A common complaint we hear from our women's test team when it comes to narrow boots is that it's not really a narrow. Well, there is no way that gripe will ever be directed toward the Salomon S/Pro Alpha 110 W. Testers had two words in common in their reviews of this narrow All-Mountain Traditional gold medalist--snug or tight, take your pick. These were terms of endearment, mind you--our test team loves a heel-gripping, ankle-grabbing and calf-squeezing narrow--and the S/Pro Alpha 110 W did not disappoint when it came to a shrink-wrapped foot and leg match throughout the whole lower shell and upper cuff.
Testers made so many comments about how snugly this boot fit that we did some digging. The S/Pro Alpha 110 W was the tightest fitting boot in the women's All-Mountain Traditional narrow group. It was tighter than its next-tightest competitor, the Nordica Promachine 115 W, by 20% in the heel and ankle zones and by 40% in the toebox and forefoot. We took a look at the women's Frontside category where the boots are typically even more snug-fitting, and found that only the Lange RS 120 SC had a more snug heel fit score--however the overall tightness quotient, averaged over all fit parameters still went to the Salomon S/Pro Alpha 110 W, by 15%. So yeah, the Alpha's a tight one, and just right for accomplished skiers with low-volume feet and legs our testers said.
They loved how it skied. Absolute precision of steering inputs, transitions between turns and quick pressure controlling moves were enabled by the painted-on fit. They said that once they placed the ski (exactly where and how they wanted it) the 110-powered cuff over-performed to control their biggest, stiffest skis at high speeds over and through any type of snow surface. They couldn't find its performance threshold--calling it a ninja and a scalpel--except for a couple testers who went numb from the high-performance squeeze-chamber and lost control of their precise foot movements altogether.
Maybe it was too much of a good thing for the S/Pro Alpha, as its lowest score fell in the Anatomical Fit and Initial Feel criterion--most likely driven by a too-tight fit for some testers, especially at the "throat" of the boot where the lower leg transitions down into the instep area. One tester said this performance fit unleashed her inner Hulk, but another said it rendered her locked in a cast. Suffice it to say, a slender leg and lower-volume instep will fit best into this limited berth space.
The Alpha 110 W's highest score was for, not surprisingly, its Quickness and Steering, at a 4.83, but testers matched that high score in the Convenience, Warmth and Features criterion where they gave props to the boot's functional features. They liked its relatively new cuff adjustment ability, fat 45mm Velcro power strap, screw-affixed buckle and strap hardware, GripWalk soles and Custom Shell HD moldable polyurethane up and down on the shell for a maximum variety of bootfitter-friendly modification options.
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