Atomic Redster Club Sport 130

The Gist

No frills but no flaws—testers applaud the race bred perfection of the Redster Club Sport and its true-to-96 mm fit tension that grabbed onto the foot with performance-minded intentions and didn't let go. This one's the real deal, they said, and it got better at higher speeds on harder snows—sort of like you'd expect, right? Built for skilled skiers intent on carving hard and skiing fast, and it will not disappoint them. Our favorite Frontside Atomic in years.

The Fit

The tightest fit of the test is what our crew claimed, with a particularly aggressive grip on the heel and an extremely close fit along the lateral column, where testers squealed a bit about their styloid process bony bits. As one would expect from a true 96 mm Frontsider, this fit will require a bootfitter's help to even out pressure along bony prominences for all but the most slender of feet. The flex feel is firm, both in liner cushioning and shell movement, but appropriately so according to testers, who gave praise in the form of comments about little, brick-built structures.

Performance

Stance-wise comments revolved around different ways of saying, "perfect," and power and quickness scores both topped the graph. "Skis fantastically well." said one tester, and another mentioned that aggressive medium and long radius arcs were the boot's sweet spot, though its high quickness scores suggest it bangs out the shorties just fine.

Cool Features

Testers still like the basics of a polyurethane shell and cuff with no monkey business, and that's what you get here—traditional, tried and true, though Atomic uses what they call TrueFlex polyurethane in the Redster (and in Hawx Ultra) which has a more consistent flex over a broader temperature range. Most also liked the blood red hue, and most considered the boot easy-enough on and off for the racy Frontside group. Testers mentioned liking the 55 mm Dual power strap that allows for differential adjustment for where it strikes the liner tongue and the shell's cuff wrap. The polyurethane plastic is also infused with Memolink additive, so a Memory Fit cook job could be one tool in the bootfitter's quiver for opening up some breathing room as needed.