DALBELLO 19/20 UPDATE

Dalbello has gone from strength to strength in recent seasons and the 19/20 range sees further improvements to their already excellent line-up.

Grip Walk

Almost all of Dalbello’s boots for 19/20 season come with Grip Walk soles on them or as an option – so you can swap out the sole they come with for a Grip Walk sole. Grip Walk is a relatively new sole shape for ski boots but you will see this name cropping up more and more.

SKI BOOTS

DRS race boots

The Worldcup DRS and Race DRS boots from Dalbello have gone from green and white to white and green – shocking, I know. You can even get the DRS 130 in black, called the DRS 130 AB.

The flexes across much of the Race range have changed for 19/20. The DRS 80 LC, and stiffer models, are still fully customisable shells and liners.

Race boots aren’t available with a Grip Walk option, apart from the DRS 60 and 50 for kids.

The stiffest DRS Race boot is 130 (was 140). The next flex is 110 (was 120). The 90 Low Cuff (LC) remains, but there’s a new DRS 80 LC. These are still 98mm last boots.

The DRS 75 is replaced by the DRS 70, which steps down into the junior range. The softer flexing DRS 60 and 50 junior boots remain.

Even though Grip Walk is not really a technology for race boots the junior’s DRS 60 and 50 can be fitted with appropriate Grip Walk soles.

The flexes in the DRS World Cup range remain unchanged, and are still 93mm last. As last season, the DRS WC XS is a 90mm last boot.

DS piste ski boots

A step down from their DRS race boots sits the DS range of piste skiing boots. With their bold looks, they offer powerful drive thanks to Dalbello’s Power Cage design. Most models come with heat moldable shells and liners and they’re 100mm last.

For 19/20, Dalbello has added to the range with two factory versions. These boots, the DS Asolo Factory GW and DS Asolo Factory W GW, are narrower than the other DS boots, slimmed to a 98mm last for men and 97mm last for women.

The cuff of these boots is taller too, and they’re stiffer with a 135 flex for men and 120 flex for women. As if this wasn’t enough both of them come mounted with Grip Walk soles and these boots are pretty light; 1,750g for the men’s and 1,550g for the women’s version.

Panterra range – old name, new boot

Things get even more fruity when you want a boot with a ski/hike function for freeriding and touring. The Panterra range was already superb and uses Dalbello’s cabrio design.

Rather than a wrap-around plastic cuff mounted to a clog that you get in a regular two-piece ski boot, the cabrio design is comprised of three parts; the clog, the cuff and a tongue. This gives a different sensation when flexing the boot and works really well for freeride and freestyle skiing. Here you may may want a more progressive flex and not the classic feel of a two-piece race or piste performance boot.

For 19/20 the Panterra range receives lots of updates. This includes

• a new shell, taking design cues from the DS’s Power Cage
• a variable ramp angle (the angle your foot sits at in the boot)
• improved ski/hike mode, with 50° range of motion in walk mode
• Grip Walk soles

If that wasn’t enough the range is now a lot lighter. The top level Panterra 130 flex boot has been on a diet and lost 110g in a year, down to 1,690g.

The women’s Kyra range is now called Panterra W, and there’s a new top-level W boot with 105 flex, as well as the 75, 85 and 95 flexes they had for 18/19.

All of the updates mentioned above apply to the women’s Panterra boots too. The Panterra MX and Kyra MX boots have been dropped for next season though as that wider last can easily be attained in the main Panterra range due to their heat mouldable shells.

TESTED: Dalbello Panterra 120 GW

I tested the Panterra 120 GW boot. It’s available with Dalbello’s ID, wrap-around liner, or the IF Comp liner, which is a traditional style tongue liner. I skied it with the IF Comp liner.

The Powercage delivers drive to the skis so responsively, meaning this boot has a lot of power for a 120 flex model. If given a choice I always ski a boot that’s stiffer than 120. At no time did I worry about over flexing the 120 though. I’ve folded Dalbello Krypton 130’s before, so this is testament to the design of the new Panterra.

Powercage versus cabrio flex

The Powercage features on their DS boots, which are a standard two-piece ski boot. The Panterra is a cabrio design, so I was interested to see how this external skeleton worked with this type of boot. I was really pleased than the beautifully smooth flex of the cabrio boot is not comprised by this increase in drive and power. It had a classic Dalbello feel to the flex and I love that.

No pressure over the instep

The Panterra 120 boot is a high volume boot, vertically. This means it will work really well if you suffer from pressure over the top of your foot, which is quite common. The toe box is a great shape, which will help to prevent from unwanted pressure and cold toes.

I like boots with Grip Walk soles as they make hiking for lines more sure-footed, giving you confidence to access more fresh tracks. They also make it much easier to negotiate restaurant steps and hard floors, which can often be very slippery with regular ski boot soles. They deliver power without issue, so you don’t loose that benefit of a flat soled downhill ski boot.

Just make sure you’re using them in a Grip Walk or multi-norm binding.

If you have a slender, low volume foot then there are other boots that could suit you better.

Weight wise, they’re on a par with competitors, coming in just under 2kg per boot in size 26.5MP.

Panterra boots don’t have pin inserts though, for use with bindings like the Marker Kingpin, Salomon/Atomic Shift, Fritschi Vipec and Tecton or Dynafit bindings.

Lupo boots

If you want to ski a pin binding then you should check out Dalbello’s Lupo range of boots.

The Lupo AX (AX is 100mm last) in the 120 flex is a go-to boot for many wanting superb touring function without sacrificing that classic Dalbello cabrio freeride feel. It’s changed it’s outfit for 19/20, in a darker blue with black tongue and cuff

Lupo HD

They have two new models in their standard Lupo range, intended for resort workers, and the like, that need hard wearing kit; Lupo Pro HD and the Lupo AX HD.

The Pro is a 98mm last boot, in striking Dalbello green with a black cuff and tongue. They’ve mixed carbon in to stiffen up the boot, giving a 130 flex for those that want to charge hard. They use PU for a harder wearing, but slightly heavier construction than the Lupo Factory.

The AX version of the Lupo HD boot is wider at 100mm, and has a 110 flex. It also comes in a more feminine metal red colour.

If these are too stiff then you can drop down to a 90 flex Lupo AX boot, and they offer a women’s Lupo AX in 105 flex. The tongue on Lupo boots is easily removed when in tour mode to give you an even greater range of movement and they all come mounted with Grip Walk soles.

Lupo Air

They have a new breed of Lupo boot called the Lupo Air. This is available in 130 and 110 flex versions. These lose over half a kilo per boot over their eponymous siblings, and although they may carry the Lupo name they’re quite different beasts.

Designed in collaboration with Dalbello freeride legend Stian Hagen, these boots offer what we all yearn for – a super lightweight boot that makes the up as effortless as possible while not compromising that killer downhill performance modern free-tour skiers need.

The Lupo Air has a standard alpine touring sole (ISO 9523) with pin inserts, so will work with pin touring bindings, the new Kingpin M-Werks and the Salomon/Atomic shift bindings.

You can swap to a Grip Walk sole but that is heavier. The Lupo Air doesn’t have a tongue, to save weight and make going from ski to hike mode and back quicker. It has a cable over the lower foot that tightens in a z-pattern over the foot when you close the instep buckle.

Weight is kept low with a Grilamid Air clog. A carbon infused rear is light but provides power and drive when skiing. They’ve redesigned the ski/hike mechanism on the rear of the boot to give fantastic drive even though there’s no tongue. A broad power closure around the top of the cuff helps deliver that power and performance for charging back down. All of this in a package that only weighs 1,299g and costs £625. Bring it on!