Introduction
The holy grail for many skiers is a boot that can do it all.
This is the proverbial unicorn; uphill like a slipper dancing on stardust wafting to the peaks.
Well let me cast cold water on your dreams.
Such a boot does not exist; all (touring) boots are about compromises..
This is a review of theAtomic Hawx XTD Ultra XTD 130.
Some required reading about touring boots and why critical self-examination is the primary factor in boot shopping follows.
Interior with some inbound resorts soft-skiing day.
My skiing is usually in high moisture-content snow.
Accordingly, my preference is for bigger skis and relatively stiff boots.
The Hawx XTD hasa 130 flex ratingputting it in the category of fairly beefy boots.
Another thing that consumers look for is weight.
Going with an IntuitionProTour linerfurther dropped another 65g for a theoretical weight of 1270g.
Attach everything and re-tighten.
All other Hawx XTD versions (120, 100 and 90W have PU - polyurethane cuffs.
Showing the boot designers mountainbiking background are (close to) frictionless IGUS bushings in the cuff pivot hardware .
This makes for smooth touring action and user-serviceability.
Soles incorporate tech-fittings and are not replaceable.
The bottom line is that the Hawx XTD will play fine with tech touring bindings.
It will still be compatible with certain alpine bindings.
The tricky thing is determining which alpine bindings will work.
Itdoes not fitstandard alpine bindings (Z-series, X-series, Lithium, Mercury, etc.)
nor Grip Walk bindings.
Out of box this is set at 15 deg forward lean.
Flip the chip behind the walk mode to adjust to 17 deg forward lean
Classic overlap design at forefoot.
Rear cuff pushes against a reinforced Grilamid plastic spine.
These biases are for performance (compromises remember?)
and required to keep the heel in the heel pocket.
I am a size 26 in Tecnica and Salomon.
A quick note that it is possible to Memory Fit the Atomic liner on its own.
One such shop isEscape Route
Another Whistler shop providing backcountry boot advice and custom-fitting needs isComor Whistler.
What is even more noticeable is “useable” ROM.
Boots which theoretically have lots of ROM can be hampered by friction in the cuff mechanism restricting the ROM.
For a boot in this category, touring is remarkable.
To be honest, any other outcome of a boot with this pedigree would be disappointing.
I found that the boot shell allowed snow to ingress so quickly put the boot buckle back on.
This will lead to a noticeable reduction in power transfer and potentially wetter feet."
A good test was in chopped up 10cms of fresh snow on 20cms of previous storm snow.
Without the tongue the Vulcan will fold forward on fore/aft hits.
The Salomon Mtn Lab is a bit softer fore-aft so also will fold on the fore/aft hits.
Having said that, real world skiing conditions sometimes dictates imperfect snow.
As alluded to above, the Hawx XTD has plenty of power available for edging and driving.
It is then up the consumer to decide.
In general, wherever you have a plastic component, you might change its hardness and therefore the flex.
