Salomon has been on a successful run with its alpine boot line-up over the past few years and while testers have absolutely loved both the narrow S/Pro Alpha and the medium S/Pro Supra, they may like the new, wide-lasted S/Pro Delta the most of all! Not only did the Delta crush the competition in the wide boot category at this year’s test, its scores were on par with the best-performing medium and narrow boots of the test and it managed to impress a few testers who still raise an eyebrow when the words wide and performance are mentioned together.
Salomon has now banished the lower shell’s Core Frame insert across its width range in its alpine lines and our testers were pleased to find a straightforward and bootfitter-friendly wide ride in the Delta BOA 130. Visually, the boot appeals to the performance-minded traditionalist—it looks like a good four-buckle overlap without weird bulges or tacked-on features. Sliding their feet into the Delta for the first time, testers knew Salomon had entered a category winner. Aside from its ease of entry (no constriction from the BOA here, they said) they loved its consistent and appropriately cushioned hold of the foot and leg, with a suitably high instep fit that avoided feeling cavernous. Testers, regardless of their foot and leg volume, mentioned the same thing—consistent and even fit tension throughout the boot, top to bottom. How did it do that? They didn’t know, but they liked it and said so repeatedly on test forms.
Sometimes a boot’s status as a contender begins with initial try-on but ends abruptly upon clicking into bindings, as failures of flex or stability come to light with each turn down the hill. Testers said this was not the case with the S/Pro Delta BOA 130, neither with the fit nor the Delta’s performance. Testers liked the way the BOA lower shell closed smoothly around the foot as they needed to snug the fit for more demanding snow and terrain but they also said the cuff closure matched the lower for a clean wrap around the lower leg. While the calf fit was ample and flared enough at boot top to avoid jabbing a large calf muscle, more average volume testers commented that they didn’t feel like the proverbial hot dog down a hallway when encountering a tight spot where making a good turn mattered greatly.
While the wide boot’s quickness score is usually dependent on the mass of a tester’s foot and leg—thicker guys fill up the boot and get a more rapid response out of it edge to edge—it still scored highly there. However, virtually all testers made a comment about the Delta BOA 130’s strong feel while commanding a ski on edge—it’s burly without feeling dull, they said, calling it a highly capable all-mountain carver that will put a smile on the face of many.
One tester said after his initial fit testing, “Pretty damn comfy straight out of the box--I could make this my daily driver if I weren't so demanding!” Then after he skied the Delta BOA 130 his next entry read, “I’m pretty surprised by the consistency of the fit and the high performance level. It makes me wonder why I'm in an LV!”
We think that statement says a lot about the new wide one from Salomon.
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