It's nice to see that as much as things change and evolve, some things stay the same--in a good way. Take the Fischer RC4 Pro LV ZF CFC GW for example. Yes, the name is new and a bit cryptic, but the character of the new RC4 very much stays true to its heritage. We've always counted on the low volume RC4 to set the fit tension standard for what is a true narrow, and this year's test showed that remains true. The RC4 Pro (the pro means it's a 140-flex) LV had the tightest fit scores in every single tested fit zone of all the narrow All-Mountain entries this year, with a particularly tight fit identified at the navicular, heel and ankle pockets. Did some testers with prominent ankle or navicular bones complain about that? Yes, they did, but that still made them happy, because narrows that don't irritate those testers' particular spots should be called something else, namely mediums.
However, testers said that much of the initial harshness of fit on bony prominences began to vanish with time spent in the boot as the ZipFit liner (that's the ZF in the code name) became warmed by the foot. They said that some movement and pressure from the act of skiing further improved the fit, as the firm cork and resin filler used in the liner slowly migrated to match the skier's shape. Testers also conducted some secondary tests where they cooked the liner using both a hot stacks and a convection oven and reported the best results of all for fit, and while they didn't go so far as to say a full-blown liner molding was requisite, their elevated praise for the positive changes it brought on makes us feel like it should be the first thing someone does once they plunk the money down for this one.
Stance and performance feedback from testers also harked back to RC4s of old, but in a subtle way. This RC4 Pro LV offers a slightly stronger inside edge set-up than most of the all-mountain narrows we tested and a slightly more forward leaning cuff angle, but not by much. The RC4 of old was raked very aggressively forward and had a tipped out cuff that was almost unmanageable in off-piste terrain. This modern take on the venerated model will favor the technical skier who spends a fair amount of time on hard snow, at high speed but who will tear off into the junk on the sides of a run with high edge angles and a commitment to the outside ski rather than a park-influenced swivel and schmear. If the out-of-box stance is too aggressively forward and outboard for skiers looking for a more relaxed quad and flatter ski, both are easily adjustable with Velcro rear spoiler and fixed cuff adjusting inserts (of which the latter do not come in the box).
For skiers who need a bit more help for their navicular or styloid process hot spots, an 80-degree (C.) convection oven and Vaccum mold is not an option on this solid beast. It's a polyurethane lower shell coupled with a carbon-infused polyurethane cuff (the CFC in the code name)--so, more traditional bootfitting methods will be required to bend this one to a skier's will and shape. Testers were just fine with this, as they said this more traditional plastic build (and stiffness) put skis on edge in serious fashion and helped maintain a stable attitude over unpredictable surfaces regardless of mach-level. Not surprisingly, the RC4 Pro LV's highest score was for Edge Power, with a near-perfect 4.91.
Kudos
Caveats