The 2021/2022 Dalbello Krypton 130 T.I. ID was tested in the men’s All-Mountain Traditional narrow category by the experts at America's Best Bootfitters, powered by Masterfit.
The Gist
Dalbello updates the venerable 3-piece Krypton for the modern freeride era, utilizing solid race stiffness polyurethane for a solid, powerful descent and integrating toe-only tech fittings for maximal efficiency on targeted uphills to access the goods. Testers thought this Krypton skied more strongly than any tested in the past decade and liked the addition of GripWalk soles to smooth out a stroll toward the lifts or out a gate.
The Fit
The Dalbello/Intuition spiral wrap liner that comes with the Krypton 130 T.I. ID is pre-molded from the factory but is not designed to fit properly out of the box—our test team can assure you that full molding is the protocol (with toe caps and pre-padding for prominences) in order to create the sort of performance fit you’d be looking for in a 98mm last. Without the cook job this boot is barely skiable for all but the narrowest of feet, and even then, the anatomical shaping that comes from a liner mold is well worth it. The fit against the shin is firm but evenly distributed, testers said, and the stance is held upright in a strong manner—this boot is stout.
Performance
Testers noted that the Krypton’s strong suits were its edge power and quickness turn to turn but mentioned that both were enabled by a neutral, functional stance set-up. Several of our veteran testers were impressed with the stability and power to the ski edge and felt it was head-and-shoulders over some of the Krypton iterations of the past. This is a cabrio design that put a ski on edge like an overlap shell boot, they said.
Cool Features
The three-buckle cabrio closure is standard fare for the three-piece design, though testers are still impressed with the effectiveness of the middle 45-degree buckle’s ability to retain the instep. The fat, 60mm cam buckle power strap adds to the boot’s fore-aft musculature, and if a skier wanted to tune down the stiffness a click, Dalbello claims there are aftermarket options on softer tongues available.
