boot body formed of flexible material, the boot body having a lower region adapted to cover a foot of a rider and an upper region adapted to cover at least a portion of a shin of the rider;

a plurality of lace guides mounted to the boot body, at least one of the lace guides comprising a lace hook;

a first lacing zone comprising a first lace and a first lace lock mounted to the boot body in the upper region, the first lace being guided by the lace guides and cooperating with the lower region, the first lace adapted to extend through and engage with the first lace lock to tighten the lower region, the first lace having a portion that extends from the lower region to the upper region so as to be engageable with the first lace lock;

a second lacing zone comprising a second lace and a second lace lock mounted to the boot body in the upper region, the second lace being guided by the lace guides and the lace hook and cooperating with the upper region, the second lace adapted to extend through and engage with the second lace lock to tighten the upper region;

wherein both the first and second laces may be simultaneously secured by the first and second lace locks, respectively, in the upper region of the boot body forward of a rear side of the boot body; and

a release strap coupled to the second lace, the release strap being graspable to remove the second lace from the hook so as to create slack in the second lace.