The 2019/2020 Dalbello DS 110 W was tested in the women's All-Mountain Traditional medium category at Silver Mountain Resort by the experts at America's Best Bootfitters, powered by Masterfit.
The Gist
Testers called the DS 110 W a lush, curvy, perfect fit with additional cush. Sounds good doesn’t it? Big-boned but beautiful, they said, it was the second roomiest medium width in the group except for its calf fit, where it tapered slightly. Thicker feet and insteps will love the room there and will be able to tap the quickness that low volume testers found a bit lacking. Strong to the edge and dependably solid in the transitions between turns, was the word, with an upright stance for burn-free quads.
The Fit
The crew agreed that the DS 110 W runs long and on the roomiest side of the medium last width group, with the majority of testers using lots of evenly distributed 4's in the Fit Impressions matrix (3's would be standard fit tension scores for a medium). But they didn't necessarily complain about the extra room, just noted that a wider, thicker foot would do well in the lower boot and average to thicker legs would fit nicely in the cuff. The liner feel was widely praised for its initial cushioning and level of luxury.
Performance
Testers thought the flex was a bit under the 110 mark and found it preferred a lighter touch with the shin. They loved how the DS 110 W rolled side to side in flawless edging transitions from turn to turn, especially on predictable surfaces. Cruisey, predictable fun for intermediates and light-touch experts who place a premium on comfort was the consensus.
Cool Features
The Power Cage shell and cuff construction utilizes a framework of thicker, stiffer polyurethane in the boot rail (very bottom) and into the rear spine of the boot to provide power and stability where it's needed while incorporating a thinner, softer polyurethane in less critical areas where better wrapping for improved fit is needed—seemed to work for testers. The DS's single sided upper cuff adjustment is renamed Intuitive Canting—not our favorite terminology—meaning that three words (Neutral, Sport & Race) are used to describe the cuff positions 0.0, +0.5 and +1.0, respectively, achieved via the rotary cam mechanism. The boots come set to the 0.5 "out" Sport position. The Variable Ramp Angle feature is an insert that increases the bootboard ramp angle by 1.0-degree.
Kudos
Caveats