The Gist
The Dalbello DS Asolo 115 W brings a traditional, 4-buckle overlap narrow width made with polyurethane in the shell and cuff. Bravo! Testers felt the Grilamid-built Asolo Factory was good for the weight-conscious, but they'd prefer a couple hundred more grams and the dampness and stability of PU, thank you very much. Take the creature comfort of the women's medium width DS, keep its Power Cage shell construction that maintains strength while reducing weight, add a little of the race-bred fit characteristics from the DRS line (while keeping the convenience and traction of GripWalk soles) and you've got one in the winner's column. And it's an all-new liner this year.
The Fit
In virtual lock-step with our men's testers, women agreed that the fit this year in the DS Asolo is leaps and bounds better than last year's strange fit (some aggressive and grabby lumps here and there, they said). This time around it's a snug one again, but in a smoothed-out and even fashion, except for the heel pocket and Achilles tendon area where they said it's particularly snug but not painful. Flex feel is on target for the 115 rating and possibly even a touch stronger. They liked that it fit traditionally in length, meaning not overly long, and they mentioned that the cuff is not overly tall on the leg either, so a stiff boot that lots of women will be able to get out over the top of and not always be pushed back onto their heels by a too tall cuff.
Performance
This year's polyurethane construction smoothes out some of the jitters testers felt in last year's Asolo factory, citing a damp stable feel regardless of snow surface. The quickness remains unaffected and they say the increased comfort made for a better all-day experience.
Cool Features
We think the DS Asolo 115 W's coolest feature is its traditional, straightforward approach to a top tier performance boot. Four-buckle overlap construction in polyurethane throughout, simple 40mm Velcro power strap, removable Velcro rear spoiler, dual liner pull loops, elliptical cam lateral cuff adjustment, bolted rear spine and race-bred buckles--nothing fancy, nothing extraneous. Yes, we like the revised IF liner with its Ultralon tongue padding and sure, GripWalk soles are nice for apres strolling. Testers also said the sublimated purple/black hue was cool.
Kudos