Sometimes simplicity succeeds where frills and features fail. The Ace 1 Star is like that—bare bones and basic, it offers what most skiers need at a smoking price. While this isn't the softest of the Ace group, it's one spot shy of that, and yet this guy held up to abusive testing from guys of all sizes at our boot test. Why did we test it in the All-Mountain Adventure category? Well, it's not really a Traditionalist's boot and it ain't a Backcountry boot—so we say it's adventurous. It was also Nordica's value/soft entry and this was as good a place to test it as any.
The Ace 1 Star fits tall on the leg, with a firm feel against the top of the shin, yet the shell moves through a long-travel arc to a firm stop, so our taller testers found this particularly well suited to them. The stance is fairly upright and ready for relaxed cruising or more freestyle-oriented pivots and presses—a technical carver it's not.
Testers found the 101mm last a comfortable middle ground of room to spread out and find balance in the lower boot but with enough contact to get the job done. The instep height here is very high, so a high-arched and bony foot as well as the thicker, high-volume hoof will do well in this fit zone.
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