Our test team said that a lack of snugness will absolutely not be a problem in the all new S/Pro Alpha C BOA W, calling it the most-snug boot of the test and praising it for a painted-on fit that contoured around every part of the foot and leg for a locked-and-loaded feel which inspired confidence to send it everywhere on the hill. They said even the boot’s unique look was tight. One tester remarked that the radical new shell design (it forgoes a traditional inside ankle pivot point on the boot cuff) looked like a latex cat suit wrapping her curves perfectly.
The polyurethane ExoDrive cuff swells over the inside ankle bone area in shapely dome, sans hardware, then continues down to merge cleanly into the lower shell and where it anchors with two Powerlink screws at the base of the shell, near the boot sole.
This cuff redesign is an example of form and function working together, in this case to connect the edging movements of the skier’s leg to the ski’s inside edge in seamless fashion, and testers agreed it does. Side-to-side moves were met with an immediate response from the ski, they said, calling its edging game a rapid-fire blend of sensitivity for the snow surface and absolute trench-gouging power. Testers said that the cuff-only BOA closure enhanced the wrap around the lower leg and suited a slender leg shape best, though they claimed there was enough flare at the boot top for a more average-size calf as well.
Testers said the lower instep and flatter foot profile will find instant control created by an instep buckle that’s mounted close to the throat of the boot at the base of the shin in concert with the CF Expert liner that put a serious clamp-down across the top of the foot. Some testers said the fit was excessively tight in this zone and so we did some additional testing after heat-molding liners and they found that the fit relaxed substantially right where they needed relief.
Testers had much praise for Salomon’s willingness to get creative with their narrow overlap design and also with their choice of the Lilac Ash hue, which testers were impressed with—almost in equal measure to the Alpha C BOA 115 W’s fit and performance.
