Sometimes it makes sense to just let the testers tell the story about a boot. So, here's Kevin Gabriel's post-testing take on the Salomon Shift Pro 130: Great medium fit. Skinny heels with large calves will really like this. Feels like a nice, squishy, lovely home--I like it! Mold liner and add spoiler, all good. Surprisingly easy to steer--it loved short and medium radius turns, was very quick edge to edge with lots of pop. For a walk-about boot it feels locked-in and powerful. Huge improvement to its fit shape with this new liner, and skis better than most in this category. We couldn't have said it better ourselves! It's been a few seasons since we last tested the Shift boots, and with this year's revised liner it was a completely new, awesomely cushioned and shockingly strong-skiing experience for our test team, all over again. Bravo Salomon for reminding us how much difference liner updates make.
To yammer on about the liner, it's elasticized in the toebox and forefoot with minimal seams, articulated at the rear cuff for improved touring range of motion (as is the style), and highly thermo-moldable. But testers loved it straight off the rack--it received the only perfect score in the entire field of Freeride entries, in the creature comfort category called Convenience, Warmth & Features. They said it was the silky-pillow-foot-love-liner of the test, and while some testers interpreted this extreme luxury of fit as "roomy," they also noted that their feet remained planted right where they needed to be no matter what moves they threw at tricky terrain. This is a curvaceous medium--well shaped to match the foot and leg, with sumptuous cushioning but testers said it also managed to avoid feeling too soft or destined for excessive pack-out. Some testers mentioned that on initial fit out-of-the-box the heel padding on the liner felt a little low and aggressive, but said that it softened up just with skiing and that a liner cook job would sort that out. Others thought that the roomiest part of the boot was at the boot top, which left skinny legs seeking a home base but put testers with thicker calves right where they wanted to be.
Many comments were made that the Shift Pro 130 skied as well, or better than, your fixed-cuff all-mountain models, with particularly high scores given in the Quickness and Agility category. Testers liked the stance--neutral in all directions with no complaints, period, so check that box for one less thing to fiddle with. The hiking range of motion and quality is on par with the best boots of the category but testers said it wasn't absolute tops there--they do continue to praise the Salomon-specific sideways cuff release latch. They did also say that considering the close-to-perfect medium last fit and stellar downhill performance, they'd happily skin about for hours in the Shift Pro 130.
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