Testers loved the Tecnica Mach BOA HV 105 W for its ample volume and plus-size curves, and that's without their huge appreciation for how the BOA closure system put a new spin on the Mach1 wide rid
Once again the 2018 DaleBoot VFF Pro's custom test score tops the category, reminding testers that there is only one true custom boot at the boot test. Best-in-test entry and exit may be a reason some skiers might go with VFF Pro, but best-of-category fit and on-snow performance earn it a look for good skiers, too.
There's really no way to go try on a DaleBoot to decide whether or not to buy it—well, you could try on some generic sample at a DaleBoot dealer shop to get a feel for how it goes on and buckles up, but that's about all you'd get. You might even get scared off—the non-customized DaleBoot experience is so different from the full-meal-deal custom program that is their business model. We know because to be fair to other brands at the test we asked them to submit off-the-rack models in addition to their custom-built-for-tester models. Some testers loved the generic test samples, others not so much, but every tester was stoked on the VFF Pro that was built just for him. The shell and cuff are selected to match the foot and leg, then modified as needed prior to leaving the Salt Lake City factory. The pre-selected Intuition liner is molded to the skier at his local dealer shop to finalize the fit. So, the fit isn't a narrow or a medium or a wide—it's you.
This year's VFF Pro comes with a revised upper cuff design (taller with a stiffer, thicker back area) which produced a noticeably stronger feel on snow over previous versions we've tested. Testers noticed a firmer flex feel and a better command over the skis edge on hard snow this year. This did not create any loss of feel in the lower shell, which remains one of the most sensitive and in-tune with the ground of any boot in the test. The lower boot has two unique design features that give it such touch—a very thin but stiff polyether shell wall and a three-quarter length bootboard that puts the ball of foot directly on the floor of the shell. The flex feel is able to be adjusted by the skier with the rear spring-loaded cable closure from long and soft to progressive and firm—laterally the power comes from the rigid plastic of the lower boot and the new more powerful cuff design. Testers unanimously praised the VFF Pro's unique combination of fit, feel, flex and power.
The best feature of the VFF Pro is that all custom fitting, modifications, and stance alignment is included in one price. The stance alignment part of the equation is finalized with the application of snap-on, canted soles if needed—a very effective canting solution found only on DaleBoot.
The 2018 Dalbello Chakra AX 85 is a bargain for intermediates looking for a roomy three-piece boot, testers said. This new AX medium-width fills a gap in Dalbello's cabrio line between narrow Chakra and wide Kyra.
Testers say this 100 mm is on the relaxed-fit side of the medium group and has a well-cushioned, cozy liner. They say the heel is also on the roomy side and there's some extra ceiling height over the top of the foot—so this is a good solution for thick-footed folk who swim a little bit in a true wide fit. The entry and exit scores were excellent, though testers unfamiliar with the three-piece shell closure took a little fiddling to figure out the overlaps and buckle straps.
At an 85 flex, testers acknowledged that the cuff travel was a little longer forward than many preferred, but for the game intermediate, they felt it was right on target. Testers liked the Chakra AX 85's cruisey demeanor but said it also had enough horsepower to roll a ski up on edge with confidence and handle some challenges on- and off-piste
The Thinsulate liner comes with double pull loops and the 45-degree Dynalink middle buckle helps to keep the foot from slipping forward.
Our testers liked this new member to the Dalbello cabrio family—the 2018 Dalbello Krypton AX 120 brings a new traditional (non-hike) cuff, medium-width three-piece option to all-mountain skiers. For skiers who've always liked the strong skiing style of the narrow Krypton but didn't like the fit so much will be stoked with what they find here.
Testers say the lower boot fits so comfortably that they were a little suspicious about how it was going to ski (it was fine, it turned out). They liked the easy entry cabrio lower and most found the closure system straightforward after some minor fiddling with overlaps and straps. The liner is well-cushioned against the foot and the overall fit tension of the lower boot trended toward the more-open side of the medium width group, though they said the cuff tapered a bit toward a more-snug closure at the boot top. A few testers complained about a too-loose heel pocket and mentioned they'd utilize some L-pads on the liner to snug that up if it were their own.
The Krypton AX 120's flex feel is characteristically cabrio-soft initially, then it comes up against a firm stopping point—three-piece shell fans will like this freedom of travel at the top of the flex range and those coming from a stiff, overlap shell background will take a little time getting used to it. But testers liked the way it skied—the polyurethane powered shell and cuff combination ripped crud off-piste and laid trenches on the groomed equally well, they said.
For 50 bucks more you could upgrade to an Intuition-build I.D. liner for the Krypton AX 120. Testers thought the 45-degree Dynalink middle buckle performed as billed for helping to comfortably retain the foot at the instep.
The 2018 Atomic Hawx Magna 90 W wowed our test team for its big bang for the buck, saying that this boot skied better than many they tested which cost two- or three-hundred dollars more. They put this boot on the podium with a silver medal in the women's All-Mountain wide category.
It's a wide ride, but not excessively so, testers said. They all loved the plush and inviting liner feel on first slide-on (which is super easy they said) and comments about all-day comfort, no unbuckling required and extra warmth were abundant. Testers checked the like box on the cuff's upright stance and highly cushioned tongue fit against the shin. While the fit is roomy-slipper all the way around, testers sensed enough contact at the heel and ankle to suggest that this one could ski.
And ski the Hawx Magna 90 W did, testers said, who were all pleasantly surprised at this so-called Soft-Value entry's ability to go anywhere and do anything at all performance levels other than that of the full-on, expert hard-charger. From beginner to advanced all-mountain skier, our test team had nothing but praise for how this boot handled. The stance is neutral (if a bit upright). The power on edge is adequate. The quickness turn to turn was shockingly good, they said. And the flex, while soft, had a progressive feel and a functional stopping point.
Testers agreed this boot's best feature was its price, but they also like the Memory Fit auto-molding capability of the shell once it's been cooked in the Atomic convection oven—not necessary but a great solution for the thickest of feet and legs for finding an even, comfy fit. Helpful stance adjustments are also found here—for forward lean and for lateral cuff balance.
The 2018 Atomic Hawx Prime 100 W remains one of the go-to's for a reliable combination of easy fit (for lots of different feet and legs), neutral stance and a commanding downhill skill set.
Testers found a substantial amount of room in the toebox and the forefoot, but teamed with an evenly snug fit in the heel pocket and ankles—a good blend of warmth and comfort where needed with control at the rearfoot for good skiing moves. There's a little extra height over the top of the foot—again helpful to reduce cold feet and numb toes—and the calf is flared enough for the bigger calf without a loss of fore-aft positioning, testers concurred. The stance is a touch upright—no quad burn here—and the cuff rides a little higher on the leg than average for the group.
For women who had longer legs and a more aggressive downhill attack, the solid (firmer than the listed 100 testers said), upright, tall-feeling cuff worked like a dream for driving the ski at speed through on- and off-piste challenges and supporting a hard-charger's fore-aft home base. For smaller, less aggro' testers the cuff itself was a hindrance to finding fore-aft Nirvana and they wanted a bit of heel lift or perhaps the softer-flexing Hawx Prime 90 W (and available in black or white, nice!).
For women with a high instep and a bigger calf, the Hawx line-up deserves a close look—it fits generously in those spots to begin with and the Memory Fit shell-molding feature allows those normally hard-to-modify areas to be expanded using just the skier's foot and leg in the boot to get the job done in a matter of minutes.
Testers loved the 2018 Atomic Hawx Ultra 110 W enough to put it at the very top of the All-Mountain narrow field, and it was also the fourth highest scoring women's boot of the entire test. Light isn't always right, but in this case, testers said it was—for fit and performance combined.
Narrows should be narrow, that's our stand, and here's what testers said about the Hawx Ultra 110 W's initial fit: Great for the true, narrow foot. Great, narrow, firm fit. Well-defined heel pocket. Good low-volume, snug, firm fit. Locked and loaded! Testers gave it such even fit scores, right down the narrow side of things, that the averages for five cards were the same as for fifteen. The team agreed there's a little bit of extra room in the toebox and at the calf and that's about it—evenly snug-side everywhere else. They all loved the spring-loaded flex feel, perhaps just a bit softer than the 110 billing, but a few mentioned that the inside half of the tongue was a bit jabby on the shin.
Extremely energetic was the consensus among testers, who enjoyed how the lively forward flex (powered by the Grilamid upper cuff) loaded and released energy with every turn. Feedback levels were high—with testers saying that they could feel every ripple in the snow beneath them, perhaps to a fault, with a few testers saying the transmissive feel could get jittery at times. Power to the edge was immediate and unfaltering.
For those who find perfectly snug just a little too constrictive, cooking the shell via the Memory Fit customization feature is a slick way to open up a little bit of extra room everywhere without blowing out the fit. Aside from being able to modify the flex and forward lean with the Power Shift mechanism on the rear cuff and make lateral stance changes with the on-board cuff adjustment, canted sole shims are available in 0.5- to 3.0-degree increments as an optional purchase.
You a big guy? Got a massive foot and calf? Like to ski but don't like the boot pain? The 2018 Atomic Hawx Magna 130 might be your solution—testers say the comfort level is high, entry-exit is category tops, and they say this boot will prop-up a large dude in a super skiing stance.
The fit is large, Marge! One tester said he felt like a single bean in a very large burrito. Another said if you're foot is shaped like a potato, you're in the ballpark. Still another simply wrote: canyonesque. We like that, so eloquent. There are plenty of skiers with wide feet, high insteps and big, muscular calves. Those can be comfort deal-breakers and make skiing a total drag. The Hawx Magna 130 addresses all those issues, with a comfortable flex feel and enough backbone to support the big dude attached to the big feet.
It's Magna—not magma or magnum—so it skis not like a volcanic explosion or a dirty Harry 357, nor an over-sized condom, but rather like the perfect combination of the three. Testers say it's strong enough, quick enough, and slippery enough to manage all terrain and snow conditions for a variety of different skiing styles. Testers agreed that the edge power is there once the boot rolls a ski up on edge, and given enough foot and leg volume to fill the canyon, quickness and steering marks would go up. A few testers thought it had a slightly over-edged feel (inside edge bias), which a cuff adjustment should sort out for any in the same boat.
For a skier with a calf and instep so megalithic that the Hawx Magna 130's out-of-box fit is still too tight, he's in luck! The Memory Fit customization features allows the shell to expand around the foot and leg automatically after cooking the shell in an oven for five minutes—a great way to improve the fit at those tricky-to-modify areas. The 3D Gold Liner is loaded with Thinsulate for additional warmth.
The classic medium width Hawx, which has spawned so many others (wide, narrow, backcountry), returns to remind testers why it's one of skiers' favorites. The 2018 Hawx Prime 130 is still one of the best for an easy initial fit and a surprisingly strong and agile performance on snow.
Just to the relaxed side of the medium width centerline, testers said the fit is notably tall over the top of the foot and through the instep—a great fit solution for the high-arched foot or thick, high-volume foot whose owner doesn't want to drift into wide territory. The tallish, upright cuff's calf fit is also user-friendly in its amount of flare that will allow the thick leg an anatomical home with the rear spoiler removed. With spoiler in, the average of calf thought the fit was spot on for the medium target. Entry and exit is a category-leading easy one.
Just nothing wrong here, move along, was the word. The stance is neutral and forgettable (meaning, you notice nothing out of the ordinary and you just go ski). The edge power and stability is brick-house strong (not a single tester had any complaint there). The quickness and agility scores were aces—aided by the Hawx characteristic, flexy sole construction that allows the boot to bend a bit with the arc of the ski but remain laterally and torsionally stiff. In the strongest field of the boot test (All-Mountain medium width) it still remains one of the best for instant balance and fun, testers said.
Testers liked the no-slip soles and a functional upper cuff adjustment. Memory Fit shell molding is cool for auto-customization of the fit after cooking the shell in an oven, though few testers found the out-of-box fit problematic enough to consider it. The Power Shift features allows for adjustment of the forward lean and/or stiffness.
In its sophomore year the 2018 Atomic Hawx Ultra 130 reminded testers why it was a favorite last year too—so light and so snug, with surprising toe room for such a compact package. Super-charged power and snap characterized this unique all-mountain narrow's on-snow M.O.
The boot sole length (BSL) of the Hawx Ultra 130 is shorter by 5 mm than average and yet it fit as roomy in length as the rest of the group and might even sport a little extra width for the toes than most narrows. The Hawx Ultra Progressive Shell design leaves plastic thick where needed for support and stability but thins it out where better wrapping is required—this reduces weight and opens up some bonus interior room. Incorporated with the thin and feely Memory Fit 3D Platinum liner the Hawx Ultra 130 provides a locked-down fit from the midfoot to heel and up through the cuff while maintaining an open toebox. The feel against the leg was a little tall with an elasticized flex feel that gripped the calf firmly but without a pinch, testers said. Several testers mentioned that it's not the easiest on and off.
That snappy flex feel that testers noticed indoors translated to rapid-fire edging moves and loaded-up, slingshot-style, rebounding transitions on snow. The thin-walled Grilamid cuff wraps the leg shaft and gives a skier two joy-sticks for driving skis in all directions with no-delay transmission of movement. On first feel, the thin, springy cuff gave testers cause for power concern, but no such trouble existed with the Hawx Ultra 130—it put skis of all widths on a rail and drilled turns at all speeds in all terrain. A few bigger, taller guys said they could over-power the cuff during Flintstonian flexing, but generally it held up to normal all-mountain abuse. The Grilamid cuff and thinned-out polyurethane lower boot gives the boot a noticeably light feel, which combined with the snug fit translated into serious agility, testers agreed.
The Memory Fit shell molding feature allows a skier to oven-cook the boot, wear it for a couple minutes, cool it down and enjoy a more personalized fit. Most of our testers liked the out-of-box fit just fine, however. The Hawx Ultra 130 also comes with slate of handy stance-alignment options, from lateral cuff
Our test team, comprised of Apex-testing veterans and newbies alike, took the all new 2018 Apex XP-L through its paces and came out the other side with praise for the comfort and convenience of the system's inner walking boot and an appreciation for Apex's unique approach. Testers said that if the act of having to walk in ski boots is what keeps a skier from skiing, then this may be her sport's salvation.
Testers reported that the inner boot fit was anatomical and secure, by way of the dual Boa reel closure system. However they reported a variety of fit inconsistencies when the inner boot was mated with the exterior open-chassis. Custom molding the liner did help to moderate the fit tension somewhat, they said, but some found that issues persisted at the navicular, ankle bones and shin.
Testers familiar with previous women's versions approved of the changes made this year, adopted from the men's XP. The boot sole length is shorter, providing a smaller footprint on the ski, and the docking tolerances between the soft boot and the exterior frame are tighter, for better transmission of movement from skier to ski, both of which they could feel. These veteran testers also noted that the lateral power of the boot was improved over previous iterations, partly due to a new carbon-fiber-infused nylon heel cup on this year's frame. Testers agreed that when compared to other boots of the category at this year's test, the XP-L's edging quickness and general fore-aft support lagged a bit behind the group.
A few testers took advantage of the stance and flex adjustments on board the XP-L. As with the men's version, the flex is adjustable in three settings using elastomer bushings, and the forward lean can be set in one of four positions. A dual-sided lateral cuff adjustment functions to better match leg angles for a flat ski position on snow.
Testers ran the 2018 Apex XP through the gauntlet of indoor fit tests, custom liner tests, on-snow performance tests, and as with last year's test of the XP, they liked the way the open-chassis frame is now better connected with the inner boot than in the past and they appreciated the now shorter boot sole length than was found on previous versions.
The initial slide into the dual Boa reel walking boot is a sublime comfort experience for boot testers--the best part of the Apex fit system is the fact that the "walk mode" is a heat moldable snowboard-boot-like inner with a soft, traction sole. Our custom molding tests performed on the liner showed subtle improvement over the already well-padded, comfy fit, testers said. Engaging the inner boot into the open-chassis frame is a toe-first, then drive the heel in, affair. After corralling and securing the long, buckle straps, several testers mentioned that the pleasant, even fit of the inner boot was negatively affected by the external frame. They cited hotspot areas cited at the navicular, the outside of the foot at the styloid and heel pocket. Apex confirms that in situations where fit issues are not fixed by liner molding the open chassis can handle some light grinding and heat stretching with the help of a skilled bootfitter.
For a skier whose primary complaint about ski boots is how difficult they are for him to walk in, the Apex is an obvious solution—exit the open chassis, throw the skis over a shoulder, hold the poles and the pair of frames in the other hand, and off you go! One of our testers needed to ski down, drive to shipping/receiving, load boxes, return to the chairlift carrying gear and then slide to the mid-mountain lodge—he wore the Apex boots for a reason! Testers had the most success with the XP on smooth, predictable and low-angle surfaces. Laterally the boot is strong and smooth and glides groomers in tall-standing, stately arcs, but testers said that variable snow and more demanding terrain resulted in more pilot effort, and fewer smooth transitions.
The stiffness and forward lean position is adjustable on the XP using the rear Flex-Arm, and the walking boot employs a high-traction Vibram Icetrek outsole and a Thinsulate inner. A dual-sided lateral cuff adjustment is key for getting edge angles dialed, and it's available on the XP.
The Bold 120 is a super value for skilled skiers with higher volume feet (height-wise especially) seeking a blend of creature comfort and cushioning with real edge power.
Roomier than the category average and noticeably cavernous over the top of foot and instep—a great fit solution for the very high-arched or thick instep skier. The Intuition liner is well cushioned and on the soft side, which most skiers appreciated for the pillowy intial feel but a few also mentioned it allowed for a bit too much shearing movement while skiing. A thick foot and full liner molding will put it in its place, testers surmised.
Our test team was impressed with the power to the inside edge—derived from a slightly bowlegged stance set up that loaded-up the inside edge more than average—but testers said that the boot held that edge at speed and loved hard carves on smooth surfaces best.
The articulating instep construction made for superior entry and exit, according to testers, who also liked that there was a two-position (hard/soft) flex adjustment.
