Speaking of blue, one of our veteran testers had an infamous blue heeler whose whole attitude could be summed up in three words: more, now
What's the ripping female skier looking for in a performance Frontside boot? According to our women's test team they're looking for everything the guys get, with perhaps a fit nod to a couple typical shape differences, like a slightly thicker, lower calf muscle as compared to the average male leg shaft and a tighter heel pocket is always nice. Well, that's exactly what they get with the new Lange RS 120 SC, and while this one is all-new this year it's not drastically different when it comes to fit and ski prowess because it's back into gold medal status again in this hyper-competitive category.
The SC stands for Short Cuff and most of our test team prefer this to the higher-cuffed men's (or unisex) version of the RS, though a couple of our taller testers do like the unisex boot for its increased leverage over the ski and extra fore-aft support for those long levers below their knees. The unisex RS LV is available in the same 120-flex down to a size 24.5 and the 130 LV is available as small as a 22.5 (but it costs $150 bucks more for those 10 stiffness points).
The SC cuff design drops the plastic height by 12mm, which is enough to minimize the jab at the back of the calf but still maintain a solid feel against the shin and enough support for hard carving at the highest speeds on the hardest snow surface. As proof that the short in SC is not a detriment of any sort for strong skiing women, the test scores for cuff height and fore-aft balance were both rated 100% ideal. Lange doesn't market the SC as a women's boot, per se, as the majority of the customer base are junior racers--it just happens to be one of our women's test team's favorite boots every year, so they claim it as their own!
The lower boot is really where testers found reasons to get excited, fit-wise--it's tight the way good skiers want a narrow Frontside boot to fit but without many hot spots, they said, with an especially locked-in heel pocket. In fact, here's a bit of what testers had to say about the RS SC's revised fit. One said: This boot is the real deal! I love the fit, like a glove for the gal that wants a snug but comfortable high-performance boot. Another: My foot is home! For being modeled after a race boot it is surprisingly easy to wear straight out of the box. And a third: What a great, solid fit! It felt comfortable throughout with a lot of support and a nice tight heel.
Testers across the board praised the tightness of the boot's control zones and the slight relaxation of tension in places where it was needed for bloodflow, sensation and warmth. Lange was one of the first brands to coin the term V-shaped last, which describes a tighter rearfoot (ankles and heel) with a more open forefoot and toebox, kinda like a reverse mullet for the foot--business in the back, party in the front. Our testers' averaged fit scores for the RS 120 SC bear out this V-shape concept on a 1 through 5 scale where 1 is tight like a World Cup race boot, 3 is the target for medium width boots and 5 is the least tight, like a rental boot: heel (1.29), ankles (1.43), instep (1.71), forefoot (1.86), toebox (2.00).
The changes in construction are many, if subtle, in this year's RS 120 SC. The cuff and shell both have redistributed thick and thin areas to maximize power where possible without increasing weight or a lively feel. The heel pocket was revised, as was the instep and fit across the top of the foot. The cuff hinge point was altered to mimic the flex feel of the race boot line-up and the rear anchor point of the cuff now employs a modular carbon or polyurethane plate that can be changed to fine tune the boot's flex. This is only a partial list, as the revisions were extensive (and exactly the same as those found on the men's RS 130 LV that our guys tested). In a nutshell, all of this added up to smooth power delivery with rapid responsiveness to skier inputs, in what most described as a flawless on-snow experience. Testers invariably compared this RS 120 SC to those they've tested in the past or owned previously--same but better in every way was the unanimous takeaway.
How does one begin to improve an already perfect product? We think that was the challenge presented to the Lange RS 130 LV designers, after years of essentially maintaining the status quo with this category-leading model. Over our years of testing this boot (and always putting it at or near the top of the Frontside heap of great boots) our testers have often commented: Thankfully Lange did not change this boot very much....
Well, now they have, and they've gone and changed the whole damn thing--virtually every part of it. So, yes, it's different. And our testers were just fine with that.
If the complaint of a boot being too comfortable is a thing (and it can be with our veteran testers who often lament the trend of narrow boots fitting like mediums) then that was one of the minor demerits levied against the previous RS boot--it was too damn comfy for how well it skied, testers had said. Well, things have changed somewhat. This one is tight, and testers say the fit tension is right where it should be for the fit and performance goals of this nearly-race category. Both the shell and the cuff were redesigned for fit and performance, but most of the fit changes occurred in the lower boot where the heel now sits a little deeper back into its pocket and reduced instep and midfoot height holds it there, planting the foot firmly against the floor where it feels bonded to the ski edges. Testers felt it fit more snugly everywhere in the lower boot, especially against the styloid process and navicular--with the exception of the toebox, where they said there was just enough relief for warmth and a little wiggle.
Testers with known, common bony spots said, ouch, for those particular trouble spots--which was good for them as it indicated that this narrow was truly narrow! When these testers don't say ouch in the narrow group, they shake their heads with disdain and downgrade the fit score. To put a finer point on how well (and snug) the new RS fits, here are its tightest to least-tight fit zone score averages (1 is world cup race tight, 5 is rental boot loose; note a 2 is the fit target for the typical narrow last): navicular 1.43, styloid area 1.57, heel 1.71, ankles 1.71, forefoot 1.71, instep 1.86, calf 1.86, toebox 2.00. Don't misunderstand--testers said this was a comfortably tight fit, largely due to the revised liner that features a new exterior material modeled after Lange's World Cup plug boots, a new asymmetric, neoprene toebox and changes to both the calf zone construction and milled ankle pocket padding. The few ouch spots testers cited would be typical bootfitter fixes via an easy grind or stretch, they said.
The performance-oriented modifications to the RS involved changes to the wall thickness of the shell and cuff in specific locations for the sake of power generation and stability at speed and a new cuff-to-lower connection point that utilizes a swappable plate (one's softer polyurethane, the other rigid carbon). The carbon-infused insert comes mounted on the boot and testers saw no reason to change it out. They loved the RS 130 LV's quick-twitch responsiveness and energetic rebound feel. They said that the torque and power they felt at high edge angles mirrored what they were used to from the previous RS boots but they said that the quickness and feel for snow was improved greatly in this new version.
Some testers noted that the new RS 130 LV had a slightly more forward-leaning feel than in the past, though there was no alteration made to the boot's stance angles, according to Lange. The deeper heel pocket and taller, firmer calf zone construction of the liner may have contributed to this feeling, but the upshot was that all testers preferred the fore-aft stance with the rear Velcro spoiler removed.
Savvy testers with bootfitting backgrounds appreciated the little changes made to the RS, like a double-screw mounted power strap, removable offset cuff adjustment disks and a fantastically thin 5mm grippy (like Vibram but called MaxGrip) lifter plate accessory option (yes, routing toe and heel lugs back to DIN spec required).
Our testers really wanted to love the new, improved aerodynamic shape and brushed surfaces of the RS 130 LV which were conceived through wind tunnel testing in partnership with Formula1 team Sauber in order to shave off the hundredths of a second that matter on the World Cup. But our mortal crew just couldn't generate the podium level speeds necessary to appreciate them beyond admiration for the cool new look. However, we will say that we were happy to be a an incidental part of this one bright spot for team Sauber, because their F1 season has really sucked.
Our test team gets excited when a 120-flex, narrow last, newcomer shows up in the Frontside category and most of our testers had not been exposed to the Kastle K120P LV, so this was an all-new experience all around. The were drawn to the aqua cosmetic and the stripped-down, old-school race vibe aura that surrounded the boot--at least that what they said. Our team is made up of some very strong skiers--ex-racers, coaches, instructors and shop folks--and they also said they were humbled by the K120P LV.
It's a bear to get on, they admitted, with thick polyurethane shell walls and a low-slung boot throat that thwarted their attempts at casual entry. They needed to get serious and make some noises to get this on--but that's kinda what you'd expect in a room where elite athletes are getting ready to go out and do battle on snow, right? They said the fit is seriously tight in the lower shell. One tester said her heel was clamped in a vice. All agreed that the instep, ankle and heel were all very tight fit zones. Our fit impressions scores run from a 1 (World Cup race boot tight) to a 5 (rental boot loose) and testers will score an "ideal" narrow boot (96-98mm) at a 2. The K120P LV's instep and ankle got rated a 1.75--along with most of the rest of the lower shell--and the heel was scored at 1.5, so yeah it's a tight one, for sure.
Testers said the liner was dense and edgy in places and was in need of a good heat molding to define what were liner issues and which were shell contact problems--they said the fit was very snug and a bit aggressive on bony prominences. Gaining an all-day comfort fit would require a bootfitter's help for all but the most slender and knob-free of feet, testers said. The cuff was upright and stiff and produced a massive amount of leverage to the ski for those who had the oomph to get into the tongue and bend this baby to their will. Narrow heels on a slender foot attached to a ripping skier who is not afraid of a little experimenting would serve as a perfect match for the K120P LV, the test team concurred.
The Frontside category of boots attracts a particular type of skier--usually this person is technically skilled and often has some formal ski training background like coaching, racing, instructing and perhaps takes part in an advanced lesson or workshop of some sort from time to time. The Frontside-curious skier understands that skiing is a sport and accepts that athleticism is a requirement, to some degree. If you're nodding your head at this you may be intrigued by the Kastle K130P LV, as we have been since its recent introduction to the market.
It's not uncommon for the technically-minded skier who owns several pairs of skis with waist widths under 85mm to be similarly turn-centric on the road. Frontside skiers are often avid drivers and motorsports enthusiasts. If you prefer driving a stick, disdain ABS and traction control and immediately search for sport or manual mode in rental cars, you most definitely should have a look at the K130P LV.
Kastle's 130-flex consumer narrow boot eschews nanny-tech. There are no creature comforts. No seat heat. No blind-spot monitoring. It's a polyurethane up, polyurethane down, four-buckle overlap ski-tipping apparatus with a firm, minimalist liner designed to transmit body movement to ski without any loss in translation. It is not a spa day. It is not valet parking. Yes, it's tight on the styloid process, testers agreed but they also assured that issue would be supremely easy to fix with a bootfitter's help.
Speaking of bootfitting, the K130P LV is made for the kind of skiers who will first pound out several days of hard skiing in some discomfort before they see their bootfitter to ensure that where they thought their feet hurt on day 1 still hurt on day 5, just so they don't accidentally ask for more grinding than they really need. By day 5, the slight shearing movement of the liner inside the shell (one of testers' few complaints about the Kastle) will have been eradicated by its broken-in stretch-out, and sure enough most of those minor hot spots will have vanished as well. Testers mentioned that after only three test runs the liner fit and movement inside the shell had improved. But no, the Kastle K130P LV is not initially one of those luxuriant first-fit experiences where a skier wonders if the boot might be too big, too soft, too comfy from the get-go. Nope, the K130P LV is not that. It's a little difficult to get on. It's tight like a narrow frontsider shoud be. It reminds the wearer that he or she is a skier, and that real ski boots do still exist. And then will come the questions of faith--in oneself--am I skier enough to ski these? Do I ski well enough to wear this weird color?
Testers who hadn't skied a Kastle boot previously were surprised by how dialed its stance is and how well it skied. Massively powerful and quick, the K130P LV appealed to our most aggressive testers who went looking for the hardest morning-frozen Spring corduroy to see how well it would drive a frontside carver--and it did, right with the perennial best boots of the category. While testers may have found a few places where those category benchmarks edged it out for the podium, these were generally minor fit and convenience quibbles. Savvy testers point out that the real challenge might be finding one of these at retail to try on--so start your search early.
The Head Raptor WCR 115 W continues to surprise testers with its sneaky, sleeper qualities that add up to a ski experience that's stronger with less effort and more comfortable with less fitting fuss than expected. Most of our women's test team have been at this for many years and can easily recall their experiences with Head Raptors of seasons past--it was always a high-performance experience on snow but at times a high-anxiety one for fit, sensation, warmth and getting the thing on and off. The arrival of the new WCR design changed all that--for the better, across the board--and while this new Raptor has been on the hill for a few seasons our testers were shocked anew at a marriage of comfort and performance they'd never have expected from a Frontside Head.
The most frequent eyebrow raise still comes from the revised toebox fit--it's longer and more open than in the past, and for old-school rippers with race backgrounds, the concept that the toenail doesn't need to turn black for the boot to fit has them temporarily flummoxed. It just feels too comfy to perform, they say initially. But that sentiment changes. Head extended the toebox shape to counter the most common fit issue of the performance boot, jammed toes. So long as the rest of the foot is held in place, the piggies, for the most, part can still do their job of pushing and prying for fine-tuned balance through a turn, perhaps do an even better job of it given that they aren't numb. Testers say it takes a little getting used to, but invariably the comments come around to praise for the easy trade off: more comfort and warmth without loss of performance. Duh.
The other noticeable difference in WCR feel is that of flex. Testers consistently react to what feels too soft for the rated flex index. At first the reaction is one of skepticism, and then after skiing for a few runs it turns to surprise before finally ending up forcing a self-examination of long held assumptions about what makes a top tier boot perform. The edge driving power of a boot doesn't come from a forward-flexing movement but rather lateral and torsional movements against the boot--the WCR design maintains a rigid linkage to the ski in these movements but allows for a longer-traveling flex feel that can even-out terrain inconsistencies and smooth pressure delivery to the ski. It also is more forgiving of mistakes than a rigidly stiff boot, and testers found themselves making cleaner carves at higher speeds with less effort and fewer errors. Sleeper boot, they said.
Our test team appreciated the level of technical features found here that are also on the guys' version, like a dual pull loop liner, offset cuff adjustment disks and flex-tunable spine hardware. But they really liked two things that the guys don't get--first, the Ice color was a hit, but foremost they loved the removable toe and heel sole plates with their little bit of tread built in. For anyone who's ever put the unisex Raptor WCR on snow, they can attest to the super slippery nature of that sole. This smidgeon of gription here is huge! And better yet, there's a GripWalk sole set available as an accessory purchase for those who will be marching about, working in this boot like instructors, coaches or moms. Testers agreed, high levels of comfort and convenience are available straight out of the box in this ripping Frontsider.
Do testers tire of skiing the Head WCR Raptor in the Frontside category, year after dominant year? No, they do not. Making a few laps in the Raptor is a way for testers to re-boot their understanding of edge power and quickness and reframe their understanding of how the lateral and torsional rigidity of a ski boot translates to on-edge ski behavior. Testing the Raptor is a boot tester's race-level staycation away from his daily driver--like taking a spin in a friend's high-end sports car, you know, the kind you'll never own but you still do it just to see how the other half lives. The WCR Raptor is a lot like that--might not be exactly your flavor for everyday skiing, but it will show you how well you could ski, if you owned this Frontside crusher.
Testers have largely forgotten the Raptor of old and fully integrated the WCR design into their current Raptor understanding. For those behind the Raptor redesign curve, the WCR employs a new polyurethane blend that's more elastic in its flex feel and offers skiers a longer-feeling flex range but with even stronger lateral and torsional properties that keep a ski on lock in a surprisingly strong way. The WCR shape is expanded in toebox length and room in the forefoot but in a still-short external boot sole length. Testers in recent years spent a lot of time explaining how they had to adjust to the new Raptor's more user-friendly feel that shouldn't have been as strong on edge as it undoubtably was. Like getting to know and eventually love an automatic in its sport shift mode as opposed to wrangling a stick, or finally admitting that the non-FIS super-shape carving ski is a better match for you than a true race GS--the WCR Raptor makes high performance attainable and comfortable. Now just learn to love that.
Testers were perhaps tricked into testing the Raptor in new, outside-the-box fashion by the 130's Anthracite color way--it's badass like an Audi RS6's Nardo Grey, true, but more importantly, it ain't white. So, maybe testers thought it wasn't the nearly race Raptor but something other-than. At any rate, no matter the visual-psychological connection, testers reported back about how awesome this Frontside veteran was off-piste! It shouldn't surprise anyone that the longer-travel flex feel and more shock-dampening polyurethane material made it better suited to variable surfaces than the Raptor of old, but there it was in multiple test forms.
The thing that really keeps the Raptor's all-mountain wings clipped is its ultra-transmissive hard plastic boot sole, which will communicate firm but irregular surface vibrations and impacts up into the skier, as well as communicate the skier's occasional movement miscues back to the ski. The Raptor WCR may be kinder and gentler than versions of yore but it is not a boot that is particularly forgiving of mistakes. It's a skilled, expert skier's boot and some grey paint isn't going to change that. Though, the slippery sole can be tamed with Head's purpose-built Vibram lifter plates (routing of toe and heel lugs back down to DIN spec after application is required).
The piste is where it's at for the Raptor WCR 130, regardless of its crossover chops. Testers have nothing but superlatives to describe the way it drives a properly shaped and sharp carving ski across a firm groomer, and skiers who want that kind of precision but tuned for unofficial off-trail applications should take a look at the Head Formula LV 130.
For any of you who aren't convinced that Dalbello is a serious boot company, you certainly haven't skied the DRS 130. Our newer testers found themselves shocked at this Frontsider--both for how it fit and how it skied. One tester wondered why the company didn't make the DRS the foundation for all its other overlap models, it was so surprisingly good. Testers may have been lulled into a kind of low expectation state by the shortage of letters and numbers in its name, as the current fashion is to cram the whole alphabet into a boot's call-sign, but they quickly re-framed their perspectives after making about two turns at speed. There's a reason why you see the race version of the DRS on the World Cup and it's not because of its good looks--though it is pretty sharp looking, huh?
Testers were most impressed with the combination of tight and right--there was nary a comment made about hot spots except from one tester who said it was pretty tight on the styloid process (which is an easy bootfitter's fix). All testers agreed it was tight, in a good way, and perhaps on the snug side of the 98mm last spectrum--which was also a good thing, according to testers (who hate a roomy-feeling narrow). The comfortable, anatomically correct flex feel was appropriately firm against the leg for the category, testers agreed, and there was universal consensus that the boot's stance angles were perfect. This was a surprisingly race- or chase-ready boot that went from box to foot to binding in a seamless and hassle-free progression toward confidently ripping down the hill.
The DRS 130 is as powerful and quick to respond as any boot our test team has encountered in the Frontside category, a bold statement considering the perennial entries in this group but it's a claim that was supported by its average Edge Power score of 4.92 (out of 5) and a Quickness score of 4.75. Testers cited a no-speed-limit stability level and a predictable turn entry, regardless of the ski or snow condition, though the DRS is certainly geared for firm, smooth pistes and intended to pair with a ski that's built to suit that application. The Frontside category is dominated by polyurethane construction in both shell and cuff and the DRS 130 is no different. Testers liked the simple, dual-side cuff adjustment and the down-hooking cam buckle power strap--and the fact that there was nothing goofy tacked-on that they had to mess with. The testers' wrap up: this is a good, technical skier's boot from top to bottom with virtually no flaws to speak of.
As a head's up for women and small-footed guys, the DRS 130 (and 140 and 110) are available down to a size 22.5.
We're not going to say that the new Nordica Dobermann 5 Stiff is a real man's boot because it's clearly a real woman's boot too given the sizing available down to a 22.5, so let's just call it a real skier's boot. No, maybe we should call it a really-tough-badass-skier's-boot. Though, that still might not be strong enough language.
Where most brand's so-called narrow boots feel closer to medium fits these days and as flex index numbers mean even less and liner construction just gets fluffier, the Dobermann 5 Stiff pushes back on these trends with a remarkably aggressive narrow fit in a legitimately stiff flex. They don't even give it a flex number, as if to thumb their nose at a gentrified metric that has lost its meaning. They could have named it the Dobermann That You're Not Worthy Of and it would have sent the same message. And that's okay. Because there's a place for a boot like this. First, it belongs on the piste and accordingly we tested it in the ever-shrinking Frontside category. Second, it belongs on the feet of the world's greatest skiers and accordingly we...well, we're still looking for some of them to test it. But in the meantime, our much-better-than-average-skier test team had a crack at it and they were smitten. As in smote down, made low and generally humbled by the damn thing. And yet, they gave its performance scores three perfect 5.0's in some sort of on-snow Stockholm Syndrome phenomenon.
This is a proper evolution of the Dobermann, testers agreed. It's always been a boot that had no performance limit other than those boundaries established through the failings of the human attempting to harness it. It is hard to get on and hard to take off. It has a thin liner that barely pads the body from the shell--and it's cold. It has a forward-leaning stance that reminds you that no, you didn't get in the gym one, single time throughout the off-season. It reacts immediately to every movement a skier makes. When such movements are accurate and at least assertive (better yet, aggressive) the skier is rewarded with god-like carves and wrought iron stability that begs for more speed. When those moves are weak or tentative, the boot's disdain for its driver is palpable. And this is the 96mm Dobermann we're talking about--a veritable recreational wide ride when compared to its stripped and ripped 93mm plug boot brother Dobermann 5 RD Stiff (no thank you, we're just fine here).
Testers rate a boot's tightness or looseness on a scale of 1 through 5, with 1's reserved for true plug-race boots and 5's for the widest rental fleet buckets available. Most of the narrow boots we test (96-98mm) are scored with 2's and 3's (straight 3's would paint a picture of an ideal medium width fit). Our testers gave the Dobermann 5 Stiff all 1's, with just a sprinkling of 2's thrown in here and there. There is no place in the lower shell or upper cuff that we could point to as a place of relief from this boot's unrelentingly aggressive grip--it's all tight as...well, you know. And testers loved this! They applauded this! And yet they simultaneously feared this as a daily driver because they could see the looming project ahead if their intent was to make it an all-day go-everywhere boot with adequate blood flow finding its way to the piggies. The lowest volume, most perfectly formed feet on the planet belong here--everyone else will have to work for it a bit.
And as one of our testers said, it will be worth it.
We've tested the Lange RS 130 LV many times before, over the years, and yet our test team never tires of it. In fact, it stands as a perennial benchmark with which our crew can re-set their expectations of what constitutes a truly great boot. It did it again this year, posting the highest total score of the men's test, across all categories and models, at a 4.91 out of 5.00 and reminding our team how well a boot can make one ski.
As much as things may change in snowsports equipment, much stays the same, and we appreciate that somethings are consistent--like the Lange RS. We imagine that at some point it will have to evolve toward something new but for now we get to appreciate that Lange knows how to leave some things alone. Almost. What was new about the RS 130 LV this year? Not much, but testers loved the revised (last year) Dual 3D World Cup liner for its slightly thicker exterior material which added just a cat hair's width of extra tightness throughout the boot. It's always an interesting experiment to feel how much effect a millimeter of material has on fit, and testers said that not only did it make it a true narrow in a world of false narrows (i.e. most are too roomy) it elevated its performance above previous years' levels by virtue of the no-delay communication of movement from body to boot to ski.
Fitwise the tightness was not a flaw but a strength, especially for a narrow boot in the Frontside category. Testers said the snugness was balanced by the well-crafted curvature of the one piece, pre-molded liner padding and simple but elegant shaping of the shell itself--it was tight as f***, one tester said, but he mentioned that the fit simultaneously avoided hot spots and pinch points. The flex feel against the leg remains the test team gold standard for the 130-flex performance level--firm but evenly distributed and progressive in flexion.
The stance angles similarly set a high bar in this category and others. The only question for testers is whether the rear spoiler stays in, comes out, or gets modified to some in-between thickness with a bootfitter's help. There's dual side cuff adjustment available for lateral alignment fine-tuning, and testers say it couldn't be placed in a better starting position for most skiers.
The RS 130 LV's performance scores (Dynamic Balance, Edge Power, Quickness & Steering) each received perfect 5's and another tester said, if you can't ski well in this boot then maybe you just can't ski.
That's all we got. We're out of superlatives when it comes to describing how the RS fits and performs. For any more, filter a new search for the RS in last year's test, or the test two years ago, or even three. Deja vu in a new blue.
Testers who got to put the Kastle K130P through its paces at last year's test agree that the liner revisions made in its second season have made a huge and positive difference in fit, which in turn improved their entire experience with this boot. A couple testers thought this was one of the best out-of-box fits of the test--though these guys place a premium on a close fit, the tighter the better. Most testers thought the fit was certainly on the snug side of the medium width fit spectrum, and most made mention that part of the initial fit that was awesome was simply the relief they felt once they finally got the boot on their foot.
It's structural story is one of traditional thickness polyurethane without tricky, co-molded soft panels at the instep, which means it's a little work to get on (its lowest score), in traditional four-buckle overlap fashion. But this plastic story also tells a tale of serious edge driving power (its high score) and rapid fire response time from turn to turn (its second highest score). This boot rewards the skier whose first rodeo this is not and perhaps has had many other boots that were even tougher to get on but that were similarly worth it for how they skied. This is not a boot for the soft-handed, post-pandemic, remote-working, new local who thinks he might try out the skiing lifestyle. This is not an apres boot but a now boot, a ski boot. Get it on, buckle it up (with buckles, dammit), suck it up, and go skiing--testers suggested. For the right skier this could be a world class match.
The fit is close for a modern medium--in fact, it scored more closely to narrows in our test than the mediums--but that wasn't a demerit but an observation, testers reminded. It has a particularly firm, almost aggressive, fit through the lower leg shaft and up into the shin and calf, which testers actually loved. One said it felt like a foam-injected liner just for him, right out of the box. The liner is a lace-up number that can be donned prior to entry into the shell (might be the easiest way) or left in the shell for more typical entry. There are a couple pull loops on the liner and a Velcro tongue attachment, but that's about where any Gucci adornments end--it's a stripped down, elemental affair made for the job of controlling a ski and it did that with surprising command.
Testers were again impressed with the Kastle's downhill game, and those who hadn't tested it before were downright shocked that a new boot could perform at levels close to par with the best in the world (seriously, look at the other boots in the Frontside category). Testers mentioned that it's something of a throwback to a past era where boots were tough and the skiers were even tougher, but that's an exaggeration--with a little bit of bootfitting, the harsh feel on bony points could be managed, and a nice warm start to the day would get the boot on just fine. Just be sure to hang by the fire in the bar at the end of the day a while before exiting--that's real apres skiing.
While the Dahu boot (based in Switzerland) was released in the North American market just before the Covid pandemic, this was our first chance to test the boots and according to Dahu they are treating the 2022-23 winter season as a re-introduction of the product now that things are returning to a bit more normal program.
The Ecorce 01X in the 135 flex option is Dahu's top-shelf, flagship model, though due to the stiff flex it is not their best-selling nor most-available model for try-on at dealer locations. We tested it in the Frontside category alongside two perennial Frontside favorites in 130 and 140 flexes to see whether it would sink or swim. Our test team was at first surprised that it didn't drown, and then they were shocked that the Ecorce 01X 135 was swimming laps pretty well alongside the other benchmark models. By the end of the ten-day test period and many individual tests on the boot our test team was left shaking its collective head over how well the newcomer had held its own against the industry's best. Did it win the category? Not by a substantial margin, no, but it wasn't out of place (so long as you didn't look down) and it scored well enough to earn a silver medal. Bravo Dahu!
There's a lot to unpack when covering a brand-new model and especially so with a design as unique as this is. Let's start by not unpacking the liner from the shell--while you could unpack it (and marching around in the closely fitted, long lace system liner is an apres warrior's dream come true), it is not the easiest way to get into and out of the boot, which is hands-down one of the very best features of the Dahu system. With the liner loaded into the shell and its rearward hinging cuff locked into normal skiing position but the forward external tongue (it is a three-piece design) released forward and out of the way it's ready to suck in some foot. And it does! With the long lace system (many eyelets and lots of slack and a lace lock) completely loosened up, the slide into the boot is easier than any other boot on the market, period. Same with getting it off, release the shell's external tongue, loosen the liner's lace system and bam, you're outta there. This entry and exit protocol is the way for skiers who intend to use it like a traditional boot: get to hill, put on boot, ski, take off boot when done, leave. However, for those who want to deploy its secret apres ski weapon or enable a rapid switch from skiing to driving, the rear portion of the shell can be released as well and the liner (with foot) can be pulled out easily. Getting the liner (with foot) into the shell system is a little trickier but with some practice it's accomplished, and done so most easily while seated.
But how does it ski? Well, let's talk about how it flexes first, as that is the second most important thing about the Dahu boot--the combination of the tallish feeling liner tongue and highly tunable lacing tension there enables a well-distributed fit along the shin that oozes comfort, but in a snug and firmly cushioned way. Then, coupled with the characteristically even flex feel of the three piece shell construction the fore-aft movements in this boot are natural and comfortable in a way often not felt in more traditional designs. While the 135 flex we tested in the Frontside category offered appropriately limited range of flexion (it's a legit 135, or stronger) you still felt the liner and shell working together well. The 120 flex we tested in the All-Mountain Traditional category amplified this positive element.
It does ski quite well, according to testers who were surprised at the level of power that the Dahu generated and the stability the 135 flex offered at high speeds and on hard snow. The inner boot is mated to the shell with very close tolerances and the inner boot is not a mushy moccasin, so transmission of movement and energy was direct and accurate, testers said. The common complaints that several testers mentioned were related to stance. The out-of-box geometry is slightly more upright than the current norm, and the lateral set-up is a little softer to the inside edge than most. The fore-aft issue is easily solved with an in-box offset bushing that can be swapped onto the rear cuff which tips it into a more forward position that most testers preferred. The lateral issue is remedied with material glued to the medial aspect of the shell, essentially filling the gap between the liner and shell since there is no lateral cuff adjustment mechanism offered on the boot. Testers also notice that the boot sole runs longer than traditional boots of the same size--not by a lot, but by enough that it's noticeable when walking and will certainly require adjusting or re-mounting bindings for skiers making a boot switch but keeping their ski and binding set up as is.
What about bootfitting options, testers wondered? There aren't many fitting features outside of minor in-liner tweaks and liner heat molding. There's a possibility of a little grind or gentle stretch in certain spots, but this is not what the boot is really designed for. It's designed to fit well out of the box for the average foot shape, but it happens to fit extremely well for the typical foot's trouble spots. Testers who normally require forefoot expansion or ankle bone punches cited that the Dahu fit those areas nicely in its stock set-up. Testers' advice to customers is to be satisfied with the boot's fit as it is when considering a purchase, not a fit that could be.
If the Lange RS 130 LV was a stock, it would be in every savvy investor's portfolio--it performs that well, year after year after year. At least that's what our test team said about it (again) this past Spring when they put it through a variety of rigorous indoor and on-snow tests. For a Frontside performer there are few other boots that match the levels of fit, quickness and power found in the RS LV (hint: the one other model worth mentioning was also tested in the Frontside category this year). With an updated liner and new hue, the RS was just enough freshened-up to feel new but without losing any of the old fit and performance standards it has come to be known for.
Testers continue to approve of the liner revisions that improve the fit over the top of the foot, through the instep and along the shin--it just keeps getting better, they say. This is still a legit, narrow fit throughout the entire lower boot and cuff, but with enough relief over the midfoot to keep toes from going numb. The 3D milled ankle pocket construction remains one of the industry's best for an anatomical fit that's firm but without hot spots and testers relate that the heel pocket is also one of the best for performance-minded retention without sliding into tortuous tightness levels.
There are few boots that compare to the combination of anatomical fit with raw power with finely tuned agility according to our test team--they say the RS is a technical skier's boot that rewards athletic movements with ripping carves and rapid transitions on a variety of snow surfaces (though hard, smooth pistes are where this one shines most). In fact, it received a nearly perfect 4.92 (out of 5) in three testing parameters: its stance set-up, edge power and quickness.
It remains an outwardly traditional and simple design, though the internals are modern and complex--the Dual Core polyether plastic used in both shell and cuff is a marvel of plastics molding technology, utilizing a softer density plastic sandwiched between harder layers, all within the thickness of the boot's shell wall. It's not a heavy boot but neither does it strive to be a trendy, new lightweight version--this boot relies on tested materials and thicknesses that put stability and performance first and let the other minor details fall into place secondarily. Testers like regular and useful features like a lateral cuff adjustment, removable or grindable rear spoiler, removable buckles and a killer looking cam buckle power strap. And yes, the new cosmetics this year were a hit with the test team.
