Nordica Strider 115 W Dyn

The Gist

Coming from a group of serious skiers, when they said this was a serious performer, well, we took them seriously! Last year it got nearly perfect scores for its edge power and stability and also for its quickness and feel for the snow, the Strider 115 W Dyn will not disappoint rippers looking to dominate demanding pitches on big skis--it was testers' favorite medium width freerider. This year it has a new graphic but still sits on the narrow side of the medium group, the liner’s aggressive heel and ankle fit relaxed with wear time but testers recommend a liner cook.

The Fit

The women might not know it, but their fit impressions of the Strider mirrored that of the men—an ultra contoured match to the foot and the leg, just on the snug side of the medium width middle-ground. The cork-clad exterior of the Precision Fit W Primaloft liner provides a bulwark of solid, yet moldable material that cradles the curves of the rearfoot with a firm pushback that says, performance, testers report. They loved the initial, cushioned, comfy feel on first entry, but they more appreciated the fact that the liner had guts and held the foot well after some serious test runs and a bit of sweat. Lots of comments like: snug, ideal grip, conforming, curvy.

Performance

The Strider 115 W Dyn's edge power score was its highest (and one of the highest edge power scores of all women's Freeride boots, regardless of width), which backs up what testers were saying—full on Alpine boot power to the edge on any terrain, at any speed. Testers mentioned that the Strider was no slouch for quickness turn to turn, citing its light weight on the foot as a source of fast movements, but they gave the stability and power of the Strider 115 W Dyn the nod as its best characteristic, especially when paired with a highly functional touring range of motion and an easy to use, intuitive cuff release switch.

Cool Features

The Primaloft insulated liner might appeal to the creature-comfort focused, but most of our testers were eyeing the rockered and Michelin rubber soled GripWalk plates that come on the boot and the Dynafit tech fittings for use with lightweight low tech bindings. The Grilamid plastic lower shell is moldable via simply wearing the boot after Infrared heating, though few testers mentioned a need to change the boot's shape beyond basic liner molding. They liked the ease of closure and most testers liked the unique buckle bales and catches—and this year it's white and black with some blue pops, tres trail chic.