Our test team had a chance to get back into the Scarpa Maestrale RS after testing it last year for its redesign debut--they still love the way it skis and tours, and they still say its fit-labeling is a little deceptive. Their takeaway was that it's true potential lies in the post-liner-mold experience, so skiers should not let initial try-on dissuade them from pulling the trigger.
It's a light and capable all-terrain descender, still, said testers who beat it up all around the mountain, finding a variety of snow, from frozen melt-freeze leftovers to shaded pockets of pow. It handled all of it admirably, they said, though it was daunted by the hardest hardpack--which we should all strive to avoid, especially in the backcountry where sometimes another cup of coffee is the key to finding perfect corn instead of boilerplate. Some testers thought the cuff struck them a little low on the leg, but all testers liked the stance position and felt the boot fostered good skiing movements and responded to them in kind. Testers gave its Quickness and Steering higher marks than they did for its Edge Power but both paired well together for a no-issues, versatile BC boot.
The snug fit amplified the boot's quickness abilities, but testers said that it missed the mark on fitting like a wide, which is what a "102mm" on the box or in the catalog says to the customer. Most of the fit scores settled between common narrow and medium averages, but testers did remind that they were testing the out-of-box, stock initial fit. Yes, the Intuition Pro Flex Performance liner is factory pre-molded to allow for ease of try-on in a shop environment, but it's a performance (read, firm) liner, so without performing a full-temp liner cook a skier won't have a fix on how well (and possibly wider) the Maestrale RS could fit. That's a leap of faith, of course, when it comes to buying boots, but testers thought that if the fit along the shin and down into the instep was close to ideal, it would only improve from there.
Testers appreciated the sustainably produced plastics in the Grilamid Bio lower shell and Pebax R-New cuff and were pleasantly surprised by how well they skied, if not suited for the race course. The backcountry specific feature set hit the mark for testers, with a Vibram lugged backcountry norm (ISO 9523) outsole that paired with a long and smooth touring stride enabled by the simple Speed MLT cuff release mechanism. They noted that every buckle was different, and for different reasons, and they liked the way they closed up the fit once they got their various layers and catches organized.
Kudos
Caveats