The Salomon S/Pro Alpha 130 is one of our test team's favorite narrow, all-mountain boots for its simultaneously tight and cushioned fit character and unique set of traits that set it apart from the rest of the narrow-class crowd--and we don't just mean its bold Race Blue tone, though testers like that too.
One tester said it had a best-in-industry transition of fit from the lower leg shaft through the throat of the boot and over the top of the foot at the instep. Another testers said it has the lightest weight feel of any boot in the category, without loss of power. And several praised its slightly flatter ramp angle and slightly more upright cuff angle for a strongly leveraged starting position that helped load tons of power to the shovel of the ski at turn initiation. These are highly specific nuances that our testers notice and they made sure to give credit where credit's due. These unique fit and stance traits do take it slightly out of the average for the category, which may have hurt it in its final scores, but for certain testers (and skiers) those same niche elements propel it to the top of the leader board.
The boot comes with two rear spoilers and the thicker, 6mm comes mounted on the boot. Testers saw little reason to change it unless the wearer had a really muscular calf. In fact, most testers thought the boot stood more upright than most with the 6mm spoiler in, which they liked for a tall and relaxed starting position that could apply a lot of leverage to the front of the ski upon forward flexion. The flipside was that the backseat was ready and waiting to receive skiers who didn't stay on line or encountered unexpected terrain changes--similarly, shorter testers felt challenged to get out in front of the boot while our taller testers loved the set-up right out of the gate. A couple of our testers mentioned that their first mod, if they were to take it home, would be to add a small amount of heel lift to the internal boot board.
The room in the toebox is notable, especially vertically, and with a relatively low-slope internal ramp angle testers occasionally found themselves heel heavy and looking for leverage above the toes to pry themselves back into more-forward balance. Some testers wanted a thicker-toebox sock or a pad applied to the top of the liner toebox to snug up this area while others with chronic bloodflow limitation and resulting cold toes gave this fit zone a double-thumbs-up.
The Custom Fit 4D World Cup liner is spectacularly padded-feeling but without straying into mushy, gonna-pack-out territory, testers report, claiming that the cushioning along the shin and down into the instep is the best of the group--possibly best of the test. It's a well-shaped and well-executed liner tongue to begin with but testers note that it's also easily modified as its plastic front is not stitched all along the tongue, so removing padding or even possibly adding more is an option for skilled bootfitters without a lot of surgery involved.
Salomon successfully thins the plastic shell wall where thickness is not critical for stability and power. This makes the boot better wrapping over the top of the foot during buckling and shaves some ounces off the total. The S/Pro Alpha 130 is one model that manages to pull off some weight savings in the shell design without any apparent loss of edge control or dampness--many lightweight alpine boots get twitchy and unstable, that's not the case here, testers assure.
Testers like Salomon's return to a laterally adjustable cuff on the new S/Pro boots, including the Alpha 130, and the fat cam buckle power strap was a hit with testers for its broad capture of the front of the tongue and shell for a well-wrapped leg fit and solid flex feel. Dual pull liner loops are standard fare but appreciated and while GripWalk soles are the norm, testers love having both the grip and shock mitigation on a piste-powerful all-mountain boot like this one.
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