Atomic Ultra 130 S

Model Year
2019-20
Category
All-Mountain Traditional
Last Width
98
Flex Index
130
Price (MSRP)
$850.00USD

The 2019/2020 Atomic Hawx Ultra 130 S was tested in the men's All-Mountain Traditional narrow category at Silver Mountain Resort by the experts at America's Best Bootfitters, powered by Masterfit.

The Gist

In its fourth encore performance the Hawx Ultra 130 S continued to impress, earning the second place ribbon in a highly competitive group—and just missed the top spot by a mere two-hundredths. Light, tight and right is what testers agreed on—one tester compared its fit to compression socks. Snug everywhere, especially in the cuff, but with extra room in the toebox and forefoot, testers applauded its connection to the ski. Tall-ish on the leg with a spring-loaded flex, testers loved it in all conditions.

The Fit

The boot sole length (BSL) of the Hawx Ultra 130 S 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 still not the easiest on and off.

Performance

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 polyurethane cuff wraps the leg shaft and gives a skier two joy-sticks for driving skis in all directions with no-delay transmission of movement. The switch to polyurethane gives the thin, springy cuff a little more dampness and gravity than before, which testers liked. The Hawx Ultra 130 S 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 thinned-out shell wall in the lower boot and cuff gives the boot a noticeably light feel, which combined with the snug fit translated into serious agility, testers agreed.

Cool Features

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 adjustment, to the Power Shift forward lean and flex adjustment (which accounts for the "S" in the model name), to an option on canted sole shims in 0.5- to 3.0-degrees in half-degree increments—bootfitters approve!

Gender 
Men's
Sizes (MP) 
24.0-30.5
Hike Mode 
No
Construction 
Overlap
Boot width profile 
Narrow
Also in this Collection 
Hawx Ultra 120, $725; Hawx Ultra 110, $600; Hawx Ultra 100, $475
Cantology Compatible 
No
Total Avg Score 
4.57
Shell/Cuff/Tongue 
polyurethane/polyurethane/n.a.
Anatomical Fit and Initial Feel 
4.67
Dynamic Balance 
4.67
Edge Power & Fore-Aft Support 
4.33
Quickness, Steering & Feel 
4.83
Convenience, Warmth & Features 
4.33
Tech Compatible 
No

Kudos

  • “What a killer feel! My turn radius left screech marks!” -- Mark Korman
  • “Yep, smooth effortless power--reminds me of my Audi--sneaky fast and still wants more. Doesn't falter in short turns either--race car feel, really stripped right down to the snow.” -- Kevin Gabriel
  • “Put it on any ski and it's balanced. World Cup turns—I'm Dallas Svindal! Does a boot get any better?” -- Dallas Goldsmith

Caveats

  • “Needed some help getting into these beautiful beasts. Pain. Wait. Yes, more pain. Slap me.” -- Mark Korman

This boot available at...

Valatie, NY
Westwood, NJ
Telluride, CO
Portland, OR
Morris Plains, NJ
Westborough, MA
Mammoth Lakes, CA

Special thanks to all of our sponsors!

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