Tecnica Mach1 MV 105 W

The 2019/2020 Tecnica Mach1 MV 105 W was tested in the women's All-Mountain Traditional medium width category at Silver Mountain Resort by the experts at America's Best Bootfitters, powered by Masterfit.

The Gist

Once again, the Mach1 MV 105 W amazed the test team with how well it pairs comfort with downhill performance. One tester called it a sleeper on the fit floor for how its instant luxury flies in the face of, well, how well it flies down steep faces. Another’s only comment was, rainbows, cotton candy, pillows, marshmallows. A third said, it rips. All mentioned that the polyurethane shell felt strong underfoot, and they agreed that it has a bit more instep room than many—a plus for high arches.

The Fit

Fit scores came in dead down the middle for a medium-width, with a few testers mentioning that it might trend a touch roomier than the category average. Most of the crew thought that the cuff height was right on the money, while a couple said it trended a bit taller. There were zero complaints about a too-tight calf, but with its moldable plastic insert at the back of the calf good skiing gals with muscular lower legs should keep this boot in their top tier for Fall try-on.

Performance

On-snow this boot takes no prisoners--unless that's what you want. It can go either way--total domination on-piste and off-, or it can simply cruise from late-day start to early-apres toddies. One of the keys to the Mach1 line's success is its neutral stance set up that allows almost any skier to buckle-up, click-in and get to shredding without having to modify style or terrain selection. Testers mention that they instantly felt dialed and recommended it to any good skiing gal looking to up her game—or one who just wants to keep on doing what she's doing.

Cool Features

One of the coolest features of the Mach1 boots is the fact that many of their design elements are created with the help of a few of the best bootfitters in the USA—Project 165 is Tecnica's partnership with select bootfitters and their collaboration has been evident in the last couple seasons for Tecnica. One of their crew is an ABB tester—Greg Hoffmann! The Mach1's Custom Adaptive Shape (C.A.S.) shell construction offers pre-dimpled areas on the shell where a heat stretch is more easily accomplished and will hold better over time. The C.A.S. liner is highly shaped to match the foot's anatomy and is both moldable and grindable, due to its firm EVA foam construction. The C.A.S. Cuff Adapt feature utilizes a taco-shaped heating pad that warms the low-temperature plastic calf insert and liner to a molding temperature, and then simply wearing the boot will move the cuff to an ideal position for both slender or thick lower leg shapes.