Nordica's narrow all-mountain performance boots are so good, every single year, that testers say they forget to get excited about them--until they get them on their feet again and make a few runs.
That's the beauty of the annual boot test--a yearly reminder of what are the best boots in the industry. For many of our testers who happen to be snowsports retailers and bootfitters it's a critical renewal of their opinions about products they and their competitors sell. Virtually every year for the past several (nearing a decade) our test team has rewarded Nordica's narrows with gold medals. The Promachine 115 W is one of those perennial examples of the best boots available to expert skiers, and our test team tried their best to come up with new ways to say flawless.
Our new members of the test team got into the Promachine 115 W and said, damn, this thing is tight! Which, in turn caused veteran testers to say, it's not that tight, it's just tight the way a narrow last is supposed to feel! And that has been one of the consistent traits in the Promachine range, in all flexes and in the men's line, too--it's a proper narrow fit, with a performance-intended heel pocket that says, here we go! The other consistent Promachine-family trait is that its very tight tightness is virtually hotspot free--the shell shape and liner construction team well to avoid jamming up the common bony spots of the foot and it also does so with a firm, ain't-gonna-pack-out liner feel. Testers point out that the anatomically pre-formed, cork-clad exterior of the liner's ankle zone did a good job of mating with the shell interior in a closely matched way and contributed to the transmissive feel of the linkage between foot movements and ski response.
Speaking of ski response. Testers couldn't find anything to dis about how the Promachine 115 W skis. They never do. It's that good. Its highest score was in the Quickness and Steering parameter where it collected a 4.88 out of 5, but testers say it is equally strong and stable with a damp-enough feel when on edge but without feeling sluggish or dull. In fact, the spring-loaded return to center between turns was one of testers' common call-outs as they loved the high rebound energy for linking aggressive carves or pounding through chopped up crud off-piste.
A couple of our taller testers mentioned that the cuff felt slightly short on them, but that was a rare critique. For the long-legged, hard-charging skier looking for something taller on the leg they'll have to opt for a Promachine from the men's line. The 130-flex runs all the way down to a 22.5, but for softer flexing unisex models gals will need to be a 24.5 or bigger. The women's 115 had everything the majority of our test team was looking for in a partner for all-mountain domination, like a cam-locking fat power strap, dual cuff adjustments, dual liner pull loops, GripWalk soles and a removable rear spoiler. Less stiff women's Promachine options are available in 105-, 95- and 85-flexes. Model-specific 0.5 and 1.0 degree Nordica cants are available as an accessory purchase.
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