I couldn't get them for free with my old Backlands. Shop made me pay.

I had it with my original backland carbon in similarly low amounts of use. I've heard of people getting a lot more use before this slop develops in other models. My guess is there's an interaction...

$20 for a set of 4 would be reasonable when you've bought an $800 boot (for 40% off in a spring sale, of course)

Glad to hear you are looking into this issue. I found it super difficult to remove the bushings on my 1st pair of backlands (I am no mechanic ace though). Mine must have been ovalized because new...

You've pinpointed exactly my issues with Backland Carbon: cuff pivots get sloppy FAST and liners pack out/fall apart at about the same rate. Maybe 10 long days/60k vert for me....