The 2021/2022 Atomic Hawx Magna 105 S W was tested in the women’s All-Mountain Traditional wide category by the experts at America's Best Bootfitters, powered by Masterfit.
The Gist
The perennial favorite wide ride, Hawx Magna 105 S W, returns with an easy rolling stride a la GripWalk soles and all the same features found on her narrower sisters Prime and Ultra. Testers still love how impossibly well this boot skis, given the massive amount of hangar space and liner luxury found here—one tester called it a hot tub for your feet—that skis!
The Fit
Testers continue to praise the Magna for its ample room to suit any high volume foot and leg. The cuff suits the largest of calves as it is (our thickest legged testers could get it buckled no problem!) but the Memory Fit moldable shell offers even more calf circumference expansion if needed. Testers can’t explain how well it puts a ski on edge and holds it there given the amount of room if offers around every contour, but they guarantee that it does ski well. A high instep fit here adds to the appeal for the fit and circulation challenged.
Performance
The Magna 105 S W drives skis of all widths everywhere a skier wants to point them, testers say, and they point to its surprising power and quickness scores as proof—this little-boot-that-could scored in the top half for the category, regardless of width or gender, matching performance scores for 120- and 130-flex narrow and medium class benchmarks. Testers love the flex feel against the leg and say while it feels on target for its 105 rating, it seems to deliver higher-than-expected power to the ski, with no over-flexing complaints.
Cool Features
The Mimic liner feels great against the foot right out of the box but it’s highly moldable as well and should be the first course of action for minor fitting needs. The Memory Fit shell molding protocol remains a great way to make subtle increases of space where needed and does a great job of adapting the cuff for wide or heavily muscled calves. The fore-aft adjusting PowerShift mechanism on the cuff is cool but rarely needed (note that it’s a lot easier to adjust as a two-person job, with the wearer levering forward or rearward to line up bolt holes). The GW in the name indicates that GripWalk soles come mounted on the boot.
