The new Nordica Promachine 3’s fit has not changed much (thankfully)—this is still one of the most snug all-mountain narrows on the market, and it still impresses us with how hotspot-free the fit is, given the close confines of this low-volume boot.
The 3D Lace Cork Fit liner has much to do with fine-tuning the already anatomical fit of the shell—it still offers the thin veneer of cork through the ankle and heel area but the addition of the lace-up closure it now creates a closely-matched fit for the lower leg shaft, especially down low where it transitions into the instep. Testers loved the improved containment the lace-up system offered but they didn’t love the strings attached to entry, which is now more of a challenge than it used to be.
Testers say the entry struggle is a fair trade for the gap-free fit the revised liner offers in the 130-flex (only), especially for the very slender-legged--they also concede they’ll keep the laces on just to have a reason to park the lace-lock car in its custom garage built into the top of the tongue, which is cleverly positioned to fill the common gap space between the tongue and cuff, cleanly eliminating any excess free-flex there.
The Promachine was the last of the ‘Machine family to get a “3” added to its name—and we’re sure that Nordica was dragging its feet, trying to figure out how to improve a boot that really needed no improvement. Now the Promachine 3 is here, and lucky for us (and low-volume, advanced and expert skiers everywhere) it’s changed in ways that bring even new levels of performance to the table.
The 3 refers to the hard chassis update that integrates the light and stiff 3Force Frame into the lower shell—it’s a very light and very stiff boot-skeleton of sorts that gets co-molded inside the lower shell’s softer polyurethane, strengthening the boot’s energy output and increasing responsiveness while shaving weight and maintaining the good shape-wrapping qualities of the Promachine that have always impressed our test team.
Testers noted that the Promachine 3 feels a bit edgier than the predecessor Promachine, by way of its more tipped-out cuff geometry. For some testers this translated to massive inside edge power that they loved for carving on-piste, and for others it necessitated maximum cuff adjustment to neutralize that hookiness for a flatter, more off-piste oriented set-up.
