The revised Roxa Element 120 IR impressed our test team with its classic, three-piece-powered ease of entry and exit and a neutral (if a little tall-ish) stance that enabled smooth and balanced skiing movements. Testers said that this was also a good value for the performance level, making this an Access category podium sitter.
The initial fit, without any liner heating, was consistently snug, our testers said, with the caveat that the fit over the top of the foot was aggressively so. Testers who performed some subsequent IR liner heat molding said that fit glitch smoothed itself into non-issue status after a little wear time. Testers said the 99mm last width was accurately represented by the medium-snug fit throughout the lower boot and upper cuff, and testers liked the tall tongue fit against the leg (especially the taller guys). They said the flex feel was good and comfortable against the shin but came to a pretty abrupt stopping point. Testers mentioned the fore-aft positioning started from a fairly upright position, and utilizing the Element 120's new forward lean adjustment range could be helpful to get skiers in their personal balance zone where they won't need to flex so far as to find that brickish end-point.
The Element 120 received a perfect 5.0 for its Edge Power quotient, a rare accolade for a cabrio boot coming from this test team and a welcome surprise for testers who might associate ease of entry and a long-travel flex feel with three-piece boots but often don't find the same edge control as overlap shells--not so here, this time around. The crew also liked the neutral lateral set-up that provided equal access to both inside and outside edges, with no modified movements required to go skiing in balanced form.
They liked the simplicity of the cuff release mechanism and commented that it offered a secure lock when in ski mode, with little discernible freeplay in the cuff, and when released offered a decent-enough stride length, a la the cabrio's external tongue flex. No tech fittings here, but part of this Access model's appeal is its value, and tech fittings do drive up the price. Testers mentioned that the included alpine sole set that comes in the box is a welcome addition for skiers who might not be ready to update their bindings to GripWalk compatible models--but testers remind they're gonna have to someday....
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