The Gist
If Ultra conveys narrow or skinny, like a Michelob Ultra, then Prime says hell yeah, give me some meat and a friggin’ real beer, dammit! The all-new Hawx Prime XTD 130 is a medium-width Freeride charger made to house the foot of a real man, the kind of guy who’s out to stomp some Lycra-clad Sallies in the skin track to get that stash first! Well, maybe not exactly like that—but the Prime XTD opens up the fit in width, instep height and calf circumference so that the vast majority of skiers (with average feet) can have a crack at one of the absolute best boots for going both up and down the mountain. The Hawx Prime XTD 130 is everything skiers liked about the narrower Ultra XTD, with a bit more. More room, yes, but also more shell wall thickness both medially and laterally for a stronger descent and less softening in warm spring skiing temperatures. The more-better Mimic liner adds a new layer of custom fit material close to the foot and shin to get it totally dialed.
The Fit
Well, it fits much like the All-Mountain Traditional Hawx Prime--a well contoured but snug medium. This is a performance fit for the average foot, but a noticeable relaxation of the squeeze found in the narrow Ultra XTD boots. The lower leg fit remains closely wrapped and tallish on the leg for substantial support, and while the heel and ankles are well gripped, the forefoot and toebox flares for a comfortable, warm touring experience. The new Mimic liner offers another level of custom fit feel against the shin and top of foot, as well as a better wrap around the ankle pockets.
Performance
We like Grilamid. Here you'll find it in both the lower shell and upper cuff. It's heat-stretchable like polyurethane, and when it's done right it skis pretty damn similarly—meaning strong and stable, predictable. Sometimes it can be twitchy, but here we'll just call it quick--as quick as narrower bro Ultra XTD. The Prime retains the XTD family's resiliant, energetic flex feel (testers said). A snappy return to center in between turns (testers said). It was strong and undeterred through a variety of mank and mung (testers said). This boot skied almost as well as the pinned cuff Hawx Prime 130 S, and just as with Ultra XTD we think the Prime XTD tours as well as the Atomic Backland. Maybe the core, on-area, off-area regular guy (with a regular, average width foot) really doesn't need two boots. Wow, what a concept.
Cool Features
Unlike the narrow Hawx Ultra XTD's the Hawx Prime XTD comes with GripWalk soles rather than a backcountry boot style built-in rockered sole and like the rest of the freeride category is tech-compatible. It forgoes lateral cuff adjustments for the sake of solid, touring pivot points, which sometimes is an alignment demerit, but the Memory Fit oven-cook customization feature can help the knock-kneed and bowlegged while addressing general fit improvements—win, win! The new Mimic liner utilizes a thin layer of heat moldable material close to the foot contact layer to provide a fine-tuned fit, post oven cooking.
