So, you've got a meaty foot and thicker leg with a big calf muscle and you're looking for a tech-compatible freeride boot? Well, there's two ways to handle this situation. One is to begin preparing for the agony of trying on the myriad medium-width freeride boots out there and the eventual bootfitting mission to increase one of those boots to a point where a pain-free and sensate tour might be possible. The other way is to figure out how and where to try on, in targeted specialty retailer/bootfitter fashion, the few wide-lasted Freeride boots on the market--and hopefully, be trying on the even smaller batch of wide freeride boots that fit and ski well--of which the Fischer Ranger HV 130 is one. We think this latter route is best.
While testers may have raised an eyebrow at the submarine yellow cosmetic, the Ranger HV 130 raised the roof (literally) on the high volume fit potential available to big dudes who want to do a little off-area exploring. The instep height was remarkably high and the forward cabin of toebox and forefoot was absolutely massive, testers said. However, while the interior capacity was storage-container-worthy, it was very much not shaped like a box. The test team heaped praise on this widebody for a hotspot-free initial fit and enough anatomical shape to comfortably house the girthiest of bayou-bred gator-stompers.
Our thick-legged testers with muscular calves felt perfectly balanced in the upright and stout HV 130--especially the tall guys--while our shorter, more chicken-legged members of the team felt relegated to the backseat. So, there's lots of boot top breadth to work with for big dudes. Similarly, the thicker-legged gave high marks to the Ranger HV's responsiveness edge to edge, while those who didn't fill the cuff cylinder didn't have as good a feel for the edges, unsurprisingly. Testers felt that boot was strong and stable enough to support skiers of substantial size through any off-piste challenges they might encounter, and they gave its forward flex a thumbs up for comfort along the shin and a progressive feel that had a firm stopping point.
Testers who know about it continue to lavish praise on the Ranger's small and stealthy hike mode flip switch, hidden just underneath the top cuff buckle. It's tiny but effective in releasing a characteristically long Ranger cuff travel range. The mechanism is so well-camouflaged that one of our testers thought the boot was entered in the wrong category--he didn't ever find it! The range of motion is good enough for medium-range off-area missions, testers said, and the boot is lighter than they had expected for how well it skied.
The lower shell is made of Fischer's proprietary Vacuplast plastic which yields to heat stretches at very low temps--Fischer dealers have a variety of ways to manipulate this plastic, and good bootfitters who know what they're working with can achieve great shell shape mods with it as well. Will many feet need stretches in the Ranger HV? We'd like to see that foot. The other thing we'd like to see is someone making fun of the extra large guy wearing mango-yellow boots--we don't think that'll happen either.
Kudos
Caveats