“A good skiing boot-pillow!” is how one tester described the Fischer Ranger HV 95 and she was not alone in her positive pillow talk. Virtually every tester offered some sort of cushioned commentary—clouds and feathers came up a few times. One tester said it was the silver bullet for the good skier with a thick foot and high-volume calf who’s looking for a real boot at a fair price, and it has our favorite, stealthily-located hike mode switch, too.
We’re fans of under-promising and over-delivering, and that’s exactly what the Ranger HV 95 does, testers said, praising it for a much stronger-than-advertised flex feel that expands its reach to experts as well as perfectly suiting performance-seeking intermediates. It’s a great boot for the casual skier who’s looking for ease of entry, warmth, plenty of creature comforts and the convenience of a walk-mode feature, testers claimed. But, they also said that the all-mountain expert will not be disappointed with the HV 95’s clean and stable control of the ski through all snow conditions and terrain options. One tester commented that she skied some scary, wet-grippy pow on frozen morning coral reef (a spring Mt. Bachelor classic) and was shocked at how well the wide Fischer drove the skis through it—no deflection, no loss of edge contact, almost fun!
It was called a big girl as a compliment, multiple times. Testers say the Ranger HV’s toebox, forefoot, instep and calf fits were all, how shall we say it--very accommodating. Our thickest calf tester mentioned that both the cuff’s buckle catches are mounted on circumference-expanding sliders which she appreciated for quickly gaining a struggle-free closure and the ability to tighten or loosen as needs arose. A few testers thought that the heel pocket could have been a little more snug but considered that the high volume foot may be just fine there and acknowledged that tightening up the heel pocket would be an easy ask of a good bootfitter.
Testers are always intrigued by the Ranger’s small and unobtrusive cuff-release lever tucked against the top cuff buckle—it’s often missed completely by the uninitiated due to its cleverly hidden design. They are similarly impressed with its ease of use and convenience, though they said the cuff’s range of motion in walk mode is nothing earth shattering—though perfect for enjoying an apres beverage after crushing it all day, everywhere on the hill.
Also of note, the Ranger HV 95’s lower shell is able to be Vacuum fitted for additional room (or to tighten the heel, a modification unique to the Fischer Vacuum system) and it also offers the still-in-line Soma Tec stance that allows for a slightly more toed-out (abducted) foot position in the boots.
Kudos
Caveats