Our women's test team members have been fans of Tecnica's medium width Mach1 boots for several years, and last year they were impressed with the debut of the wide Mach HV (no #1 in the name) with its inaugural BOA add-on. This year marks the expansion of the Mach BOA line up into the medium volume market, and our testers had a chance to get the new Mach BOA MV 105 W on their feet and out on the hill to see how it fared.
Testers liked how easily this one went on, citing no hindrance stemming from the BOA reel mounted on the lower shell. They also thought that the BOA system did a good job (as advertised) of cleanly wrapping the shell and liner comfortably around the foot with an intuitive spin of the spool. That was a good thing, they said, because the fit of the lower boot was massive--much roomier than the non-BOA Mach1 MV boots they've been accustomed to.
This wasn't necessarily a bad thing, testers noted, but it was off-target for medium width fit tension expectations and the lower scores logged in the fit criteria dragged it down, out of gold medal territory. Testers said that the fit was comfortable, and well-wrapped around the contours of the foot, just a bit out-sized. They would have characterized it as a MV-HV fit hybrid, except that all testers agreed that the fit at the top of the cuff was tapered to a more-tight fit than expected for a MV. So, gals with thick feet and slender, taller legs will find a fit made in heaven, they said.
The flex feel of the Mach BOA 105 W was a favorite element for the team, who said it had a smooth and even feel through the flex range and a well-distributed and cushioned-enough feel against the shin. They noticed that the top-shelf T-Drive cuff-to-lower connection mechanism found on the Mach1 boots was not here, replaced by a modified (and probably less-expensive to produce, balancing out the cost of a BOA system) T-Sport unit. They thought it suited the Mach BOA just fine, and had no complaints about transmission of movement to the ski. In fact, testers thought that the power and stability of the cuff was top notch, providing a reliable and solid sense of control over the ski in all directions.
The Mach BOA 105 W's Edge Power score was, in fact, one of its two highest scores (the other was for its stance balance). Its quickness score suffered alongside its fit scores due to the excess room in the lower boot, but again, testers said that with the right foot and leg shape combination, all fit and performance scores would likely jump up.