The Gist
Testers loved the straightforward, honest approach of the 2019 Scott Cosmos III—it shares the well-contoured and comfortable fit of big brother Superguide Carbon but without all the flash and for $170 less. This evenly proportioned medium width impressed testers with a balanced flex feel and problem free skiing and touring—they said you could forget you were testing boots and just go find the stash without worrying about making that dicey turn when it's needed.
The Fit
Testers praised the Cosmos III for its closely matched foot feel, which testers said was a nice combination of cushion and room in the forefoot and toebox and a firm grip elsewhere. Testers said that the boot top was flared enough for average to wider calves and they liked the even feel of the tongue against the shin when flexing. They call this an ideal medium-width fit in the Backcountry category and remind skiers that the deceptive 103.5 mm last is measured on a 27.5, not the usual 26.5.
Performance
Perhaps not quite as rigidly snappy as the carbon fueled Superguide, the Cosmos III nevertheless laid down solid arcs on all terrain without complaint. Testers actually preferred the simplicity of the four-buckles plus simple Velcro powerstrap closure to the fancy-pants top strap-buckle of the Superguide and said that your Luddite BC crowd may gravitate the same way for ease of use and a traditional approach. Testers said the 115 flex was on target and solid-enough to get the job done.
Cool Features
The Cosmos III shares the same bomb-proof Rear Hook Walk System cuff release, and testers liked its simplicity and highly effective function for full release for touring and full lock-down for solid skiing.
Kudos
Caveats