Who comes up with these names? Anyway, my local shop is stocking the new Salomon X-Alp Explore boot, similar but slightly softer and cheaper than the much hyped new Salomon S-Lab X-Alp boot. So I tried them on, in my usual size 28.5. WOW. I’ve bitched forever about how ski boots seem designed without consideration for any feet I’ve seen, but these ones are. They’ve a nice low instep and narrow heel that plays well with my (Raichle Flexon original, Dynafit Mercury) feet, and my chicken legs would benefit from an intuition liner to take up volume, but the toe box is actually asymmetrical, like a Birkenstock sandal, like my feet. Unmolded and without footbeds they still felt amazing. If you’ve read the reviews then you know they’re light as fuck, and provide an incredible ROM. The Explores I tried on don’t seem supportive enough for the skiing I do , but maybe the S-Labs are, and for something that fits this well, I’m motivated to find out. Unfortunately, something this specialized probably won’t stay in production for long, and there’s no way I’ll spend $1000.
I also tried on the new Atomic Hawx Ultra XTD 130, which fitted like a standard medium volume overlap boot, and seemed like it would handle short walks.
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