A boot, such as a snowboard boot, having an outer shell including a flexible upper and a harness assembly disposed in the outer shell. The harness assembly wraps about a user's ankle, includes a plurality of cord keepers. A cord—for example, a lace or a stainless steel cable—slidably engages the cord keepers, for tightening the harness about the user's ankle. A tensioning mechanism such as a spool mechanism or a lace keeper is attached to the flexible upper and engages the cord, such that the user can releasably tension the cord. The cord extends through an aperture in the outer shell whereby the user can tighten or loosen the harness without removing the boot. In an embodiment, the tensioning mechanism is a lace locker fixedly attached to the shell tongue, wherein the tongue includes apertures disposed near the bottom of the lace locker to slidably accommodate the cord.