Lange was resistant to jumping in line with the other brands and slapping a BOA knob on one of their own, but eventually they did it with the new Concept line for men and women. Lange entered the flagship Concept 12 in our All-Mountain Access category for its show-stopping ease-of-entry shell design, where it was our top scoring men's wide boot--in fact, it was the top-scoring wide boot for men, regardless of category. It earned a gold medal for its trouble, though testers had no trouble at all enjoying this one.
The Concept 12 (the 12 is missing a zero, for its 120-flex, and there's an 11 and a 10 for men) didn't register a single complaint from our test team. Not a gripe about its fit, not about its skiing performance, not about the mere presence of a BOA reel (and there's some staunch BOA skeptics on the team), not about its lava lamp cuff cosmetics, and certainly not about its ease-of-entry. Not a one. All positive commentary. That's a pretty rare phenomenon for our group of crusty, boot curmudgeons.
One tester said that of all the buckles-on-top, BOA-on-the-bottom boots, the Concept 12 was both the easiest-on and the best-wrapping around the foot with each click of the BOA reel. And this guy is one of our most strident critics of BOA boots. While all the BOA systems are the same, hardware-and-mounting-wise, how a boot brand builds the boot to exploit the benefits of the dial is theirs to figure out. Testers thought that the Concept shell's molded-in "passive hinges" (aka easy-on-grooves for bootfitters in the know) both allowed the shell to gape open for hindrance-free entry and close-down in a circumference-tightening wrap when the BOA reel spooled up the slack to lock in the foot.
Testers said the fit was roomy for sure, suiting the 103mm last badging, but they said it evoked the best medium-width Lange fits (a la Shadow MV) but just a little opened-up everywhere. They said that the hold on the heel and ankles was light, but appropriately so for guys who should otherwise be in a medium width boot. For the truly thick-of-foot or those intolerant of high-compression fits, the Concept 12 would fit the bill, they said.
Speaking of the Shadow MV, one tester went so far as to claim that he thought the Concept 12 out-skied the Shadow MV 130. He did a follow-up test with one on each foot (a common testing method) and said that for him it was confirmed--better skiing than the Shadow. While we wondered if he'd escaped to the bar at lunch, the point was not lost on our test team, who unanimously agreed that this wide ride ripped. The best skiing wide boot they've ever tested from Lange was a comment that was repeated several times on test forms.
We're going to leave this review right there.
Kudos