The Atomic Ski Boot Thread

[GoldenBC]

Welp, another day on the Hawx 130 XTD BOA… this time with the gnar bar. Still easy to blow through the flex. Hell, my heels hurt after 1.5 hours of skiing the bunny hill with my daughter.

Took em back to my ski shop and they swapped them for a Hawx Ultra 130 Pro. FWIW it feels like a dramatically different boot when flexing side by side by side.

Skiing tomorrow so I’ll report back but despite what you’re saying ONK these are different droids.

Attachment 478763


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How does the stance feel between the two? Specifically, the boot board delta.

[SkiLyft]

Inside the boot is quite different; mainly because I dropped a shell size from a 27.5 to a 26.5 as I can’t walk (tour) in it. The increased stiffness around the throat is very noticeable. Far less bellowing. The flex is more progressive and it ramps up and I can’t find the end of it even when applying all body weight to one boot. No more heel bang!


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[CaliBrit]

Inside the boot is quite different; mainly because I dropped a shell size from a 27.5 to a 26.5 as I can’t walk (tour) in it. The increased stiffness around the throat is very noticeable. Far less bellowing. The flex is more progressive and it ramps up and I can’t find the end of it even when applying all body weight to one boot. No more heel bang!


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Oh my. Ok.

[onenerdykid]

Inside the boot is quite different; mainly because I dropped a shell size from a 27.5 to a 26.5 as I can’t walk (tour) in it. The increased stiffness around the throat is very noticeable. Far less bellowing. The flex is more progressive and it ramps up and I can’t find the end of it even when applying all body weight to one boot. No more heel bang!


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First, I'm stoked you're happy in a boot now. And what you've described makes total sense. With your foot in a 27.5, the larger volume allows for more comfort while touring, but also more deformation when flexing. Extreme example: when a narrow foot tries on a high volume boot, the high volume boot will always feel softer than the low volume boot (in the same family) that more accurately matches the foot shape. When the foot more aptly fills up the shell volume, it will result in a stiffer boot. You've also bumped up to the Mimic Professional liner and the Professional Dual Strap too it sounds like. Both will help make everything be more solid & stable for you.

When I said the plastic and plastic wall thickness between the two is the same (for all intents & purposes) it is true, but since we are talking about two different molds, there is a difference in bottom construction (glued-on sole vs. screwed-on sole) and back in the Achilles area (XTD has a cut out to allow for cuff ROM, regular Hawx Ultra is sold back there). The first shouldn't make for a noticeable difference but the latter is the main reason why a hybrid boot will always be a slight notch below the fixed-cuff version in terms of performance. Moving to a fixed-cuff boot, in a size smaller, with a foam liner, should absolutely solve any performance issues you had earlier.

Again, stoked to hear you got into a flavor more to your liking and kudos to your local shop for taking care of you.

[SkiLyft]

Holy shit, on snow report!! The Hawx Ultra Pro is the boot I needed. My foot is locked-in in a way I’ve never experienced. Can ski full runs buckles undone and have more precision than I’ve ever experienced. I cannot thank Sports Creel in Spokane enough for getting me in the right boot!!

Thanks ONK for all the details and inside baseball. If you’re skiing the resort and want precision an alpine boot is needed; full stop.



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[bennymac]

Sorry for the Jong post. Haven’t been in market for new boots for some time - now in contemplative phase.

Is this normal price for this model or is this a pricing error? $300 cad ($220us) at MEC.ca

[gregL]

Sorry for the Jong post. Haven’t been in market for new boots for some time - now in contemplative phase.

Is this normal price for this model or is this a pricing error? $300 cad ($220us) at MEC.ca

Dirt cheap, see if you can put it in your cart and cash out.

[bennymac]

I guess I shoulda checked if they have my size first

They do have the Hawk in my size for a bit more $

[FullStop]

Sorry for the Jong post. Haven’t been in market for new boots for some time - now in contemplative phase.

Is this normal price for this model or is this a pricing error? $300 cad ($220us) at MEC.ca

I pulled the trigger and it let me check out at that price, too cheap to not give them a try.
Thanks for the heads up!

[gregL]

I guess I shoulda checked if they have my size first They do have the Hawk in my size for a bit more $[/IMG]

Totally different boots. Light and fast touring boot (Backland) vs mid-weight hybrid that can serve both as a touring boot and a lift-served boot (Hawx Ultra XTD).

[bennymac]

Yeah as you can maybe tell I’ve done zero research - not even sure either of these would be a good fit for my feet. It just seemed like the backlands at that price were practically free and I should shoot now and ask questions later.

[tannyj17]

Been reading this thread for a while, as I’ve had a bit of journey with my 130 Ultra XTDs. It’s the 2022/23 model with Prolite. Not the new PU one.

TLR; i’m looking suggestions for a mod that will a) stop overflexing or b) keep the overflexing from painful pinching on the top of heal/achilles.

Originally bought this boot for all of my touring and most of my resort skiing. I was between resort boots (now in some RC4s i’m liking a lot).

After getting the toe box of the ultras dialed, I noticed I was folding the boots, especially in the resort, causing a lot of pinching to my heal/achilles.

To improve the resort performance I put a MV powerwrap liner in it, just for resort skiing. It eliminated the heal pinching, but I haven’t been able to get the forefoot all that comfortable even after custom soles + a heat mold. I think the MV liner in a LV boot was a bad move by my boot fitter…

Now that I don’t have as much of a need for this to ski well in resort, i’m ditching the powerwrap liners and am looking to just improve the downhill performance while touring.

I’m thinking my best option is a liner sleeve. https://patriotfootbeds.com/products...b&gad_source=1

This should add volume to the ankle/heal, and add material above the heal, hopefully cushioning that spot like the powerwraps did.

I’ve already added a booster, foam along the tongue, and a spoiler (i have tiny calf). Anything else to make the flex start sooner or remove the heal pinching I am all ears!

p.s. if anyone wants my 24.5 powerwrap for a 24.5 tour wrap leme know


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[ptavv]

I tried those Patriot liner sleeves to add some ankle/heel volume to my Dynafit TLT Xs.

The liner sleeve is garbage. It is an enormous PITA to keep it from rolling up around the liner when you put it in (or step into) the shell. More importantly though, it's not durable enough to handle touring at all. It wears through really fast if worn while touring and it's way too finicky to plan to put on or off while out on a tour.

[SkiLyft]

^^ Long story short; the Hawx XTD isn’t meant to ski in the resort if you like to drive your skis. If you’re a typical dad skier with an upright stance they will work. Additionally; they are a great touring boot if you want to prioritize the skiing over the walking. A Cochise or Lupo will perform much better for those wanting to charge + have a walking option.

That walk mech in them is likely the source for the heel pinch. Now in a regular Hawx ultra pro and I can’t replicate that uncomfortable feeling.

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[tannyj17]

I tried those Patriot liner sleeves to add some ankle/heel volume to my Dynafit TLT Xs.

The liner sleeve is garbage. It is an enormous PITA to keep it from rolling up around the liner when you put it in (or step into) the shell. More importantly though, it's not durable enough to handle touring at all. It wears through really fast if worn while touring and it's way too finicky to plan to put on or off while out on a tour.

ah that’s real good to know, and not too surprising. I’ll see what their return policy is like… as I rarely ever need to remove the liners, so hopefully a set and forget.

i’ve tried lots of butterfly pads, etc, but anything near the heal/ankle just comes off over time


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[tannyj17]

^^ Long story short; the Hawx XTD isn’t meant to ski in the resort if you like to drive your skis. If you’re a typical dad skier with an upright stance they will work. Additionally; they are a great touring boot if you want to prioritize the skiing over the walking. A Cochise or Lupo will perform much better for those wanting to charge + have a walking option.

That walk mech in them is likely the source for the heel pinch. Now in a regular Hawx ultra pro and I can’t replicate that uncomfortable feeling.

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good intel skilyft. at this point i just want to try to remove the uncomfortable feeling while descending when touring. i’m done trying to make this boot work in resort!!

curious why the uncomfortable feeling was fixed when I used the intuition liner. maybe the walk mechanism on the interior of the shell got dampened by the thicker intuition?


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[GoldenBC]

The wrap liner stiffened the shell so you wouldn’t overflex it and bite your heel. It probably pushed you forward a bit and added some padding as well.

The walk mode makes your boot softer and easier to over flex. I am curious if there is some inwards deformation from the walk mode attachment as that is right where the bite is.

[eSock]

Is the gnar bar backwards compatible w/ previous Hawx XTD models?

[normie17]

where can i get the dual power strap in the USA without talking to a dumbass in a shop?

[onenerdykid]

Is the gnar bar backwards compatible w/ previous Hawx XTD models?

With previous Hawx Prime XTD, yes.

With previous Hawx Ultra XTD, no.

[onenerdykid]

where can i get the dual power strap in the USA without talking to a dumbass in a shop?

Looks like our US webstore is sold out...

Call up Rodger's Ski & Sport in Lincoln, NH or A Racer's Edge in Breckenridge, CO. Chances are very high you won't get stuck with a dumbass at either location.

Not sure if Evo Seattle stocks them, but GregL can confirm.

[GoldenBC]

Matt, any tips on getting the dual strap in Canada. We have had no luck through our b2b or rep. I’ve been trying since February. Warranty department?

[Dromond]

Holy shit, on snow report!! The Hawx Ultra Pro is the boot I needed. My foot is locked-in in a way I’ve never experienced. Can ski full runs buckles undone and have more precision than I’ve ever experienced. I cannot thank Sports Creel in Spokane enough for getting me in the right boot!!

Thanks ONK for all the details and inside baseball. If you’re skiing the resort and want precision an alpine boot is needed; full stop.



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To be clear, you are comparing a size 26.5 alpine boot to the 27.5 XTD, correct? Not an apples to apples comparison.

But FWIW I have the Ultra and XTD in the same size (older versions) and do recommend alpine boots for lift served skiing. The feel of the flex is just better.

[onenerdykid]

Matt, any tips on getting the dual strap in Canada. We have had no luck through our b2b or rep. I’ve been trying since February. Warranty department?

I've reached out to a few contacts in Canada, I'll let you know what I find out. Stay tuned.

[gregL]

Not sure if Evo Seattle stocks them, but GregL can confirm.

Unfortunately our buyers didn't order any . . .