Hawx v1 was subsequently adopted by many as a resort/touring 50/50 boot.
The Hawx 130 v2 shares one thing with the v1 iteration.
The Hawx v2 is quite a bit heavier/still stiff (1819g - sz 26 - ACTUAL measured weight).
Suppose you’re an aggressive skier.
Perhaps you’re bigger.
You want tech fittings to cover off all bases.
You might travel for skiing and you don’t want to haul a bunch of boots around.
You tour a bit but most of your time is spent on the resort.
Hawx Ultra XTD 130 BOA v2
Reviewed here is the highest end version with the BOA boot closure system.
Accordingly Hawx v2’s design and compromises are tilted towards downhill performance.
MSRP will be $1,049 Cad.
Sizes will be from 24.5 to 30.5.
Weighed without optional volumizer or laces.
The newer Atomic Mimic liners are hefty coming in at 423g weighed with the stock footbed.
That’s heavier even then the v1 Atomic Hawx liner + footbed at 292g.
If you have questions about one boot versus the other kindly ask away.
The strap itself is a very thin but sturdy-feeling fabric.
The lower-end Hawx v2 boots will use a velcro strap.
Tecnica ZeroG Tour Pro 130 (my personal dedicated touring boot) vs Hawx v2.
The Hawx shell and liner are noticeably taller.
Same 54 of cuff ROM.
Full PU construction, cuff & shell.
No Grilamid, no Pebax, no polypropylene, no polyolefin.
Thicker lower shell and thicker cuff for more stability, better damping, more durability for daily resort use.
The ladders on the buckles are spring-loaded so the buckles are retained when loosened for touring.
They’re assembled with lots of loctite (good!).
Closeup of the Atomic “Powershift” forward lean mechanism which remains unchanged except for slightly tweaks.
Hawx v2 comes stock at 15 deg forward lean.
Remember to reassemble with lots of loctite.The walk mode is familiar, easy to operate and quite beefy.
As another fitting data-point I am a size 26 in Tecnica, Atomic and Salomon.
This frankly confused me.
There is/was no way I could get my feet into an unmolded, unfitted Hawx v1.
The difference I feel is in the plastic.
Grilamid (used in v1) is more rigid & less forgiving.
Polyurethane (v2) is more malleable and has a “softer” feel.
The fit will be almost exactly the same.
These attributes are for performance and designed to keep the heel in the heel pocket.
Inside of the boot shows a classic overlap design with a rear cuff pushing against a reinforced spine.
Atomic didn’t mess around and spec’ed thick cables.
Push in to engage, turn to tighten or loosen and pull up the dial for a quick release.
“There’s no doubt the looks of the Boa may be polarizing.
When the BOA wasn’t locked down, the boot was touring-comfortable, as expected.
Ie it was loose enough for walks to the lifts.
Others have pointed out that they didn’t have the same experience of that so-sweet BOA uniform lock-down.
Customization
I didn’t have to punch or stretch or the Hawx v2.
I also didn’t thermo-mold either the boot shell or the liner.
I have spoken to boot fitters who’ve worked with the boot.
With the caveat that this is anecdotal here is a brain-dump.
“Mimic” is actually a heat moldable plastic layer inside the liner.
It creates the anatomic ankle & heel shape but is remoldable and hardens in whatever shape you give it.
Mimic material is designed to allow heatmolding for fit, heel hold and overall performance + comfort.
The Mimic liner is (obviously) heavier than the industry-benchmark Intuition liner.
As the season wears on it’ll be interesting to gather data and anecdotes on that.
Re the boot shell.
That breaks down to 44 to the front and 10 to the back which means it will walk well.
As with v1 my experience is you have to undo all the buckles to get full range of motion.
Downhill
I’d forgotten how good PU boots feel compared to Polyamid/grilamid.
That was nice for the 5 cold days I skied on these.
In short, Hawx v2 skis wonderfully well.
Looking back at my notes, I said the same thing about v1.
