Dalbello's new Veloce boot means it when it says rapid, quick, fast--both in Italian and also according to our testers who gave its second-highest scores in the Quickness category (its highest scores were found in Anatomical Fit and Feel where it received a perfect score). We tested the top of the line 105 flex in the all-new medium width, four-buckle overlap design but there's a 95, 85 and 75 flex available as well.
Testers were very impressed with the first fit of the Veloce, universally approving of its silken liner feel against the foot and leg as well as a just-right amount of 100 mm last squeeze. The flex feel was spot-on against the shin and the lower leg fit transitioned through the instep and over the top of the foot in well-designed shaping they said--while they couldn't point directly to the auto-molding foam in the tongue as responsible for the nice shin fit it would make sense that it had an influence. They thought that there was an appropriate amount of circumference room through the upper cuff to house the average leg and a nice bit of flare out at the boot top for a muscular calf. Closure is traditional and straightforward with four functional buckles on an overlap shell--call our testers old school if you want but they did appreciate this simplicity and functionality.
Stance-wise testers dug the forward to backward set-up, citing neutral positioning in both ramp angle internally and the forward lean angle of the cuff. They said the cuff height was average for the category and ideal in feel. Laterally there seemed to be a bit of a glitch in the matrix, with some testers mentioning feeling slightly over-edged by an outboard cuff angle and unable to really tap the boot's power due to a slightly hooky feel. While we didn't spend time doing model-specific stance modifications, testers did think that the issue was minor and most likely resolved by the on-board cuff adjustment range.
Cosmetically, the black with gold highlights and a furry liner top worked well for our test team, and a 40 mm power strap and GripWalk soles were par for the course in the category and worked just fine they said.
Kudos