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 more can we say about this year-in, year-out podium performer? Let’s start by thanking Head for not messing with a good thing. Lower profile buckles and a cool matte finish are just about enough newness for us. You don't fix what ain't broke, and the only thing that ever seems to get broken by the Raptor is the egos of less accomplished skiers who don’t have the skills to tap the juice on this perennial powerhouse.
It's tight everywhere, but with enough anatomical shape to avoid hot spots or bone-crushing shell pressure. In fact, it’s surprisingly comfortable considering you're buckling up a weapon of mass construction. The stance angles are spot-on (with rear spoiler removed, testers said). The liner is firm but form fitting and well matched to the shape of the shell's interior. But these are minor details in the story arc. It's great that the Raptor 140 RS fits so well, but even if it didn't, you'd forget about any discomfort once you set them to snow.
Testers describe the Raptor as having “limitless” power transmission to the ski edge. Anything an aggressive front side skier demand the ski do, this boot delivers the orders—stat! Poorly tuned edges feel instantly sharp under the absolute authority of the boot's lateral power. Engage the shin and the ski shovel bends immediately. This boot provides a precision link between expert skiers and their high-performance rides. Our testers were happiest keeping those combinations on smooth surfaces as dampening and forgiveness are not the Raptor's forte.
This mouthful-named model returns to claim a place among the very best of the technical frontside boots with a highly-effective custom technology option. Our testers put the RC4 130 Vac through its paces both in its stock form and after full Vacuum molding. Its custom scores for both fit and performance were among the highest of the entire test.
As in the past, the RC4’s crispness and precision wowed testers. They linked carved arcs in such reliable succession that to keep things interesting, they just skied it faster and faster and never did bump up against an upper limit. Liner modifications—a taller and wider toebox and a seamless tongue construction—helped to boost its conviviality scores. It still fits shorter, closer through the instep and lower in cuff height than the category average but testers said this was the most comfortable version yet.
But back to that Vacuum molding process. Testers were once again impressed with how much change occurred throughout the procedure. They noted significant fit enhancements (most testers pre-padded bony prominences for extra interior forgiveness and some placed pads externally between the shell and the Vacuum jacket to enhance tightening) as well as stance improvements. Many of our testers are acutely aware of their personal stance alignment needs and know how they like their boots set up, both for cuff angle and cant. Virtually all of our discriminating stanceaholics said they came out the other side of the molding process with an acutely tuned alignment. That's saying something.
A perfect wingman for precision-minded skiers seeking piste-based ski drivers. The Redster returns largely unchanged from last season and continued to amass another trove of accolades. Testers liked how it skied and how it fit.
There were frequent mentions of the boot's uncanny ability to store and release energy from turn-to-turn and its underfoot syncopation that perfectly matched the bending ski through each carving arc. Give credit to the Redster's carbon-injected rear spine construction and grooved sole flex matrix.
Fit-wise, the Redster is snug at the heel and ankle pockets but has one of the more accommodating forefoot and toebox shapes in the Technical Frontside group. It will house many average width feet, not just super narrow pencil dogs. The Redster's quick-cook Memory Fit feature (five minutes in the oven) opens it up to skilled skiers with thicker feet looking for a performance oriented boot without major fit modification gyrations. Our Memory Fit tests showed a general evening-out of fit tension and easing of minor hot spots. Very bony prominences will, in most cases, still require boot fitter hands-on modifications.
