Salomon

X Pro 130 Ski Boot

You've logged plenty of laps with your feet shoved into cruelly tight race rockets over the years, always heading inside at lunch to massage feeling back into your toes. While those unyielding bricks kept your turns powerful and precise, they also gave you some weird bumps on your feet. Abandon the "pain is performance" belief already and step into the Salomon X Pro 130 Ski Boot this season instead. With a 360-degree heat-moldable shell and liners plus a burly 130 flex, the X Pro will convince you that a responsive boot doesn't have to hurt.

Salomon constructs the Twinframe 2 shell using bi-material polyurethane, which includes fully customizable panels around the ankle, shin, instep, and upper foot. Heat it up and you'll be left with a boot that conforms to your weird toes and skinny heels without the need for punching or grinding. While you're at the shop, you can get the My Custom Fit 3D Race liner molded around your foot easily as well, giving you wiggle-free security on exposed hikes to bottomless chutes. Even when the X Pro is molded to your feet, taking it off is refreshingly drama-free. Salomon's Articulated Sensifit design employs flexible panels around the instep and shin, so you can slide the boot on and off without getting gritting your teeth and losing your breath.

While Salomon killed it on customizable comfort for the X Pro, it made sure to give the X Pro 130 a strong backbone to handle big, aggressive days. The brand's beefy Oversized Pivot guards the space between the shell and the cuff, keeping the X Pro rock-solid laterally whether you're rolling your edges over on corduroy or steering through unpredictable chop. When you get into a sketchy spot, tighten down the X Pro's World Cup claw power strap and turn the adjustable Flex Boost screw to beef up the stiffness even more, and cinch your feet in-place using the four micro-adjustable buckles. Then go get after it.