In an ongoing trend of narrow boots feeling less and less narrowish, the Atomic Hawx Ultra continues to represent for the remaining, truly low volume options on the market. Our women's test team unanimously made comments about how properly snug the Ultra 115 RS W felt, both indoors and out. Testers said it fit like a glove, and felt like a comfortable cast. They mentioned that the forefoot and instep offered just a touch of fit-forgiveness that aided in maintaining sensation and warmth but agreed that the grip elsewhere remained almost race-boot-like tight. Its snugness scores were the tightest of all the women's boots we tested this year, but that wasn't a bad thing at all--testers gave its Anatomical Feel & Initial Fit score a perfect 5.00, so women with narrow feet looking for real heel hold should put this at the top of their try-on list.
The Hawx Ultra 115 W GW's tight-and-right fit set the stage for its high performance marks, with its quickness scores topping out at another perfect 5.00--testers cited a heightened feeling connection with the ski and snow stemming from the boot's marriage to the foot and leg. Testers said the liner felt lean and firm, though not harsh, and they praised the way its multiple pull loops helped with entry as well as seating the heel firmly into its pocket, where it stayed put. Thanks to liner revisions, this year's RS version of the Hawx Ultra was notably easier to get on than predecessor iterations that offered a painful barrier to entry that was the boot's only real flaw. This would explain the many different ways testers used to describe flawless this time around. The non-RS version of the Hawx Ultra 115 W offers an even easier entry and exit, but also tunes down the performance level a notch.
Testers had nothing but positive comments about the stance set up or the power and stability the boot demonstrated at the highest speeds on firm pistes or through muddled junk--and not surprisingly it gained some of the higher scores in the balance and power categories. Testers said that this flagship model, while firm flexing as billed at 115, would serve aggressively minded intermediates who were looking to step up their game.
Kudos