One tester called the Scarpa Gea RS a wee Ferrari for your feet, and by the looks of other tester comments and scores that's a pretty good way to understand this returning re-design of a past perennial performer.
The Gea RS's is a low-slung roofline, along the mold shaping of Scarpa's 4-Quattro line, that holds the foot in place from the top down, engaging it against the low-clearance boot floor where it ties into the binding and ski in highly transmissive fashion. Testers said the lower boot connection to the snow-surface was highly tactile and immediate--kinda like that Ferrari feeling every crack in the pavement. To follow the analogy, testers said to mind the parking lot speed bumps, as the carbon core stiffened Grilamid lower shell returned terrain messaging to the leg shaft as directly as it sent the skier's inputs to the ski. This is a direct-drive, stiff suspension sort of Backcountry roadster.
The initial feel is firm on the foot and the leg, testers agreed, though one tester felt that the smoothness of the rear part of the liner made for an easier entry into the boot than in the former Gea. Testers felt that the overall fit was substantially more snug than the 102mm width designation would inidicate. Our low-volume instep, narrow forefoot testers found the Gea RS a perfect fit for them, while average and thicker feet suffered the Geaconstrictor's grip on the foot. Our bootfitting-savvy testers felt that the out-of-box pre-molded shape simply wasn't a fair representation of the boot's ultimate fit and suggested that a full-temp liner cook would be needed to provide a more contoured, open and all-around more-comfy fit.
The Pebax R-New cuff felt stiff and responsive to the test team who liked the lateral connection of the boot to the ski for consistent and solid edging. The light weight and snug fit also drove up its Quickness and Steering score, but it's Edge Power metric was one of its highest scores, matched by the score in Dynamic Balance. Tester felt that both the fore-aft and lateral stance position was good for functional skiing and touring. The cuff's Speed MLT walk mode was favored by testers who called it simple and effective to switch between the solid skiing linkage to its wide-striding walking and touring mode that they said matched a long rearward rotation with a similarly long-travel move forward.
Testers liked the permanently fused Vibram lugged backcountry norm (ISO 9523) outsole for a confident scramble where needed. They said the other on-board features were all useful skiing- and touring-oriented options and said that the each-unique buckle closure system would keep them focused while getting ready to head out the door.
Kudos
Caveats