Scarpa 4-Quattro Pro

The Scarpa 4-Quattro Pro's dark green foreshadowed its inner Hulk edge power but neither its color nor its skiing skills made our testers angry--far from it, they were pleasantly surprised by its top shelf descent character that smashed every terrain or snow surface test that our team put in front of it.

Aside from its green and generally muscular look, testers could see how this boot felt on the foot from it's low-waisted profile. You can see it also in its featured image here, it's a lower-ceiling-height ride that controls the foot firmly from above, all along the instep, and well, from pretty much everywhere else too. This 100mm medium-width fit more like a narrow for the majority of our testers, and while that might have diminished its fit score for missing the designated fit tension target, it didn't stop our team from liking how it fit--for the most part.

Some testers thought it ran a little short, out of the box, and mused that for skiers caught in-between sizes a move up one size would gain some more mediumish volume. Others noted that the minimally padded, firm liner didn't give way around bony prominences, making the fit feel deceptively tight. They suggested that a full-thermo molding session with toecaps would resolve the short fit and the bony-point bite, perhaps achieving a more even 100mm fit and feel with some easy fit work. So, prospective buyers shouldn't let the first try-on dissuade them as there are some easy fitting options to pursue there. 

The snug fit and low-riding instep pairs with a very close-to-ski foot feel created, in part, by the full-length, molded GripWalk outsole. Yes, it walks with a long and rolling stride when the 4-Quattro's Secure Speedlock 4 hike mode connection is released, and it's convenient to be able to click into some alpine GripWalk bindings and rip around in area, but it's the feel of that ripping around that really did it for our testers.

One tester called it a BCWC love child--BC for backcountry, WC for World Cup race boot. This is a tuned-in, rigidly suspended, descent-attacking machine, they said. It wasn't easy to put on and it wasn't an easy-peasy first fit, but it skied like a weapon regardless of terrain, snow or ski selection. This was a true Pro-model boot, they assured, with one tester suggesting studs-only apply for ownership.