Speaking of blue, one of our veteran testers had an infamous blue heeler whose whole attitude could be summed up in three words: more, now and mine! The gold medal Frontside category Salomon S/Pro Race 140 is a lot like that--it's more than the All-Mountain Traditional category narrow S/Pro Alpha 130 across the board: more snug, more responsive, more stiff, more better. Salomon absolutely did not throw out the baby with the bathwater (that's a kinda gnarly old saying, isn't it?) in the move to produce a step-up to this true near-race piste-performer.
The Race 140 keeps all of what testers have loved about the Alpha--it's damn comfortable while being damn tight, which is a feat of inspired shell shape paired with top tier Salomon liner tech. The extra padding through the shin and instep serves to fill unwanted gaps without feeling bulky or restrictive of flex. The power of the S/Pro Race 140 is shockingly strong on hard snow and at the highest speeds but in the same easy-to-access way that impresses us with the Alpha 130, just with more of it. One tester said the tight but just-cushioned-enough fit inspired him to crank the speed metal and rail and another tester compared the Race 140’s cornering accuracy: like being on roller coaster rails. A lotta railing going on here--for skiers with a penchant for steep tipping against carve-induced G’s, this one will suit.
The Race 140's higher-than-expected comfort level (for a Frontsider) somehow did not come with any associated demerit for quickness of steering or edge change--now, is when you can expect the ski to respond to skier inputs, testers report. The comfortable fit is not derived by soft fluff and liner fill but by a well-executed shape match for the foot and leg as well as between the liner and shell. Testers had few complaints of hot spots nor a need to size down or over-buckle to gain a properly near-race fit tension for laying deep trenches on the hardpack. The fit is shockingly snug where it counted for testers to put the ski on edge with precision placement. One tester commented that the Race 140's heel pocket was the tightest of the entire test, and another described its fit tension as severely solid.
The other shock upon reviewing tester comments was the lack of complaints about numbness or cold, yet another testament to the well-shaped nature of this blue badass of a boot. Tight equaled right for testers when it came to their quickness ratings (over 13 tests, its Quickness & Steering score remained a perfect 5.0) and they logged plenty of comments (as snappy as it gets, so quick edge to edge, extremely reactive) put a finer point on its now-level responsiveness.
Okay, so almost every tester identified the same challenge to their "making it mine," in its ease of entry and exit--or rather its lack thereof. Not every tester had a big problem with this, and some offered the caveat that one of the defining characteristics of the true Frontside boot is thicker plastic and a lack of gentrified frills, hence the tougher slide in and out. However, some veteran testers pointed to the on and off struggles as their barrier to entry, so to speak, of personal possession. The other half would be willing to grunt through the entry for the sake of the what the S/Pro Race 140 offered on snow. So what’s our final stance on it? We can tell you what our heeler owner would have told those entry-exit challenged testers: everyone knows blueies will nip--just deal with it.
Kudos
Caveats