Nordica GPX 130

The Gist

The 2018 Nordica GPX 130 is a serious ski boot for serious skiers—built off the same shell molds as the Dobermann GP, the GPX is similarly stripped-down and elemental. But it's not all business—because for good skiers mountain-wide domination is fun!

The Fit

The GPX 130's revised Primaloft Cork Fit liner is sculpted to match the anatomical curves of the ankles and heel and offers slightly more padding and insulation than the progenitor Dobermann, softening the interaction of bony points and close-fitting shell. This year the toebox felt slightly more open than in the past, which testers liked, and they said that the heel is as snug and ski-controlling as ever—see your bootfitter for that little bump on the back of your heel or it'll grow! The tongue is firm on the shin but not sharp. Entry and exit is not easy, but neither is it difficult per the category average—so don't whine.

Performance

Got game? Give 'er with the GPX 130 and be rewarded with the kind of turn you envisioned, with no hindrance from the four-buckle linkage between you and your ski. It's a real 130-flex, and the cuff is slightly tall and slightly upright, so some manly muscle is required to engage it, but testers say that when you do the ski shovel becomes your bitch and you go wherever, and do whatever, you want with it. The GPX line employs a softer, more shock-absorbing bootboard (floor of shell) than in the Dobermann, and the polyurethane Extra-Grip soles have a shock mitigating influence on the off-piste attitude of the GPX. It's a technical-skier's boot that loves to get off the groomed and rip some stuff up!

Cool Features

Testers like the Power Driver power strap for its broad, pressure-spreading span. They also like the Full Motion Pivot dual lateral cuff adjustment that has "rotational" tweakability to alter the internal- or external-rotation of the shell to either match or attempt to manipulate a skier's knee tracking during flexion, either for improved balance or increased inside edge power—pretty slick when needed and properly implemented.