The 2021/2022 Lange RX 130 LV was tested in the men’s All-Mountain Traditional narrow category by the experts at America's Best Bootfitters, powered by Masterfit.
The Gist
With a nearly perfect score the Lange RX 130 LV lands on the podium again, and it was no surprise to our test team. What they did find surprising was that this new RX LV actually fit and skied better than the last RX LV. The RX line is a little bit like Simone Biles—it’s really just competing against itself year after year. One tester said, “A 130 flex boot should not be this easy to put on but it is, and a boot that skis as well as this does should not fit this well out of the box, but it does.” We think that’s a pretty good place to start.
The Fit
Testers’ fit scoring showed an evenly snug fit throughout the lower and the upper—no fit surprises for a low volume performance boot here. One tester said that the RX LV is how a boot should fit and another said it was the fit benchmark that all others should follow. These comments we’ve heard before but the all new tongue construction garnered all new praise. Testers loved the cradle-matched fit of the tongue’s shape against the shin through the full spectrum of pressure—it’s a more cushioned feeling tongue now, for sure, they said. But it also maintained a tall and strong stance and didn’t contribute to any collapsing feel. Testers characterize the RX 130 LV’s fit as tight everywhere but lacking hotspots. Several testers said the anatomical fit map must have been made for them.
Performance
Of the two perfect scores the RX 130 LV received, one was for its balanced stance, which testers remind us, annually, is you guessed it, perfect. That is where its top gear performance starts, from a neutral homebase that works for pretty much every skier, but it then translates to huge power to the edge and stability at speed and through terrain (another perfect score for edge power). Quickness does not suffer at all according to testers (a 4.83 for quickness and steering), especially with the energy laden Reactive Boost Tongue that they say really does seem to transfer more energy from flexion to the front of the ski—while remaining cushiony feeling against the leg. Win win for the shin.
Cool Features
Our testers are stoked on how Lange’s Cool Features are core boot elements rather than superfluous doo-dads. The Dual Core plastic injection process is legit—in our tests between non-Dual Core Lange models and newly released Dual Core versions of the same model (same mold, same liner) testers were instantly blown away by the different feel the internally sandwiched plastic densities gave to the boots. It was simultaneously better flexing but more powerful with a noticeably quicker turn entry and progressive transfer of energy to the ski. This new Reactive Boost Tongue (RBT) technology is similarly real—testers who knew nothing about the liner update came back from their on-snow tests raving about the tongue’s combined comfort and new level of energy release while skiing. Of course there’s cool stuff like GripWalk soles, dual screw style lateral cuff adjustment and a fat 45mm Velcro power strap, but for our team that’s just the icing on a very tasty cake.
