The 99 mm Ranger women's freeride line has always been a hit with our test team and this time around was no different. The in-between narrow and medium fit characteristics continue to suit the skier with a lower volume foot and leg who's looking for just a touch more room in a warm, all-day-long boot solution for crossover on-area and skin-required missions. Fischer's 99 mm Ranger pairs with its roomier sibling 101 mm Ranger One to cover the majority of foot and leg shapes looking for performance freeride features.
Testers liked that while the boot remains lightweight, traditional polyurethane is used in both the shell and cuff for stability and reliable edge-driving power which they say is on board without fail in all conditions tested. The boot is somewhat tall on the leg and the cuff is upright in its stance set-up, so while testers liked the progressive flex feel, the geometry plus legit 115 flex level make this a sturdy beast that needs a real skier on board for proper handling on the descent. They also liked the 115's closure cinching power offered by the cam lock style power strap (it morphs to a 35 mm Velcro job on the 105 flex model) but mentioned that the tall and stiff set-up reduced a little bit of quickness (at least for the lighter weight testers) and suggested that the softer model might offer a more supple and quicker feeling set-up for skiers looking for agility over aggro downhill power.
The ultra-stealthy hike mode flip lever remains a test team favorite, and veteran testers are always amused at new testers' confusion when they can't find the actuator (it's a tiny little bugger hiding under the top cuff buckle) that controls the internal cable release. Testers maintain that the range of motion in touring mode is one of the best out there, regardless of category, and the quality of movement is both smooth in rotation and consistent in fit--this fact alone sets the Ranger boots above most others in the All-Mountain Freeride group, especially if a skier is planning to don skins.
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