The new Kaliber Pro 130 LV BOA2 turned heads at our boot test, with testers and casual observers taking note of Head’s new double BOA boot that doesn’t look anything like one. What was so visually striking? Without a doubt the absence of the Frankenstein knob sticking out the side of the lower boot created a strangely smooth and stylish look—no buckles and no reel, just a sneaky cable snaking its way along the shell overlap and then up under the pant cuff to where it spools discretely at its mount location just below the upper cuff’s dial.
Even before testing Head’s new dual BOA with the one-and-only double-mounted cuff we had a list of questions as to why they’d located the lower shell cable system on the upper cuff? Was it to avoid outside-edge boot-out during super-high-edge-angle carves? Was it to somehow enhance the closure of the cable wrap? Was it to simply clean-up the cosmetic appearance of the boot? Also, we wanted to know why the women didn’t get the same duplex-dial treatment for their newly launched narrow Kaliber?
After testing the Kaliber Pro 130 LV BOA2 our test teams primary question became, where do we get one?
Testers said the new Kaliber Pro LV nailed the fit for its anatomical curves that cradled the foot and lower leg in a perfect shape match for their common wide and bony spots as well as where they wanted a firmer fit, like the ankles and heel. Our testers have been in every all-mountain boot that Head has introduced in the past decade (and longer for some of them) and they said this was the most polished fit and feel they’ve ever experienced.
They said the blend of comfort and cushion, where appropriate (toebox, top-of-foot and along the shin), was ideal, as were the areas that needed to maintain a firm grip between body and boot for control over the ski. Testers wished they had the Kaliber LV there for a side-by-side test to see how well the two fit tensions were differentiated from each other, because the consensus was that the LV was on the relaxed side of the narrow-fit group. They didn’t have a problem with it, but they noted the fact and moved on to getting the Kaliber Pro LV on the snow.
Again, testers used best Head ever commentary to describe their skiing experience in the Kaliber Pro LV BOA2. They loved how dialed their stance felt from the first skates toward the lift after clicking into their bindings. This intuitive and balanced feel extended to the first turns they made as well. Several testers mentioned that there was no adjustment period involved with getting up to speed in the dual BOA LV Head. One tester said it felt exactly like my own boot, just more comfortable!
While our crew isn’t sure that outside edge boot-out is a problem for us, certainly, they did feel like the lower shell, sans BOA or buckles, slipped through boot-top pow with zero drag—a tester commented it felt like being on a hydrofoil rather than a board down in the water. Perhaps less drag was why we were skiing so fast in the Kaliber Pro. Yeah, right. While we can’t confirm low-drag legitimacy, we can attest to the fact that we looked pretty sleek in this newly naked boot.
Oh, and Head’s answers to our questions up above? They said we were on target but missed perhaps the most important elements of the unique mount location for the lower spool. Eliminating the Frankenknob on the lower shell also eliminated the thick plastic housing for the reel, which further enhanced shell wrapping around the foot, and the final cable vector is more in-line with the 45-degree instep closure, providing more precise retention of the rearfoot. The girls? Their boot cuff is just too small in the bottom sizes, lacking the available real estate to add another dial—sorry ladies.
