Lotta leverage for long, lanky legs is what testers say skiers can expect from the Dalbello Cabrio LV 130 3DWRAP. The upper cuff is tall on the leg and so is the firm, spiral wrapping 3DWRAP liner, so the stance and lever arm is set up to load the shovel and tip a ski onto edge like nobody's business, they said. Our taller, heavier testers loved this set-up for its legit 130-flex power and tall, relaxed-quads positioning that they could move forward from to find a centered attack on bigger, wider skis all around the mountain.
Our shorter, lighter members of the test team found that the height of cuff, upright angle and stout flex index put them at a deficit in the getting forward department. They agreed that the lateral power of the Cabrio LV was undeniably strong but they had a difficult time accessing that torque without getting tossed, unceremoniously, into the trunk.
Virtually all the testers who put the Cabrio LV 130 through its paces this year commented on the liner's firmness and initial fit issues. While this full-thermo spiral-wrapper is factory pre-molded to allow for some semblance of comfort upon initial try-on in a retail shop environment, it simply ain't done yet, is what testers said. They found the top of the liner edgy, abrupt and overly firm and an anatomically-challenged fit map in the lower boot that bugged folks' navicular bones and didn't let the heel seat fully down into its pocket. Testers mentioned that the time spent skiing the boot for 3 runs was enough to warm up the liner and improve the fit marginally, but the testers who took the time to do a custom re-test with a full-temp liner molding job came back with vastly improved scores for fit, flex feel and stance.
The fully customized liner relaxed the abrupt boot top and allowed the tibia to find a molded home into the front of the liner--this better distributed pressure against the shin, giving the boot a more agreeable flex feel and slightly more forward-leaning stance. The heel pocket turned into a gloriously snug but comfortable control center, and the navicular bone stopped barking. Testers reiterated that prospective customers should keep this fit adaptation in mind during boot try-on. While they might be able to get their boot salesperson to pump a little heat into the liner for a moderately improved try-on experience, it'll take pulling the trigger on purchase to gain entry into the full-molding club, and testers say it's a requirement for really tapping this snug-fitting and solid-skiing boot's full potential.
The flex feel felt spring-loaded to testers, who all commented on huge rebound energy and rapid return to center transitions between turns. They said this energy was fun and able to be harnessed, never twitchy. They liked the dampness of the polyurethane plastic build when the boot was on edge and they gave one of its highest scores in the Edge Power test parameter. The cuff's height, upright stance and stiff cuff limited quickness scores for testers who couldn't get up and over the top of the boot, but for big, tall skiers who know how to stomp on a ski it's plenty quick edge to edge, testers (who fit the profile) said.
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