One of the best boots ever made. That's how one veteran tester described the Lange RX 130 LV, and by the looks of this year's scoring a bunch of our other testers might agree. With nearly perfect scores for Edge Power and Quickness categories (an average of 4.94 out of 5.00 after 10 separate tests), the RX 130 LV continues to bank on its performance game but testers also say the RX in its current form is the by far the most comfortable it's ever been. True, it returned to the boot test unchanged from last year, but that only meant that testers had a chance to be impressed all over again by last year's new liner and its anatomically matched and perfectly padded tongue feel against the shin. The proprietary gas-filled foam material in the tongue's construction also generated noticeably snappy rebound energy and an energetic flex feel that complemented the LV's power and stability, which testers said remains top notch.
Next to rating its edging and agility game most highly, testers gave the RX LV's stance set-up a similarly high score, claiming a perfectly balanced stance for boot board ramp angle, upper cuff angle (most like the rear spoiler out) and neutral lateral angles in the lower shell and cuff. For those who need a little stance adjustment, the Allen key style loosen-move-tighten cuff adjustment will most likely suffice, though Cantology shims mate with the boot's sole plates regardless of whether a skier chooses to run the stock GripWalk soles or swap out to the more traditional alpine DIN MaxGrip (aftermarket purchase) soles.
While ease of entry, initial fit, convenience and features scores lagged slightly behind the performance metrics, these did not represent real demerits but rather highlighted that the RX line still prioritizes on-snow performance over fluff features or needless niceties. Testers do say that the boot goes on just fine, is plenty warm and has all the adjustments a skier might need to make it his or her own, but they also suggest that if furry liners and built-in heat systems are requisite features then one will need to look elsewhere.
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