Some of our veteran testers will put one model on a left foot and a different model from the same category and width on the other foot for the sake of a close comparison of two similar boots. Here's what one tester said about his head-to-head match up between the Rossignol Hi-Speed 130 HV and the Nordica Sportmachine3 130: "I thought I was headed out to watch a pillow fight between a couple cushy buckets but then the pillow fight turned into a full-on brawl and they started kicking each other's asses! The Rossi won, but not by much--who knew wide boots were so much fun!" At the end of the test the Rossignol did take first place in the All-Mountain Traditional, Wide category, just edging out the silver medal Nordica by nine hundredths of a point. Testers unanimously loved the Hi-Speed HV's blend of comfort, balance and skiing performance, with another veteran tester calling it "The best wide boot I've ever tested."
The all-new Hi-Speed design brings a slightly lighter, more reactive feeling construction to the mix this year in three different widths--testers liked the HV for a noticeable increase in room throughout the boot in comparison to its medium width version, but no so much room that the fit became boxy or completely absent of control. Our highest volume testers said there was still some room to spare for the truly fat of foot, but they liked the way the liner and shell worked together to maintain a hold on the rear part of the foot and lower leg below the calf for control over the ski. Testers said the connection of liner to shell improved the connection of foot and leg movements to the ski, even when the contact was lacking due to a lower volume foot testing a high volume boot.
While there are several 130 flex wide rides on the market that can hold up to the load a large dude can place on it, less common are boots with that kind of stability and power that also feel quick. Testers liked the Hi-Speed HV's ability to feather the edge and guide the ski and said the transition time between turns had no noticeable turbo lag--they gave the Quickness parameter an average 4.80. But yes, Edge Power did get a perfect 5.00.
Testers said the stance is suitably upright to handle a big guy's big calf and not be pushed into quad-smoking, over-flexed territory and laterally the neutral cuff angles worked well for managing a flat ski on demand without any struggle to find a solid edge.
Was it easy to get on? Yes. Was it warm on a cold day? Yep. Testers said all the essentials were in place and the on-board features were functional: dual liner pull loops, lateral cuff adjustment, forward lean adjustment, flex adjustment, GripWalk soles.
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