The 2021/2022 Scarpa Maestrale XT was tested in the men’s Backcountry category by the experts at America's Best Bootfitters, powered by Masterfit.
The Gist
When asking testers to describe the Maestrale XT in as few words as possible, we got several different answers that all said something like: fits right, skis strong. When looking at where the XT received its highest test scores, they were tied for high score in both the anatomical fit and edge power categories. While the XT’s light weight and touring range of motion are top shelf, it’s not a shock that our descent-centric group of bootfitter testers love this boot—they say it fits like a boot should and skis like a boot should, and all that functional uphill stuff is icing on the cake.
The Fit
While the Maestrale XT and Maestrale RS share the same plastic housing, the liners are slightly different. The Intuition-built Pro Flex Ride liner is slightly stiffer and denser than that of the RS and so the XT has a slightly more snug fit throughout and firmer feel against the foot and leg. Testers placed its pre-molding fit tension more in line with other 98-99mm lasts, but said that after molding it occupied a well-shaped place on the snug side of the medium width group. Testers note that the boot cuff’s height and stance angles are right on the money for strong, balanced skiing and they liked that the fit remained consistent while skinning and walking as well.
Performance
The XT is strong to the edge, but not to the point of locking the ski into a hard carve when not desired. Testers said the fine tuning was there, as was the quickness of response in tight spots, but they were most impressed with how much stability and power was transferred to the ski edge at high speeds and on hard snow. While the intent may not be to ride the chair often with this boot, it would handle anything area skiing might throw at it so long as the tech binding of choice was up to the task. For hard-charging or heavier and taller skiers looking for a true BC boot that rips, this is the one—it crushes its little bro Maestrale RS at the top end of skiing performance requirements.
Cool Features
We think it’s a cool feature that Scarpa succeeds in producing a plant-based plastic that actually skis well (Grilamid Bio and Pebax Rnew are both derived from Castor bean oil rather than petrochemicals) and it’s also cool that a Recco chip is integrated into the boots we tested (Maestrale and Gea boots). We also like that there are two legit buckles plus a cam-lock power strap on the XT’s cuff—thank you Scarpa!
