It's tough to look good in ski photos--and it doesn't matter how awesome a skier might be, 90-percent of the frames shot are throw-aways (and most of those are horrifyingly bad). A kind photographer will never show a ski model the bad ones because it's such a brutally humbling experience. So, when it comes time for boot testers to get with our photographer for some action shots, there's always a scramble to get back to a previously-tested model that they felt comfortable and solid in. There are a lot of good boots in the boot test, and several truly great ones, but for each tester there are only a select few that pass the photo shoot test. The Lange Shadow 115 W LV is a boot that received the Photo-Shoot-Worthy seal of approval from several of our testers. This is not good for a broad representation of different brands and models in our final photo pool, but it does say something very good about the boot.
Testers were impressed with the Shadow 115 W LV's blend of comfort and performance last year but said it was "too comfortable," which you might not think is possible, but in the narrow category, at the 115-flex level, there needs to be enough squeeze and grip on the foot to convince expert skiers that the response from the ski will be there when it counts--not lost in translation from a too-gooey fit. This year's slight liner revision which occurred just after they tested the boots last year has absolutely solved that problem, they said, but luckily Lange didn't go overboard, they said. The Shadow 115 W LV still offers an insanely cushy, comfy, silky feeling interior that somehow pairs with a hardcore expert's ideal exterior to drive a ski anywhere on the mountain, through any snow type, at any speed with fine-tuned precision. Testers continue to laud the Shadow 115 LV W for a surprising integration of comfort with performance--it seems to be the grail that all ski brands are chasing, but testers say the Shadow boots deliver on that union of often-opposing goals in a flawless way.
Testers say the technology used in both the liner and the shell to create this blended benefit is for real. They say the Auxetic liner really does feel like it bends around their foot's contours, matching the outline of bony prominences by virtue of the liner's hexagonally etched flexible outer layer, taking away the tightest points of fit without blowing-out the solid grip on the foot elsewhere. The soft and highly cushioned feel against the foot generally seems too good to be true to solid, expert skiers--there's no way this pillowy thing is going to ski, they assume. Not the case, say testers--real boot, real skiing, just really, really comfy.
Testers also say that the Shadow's story about creating more energy and power to the ski with less movement and effort input on the part of the skier is borne out by their experience with the boot. They feel an easier turn initiation with less forward drive required and an accurate steering linkage that seems to help tip the ski up onto steep edge angles earlier in the turn than expected. They are impressed with the solid and damp power available to exert control over the skis through variable terrain or on hard surfaces at speed, but without feeling like they're having to do anything extra to gain that command. Sometimes the cushy, comfy boots lose a step when it comes to quickness in transition between turns, but our team gave the Shadow 115 LV W's highest score in the Quickness and Steering metric where it earned a 4.92 out of a possible 5.00
Do testers bring up the shell's new design elements Suspension Blade and Dual Pivot? Yes, and they say that the marketing mumbo jumbo seems to be the real deal--do more with less and all that--but mainly they were focused on timing their photo shoot when the Shadow 115 LV W was available.
Kudos
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