Our test team is made up of savvy ski industry types who have skied in (and sold) many different boots over the years. They know that when testing boots the goal is to ignore their own fit issues, particular performance needs and individual biases in order to objectively identify a boot’s merits and ideal audience. They aren’t supposed to make it personal—and yet that’s what they did with the Dalbello Veloce Space Dual 105 W.
First impressions don’t always carry the day and as in any relationship, the beginnings of a boot romance can have its ups and downs. Case in point, the Dalbello Veloce Space Dual lured in our testers with its sexy look—it’s a visually attractive boot with exotic colors like Future Dusk and Mercury, with fuchsia highlights. They thought they’d found their love match—and then the boot almost blew it on the first entry date. Testers discovered the dual BOA cabling was a bit fussy and high maintenance, making the Veloce Space Dual more resistant to their getting it on than they’d expected.
But in something of a fairy tale ending to this first chapter of unrequited love, testers did get it on, and once in, they discovered that this boot was as beautiful inside as it was on the outside. It was both accommodating but firm in the way it held them and it liked being pushed—testers said the shin fit and flex feel was spot on and provided some push back, never collapsing no matter how aggressive the skiing got. The medium width shape suited a broad variety of testers’ feet and legs, with some cushion and curves to maintain a high level of fit luxury without feeling fluffy or loose.
The dual BOA, so standoffish at the start, became a close ally for fine-tuning the fit around the foot and the lower leg shaft where the cabling wrapped their contours a click at a time to achieve a Goldilocks-style balance between retention and all-day comfort.
Testers were smitten to discover that the Veloce Space Dual offered some real substance and spine when it came to doing the work of going down the hill, its polyurethane foundation proving rock-solid at speed and through variable terrain. Testers found it quick to respond to their edge change demands and it remained predictable without feeling dull underfoot.
They compared its fit and ski performance to stiffer boots with an added 200-dollar price tag premium and therefore called this the best value boot of the test. They made mention that for testers who might like to meet its siblings (and in the process ditch the cable complications of an upper BOA and save a few more bucks), the Veloce Space is available with buckles-top and BOA-bottom at a 95- and 85-flex for an additional 200- or 300-bucks off, respectively. Double date anyone?
