Thoughts on Atomic Hawx Ultra 130

onenerdykidPersonally, I love these straps and think they are even easier to use than a normal velcro strap. I put them on all of my boots. If you are interested in them, they are available as a spare part through your local Atomic retailer and can be installed on pretty much any ski boot.

onenerdykidYou'd be surprised how many complaints we get on a global level about people not knowing how to operate the metal buckle on these types of straps. When I first joined Atomic, I spec'ed a buckle-type strap on all 130 level boots (Tracker, Burner, and Hawx) for a couple of years. Turns out that many retailers were having to remove the strap and install a normal velcro strap because people (non-racers) didn't want to be hassled figuring out how to work it. It was a crash course in realizing just how different the markets are between North America and Europe/Asia. Everything in Europe needs to be easy to use and convenient and simple, and that is 70% of the ski market. So, when a large segment of the largest market complains, we need to follow suit.

Personally, I love these straps and think they are even easier to use than a normal velcro strap. I put them on all of my boots. If you are interested in them, they are available as a spare part through your local Atomic retailer and can be installed on pretty much any ski boot.

BrawnTrendsSo why having rivets and not easy-to-remove screws on that velcro strap? I'd love to change the strap on my Hawx Ultra 110 for a BS (or the Atomic counterpart), but I'm not super handy with a power drill.

scottydonaldInteresting....

After our PM convo I am leaning towards getting these boots in a. couple of weeks over the Rester Sport but not wanting o sacrifice the strap.

Might remove the current one from my Rester Pros... can't seem to find a link to the replacement strap online - can you help???

BrawnTrendsFair enough... So, in your unbiased opinion, is it better to get a regular booster strap or the Atomic one? Knowing that if I go through my shop, I won't pay retail price for the Atomic.

onenerdykidThe benefit of our Dual Strap (that's its official name) is that it is 55mm tall and sits independently on both the cuff and the tongue of the liner. You can get the cuff super tight and the liner perfectly flush with your shin. A Booster strap is much skinnier and doesn't easily fit on both the cuff and your liner tongue. Again, it's not a bad product, but I think what we've come up with creates a better fit on your leg.

mtnbkr123Just as tough (and painful) as my old Langes to get on and off.

mtnbkr123compared to my trusty 10 year old Lange Freeride 120 boots, these Hawx are almost upright. With my Langes, I can carve my Line Prophet 100s on a dime, just by thinking about turning. With the Hawx...ummm...no. Not even close. And the Hawx are 10x stiffer than my Langes which further inhibits me getting over the fronts of my skis (I am 6', 190 pounds, and have been squatting maximum weight on the 5x5 program 3x a week for about 6 months now).

I tried to adjust the forward lean to 17 degrees last night. Nope. No go. I am taking them into the retailer right now to see if they can help me.

I hope this wasn't a mistake.

PS - many thanks to onenerdykid for all your selfless and very valuable contributions in this thread and elsewhere at this site.

mtnbkr123I bought a pair of new old stock 2016-17 120s. First day out yesterday. Lots of good, and one major bad.

First the good. Light, comfortable, acceptable on the warmth front.

Now the bad.

Just as tough (and painful) as my old Langes to get on and off.

But much worse, compared to my trusty 10 year old Lange Freeride 120 boots, these Hawx are almost upright. With my Langes, I can carve my Line Prophet 100s on a dime, just by thinking about turning. With the Hawx...ummm...no. Not even close. And the Hawx are 10x stiffer than my Langes which further inhibits me getting over the fronts of my skis (I am 6', 190 pounds, and have been squatting maximum weight on the 5x5 program 3x a week for about 6 months now).

I tried to adjust the forward lean to 17 degrees last night. Nope. No go. I am taking them into the retailer right now to see if they can help me.

I hope this wasn't a mistake.

PS - many thanks to onenerdykid for all your selfless and very valuable contributions in this thread and elsewhere at this site.

**This post was edited on Nov 18th 2017 at 1:27:37pm

**This post was edited on Nov 18th 2017 at 1:30:14pm

mtnbkr123Am currently obsessing over boot warmer choices for me and my daughter (Sidas footbed warmers vs Lenz socks, and possibly a heated boot bag, although with respect to the latter, not sure if that is a bad idea for heat moulded shells and liners)...

Thanks again.

onenerdykidIf you need more warmz, definitely go for the heated socks, so much nicer than archaic Hotronic/Sidas style heaters with cables and cut liners. Heated boot bags can be a problem for ANY boot that has been stretched (traditional pressing or Memory Fit etc). If the bag gets above 50°C/120°F, it can lead to shrinking the plastic back. Be careful with that one.

AttainArrayJust got my hands on the Atomic Hawx Ultra 110. I wanted a slightly softer boot for hitting the park. I think they could be slightly too flexy... I have gone through the thread and haven't seem to find a direct answer on this.
Am I right in saying that by adjusting the forward lean from 15 degrees to 13 degrees this will adjust the boot flex from a 110 flex to a 120 flex?

Greg_KRead my post after and it corrects him and agrees with you that by adding the additional screw in the back of the 110(2 screws 120 flex) or 120(130 flex with 2 screws) you go up about 10 on the stiffness scale. The 130 has the 2 screws already installed but would drop to about 120 if you removed one screw.

onenerdykidYep- adding the second screw will roughly stiffen the boot by 10 points, and pulling the top screw from the 130 will soften it by the same. Never remove both screws from the Power Shift piece.

Alistair.You got any tips on stopping them pinching the foot when taking the boot off?

mtnbkr123I was out today and wanted to report back.

My 120s are now awesome, after having moved them to 17 degrees. It became readily apparent that that is where I have always been in my boots. No more flex issues either - I can crank forward as much as I want now.

As a bonus, these boots are the most comfortable boots I have ever owned. I had them on today for 8 hours, without even unbuckling them at lunch.

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome.

So happy now that they are at 17 degrees.

onenerdykidthe 13° flip chip option

BrawnTrendsWhat's that?

onenerdykidIf you need more warmz, definitely go for the heated socks, so much nicer than archaic Hotronic/Sidas style heaters with cables and cut liners. Heated boot bags can be a problem for ANY boot that has been stretched (traditional pressing or Memory Fit etc). If the bag gets above 50°C/120°F, it can lead to shrinking the plastic back. Be careful with that one.

chickenLenz socks do not work at all. Biggest waste of money ever.

onenerdykidIn size 26, it is very easy to get the shell to expand to 102mm in the forefoot (which is what we claim). Bear in mind that 98mm is on size 26, on size 27 it is 100mm, on 28 is 102, etc. etc. So it also depends on the length of your foot/what size shell you are looking at. If you are a size 29, it will be 104 out of the box :)

Hawx Ultra has a low-medium instep height, and more generous than X-Max/Ghost. But it's still a low volume (98mm) last. If you have a super meaty instep, you definitely want to boot-fitter before pulling the trigger.

alexeygtonenerdykid: Do you think I can enlarge Ultra 130 lengthwise for 2-3 mm during memory fit molding (I have size 26)? i.e. putting toe cap inside my socks? I know I can make them wider, but it seems I need a couple mm in length - not sure if memory fit molding will be enough, or my bootfitter would need to do some extra stretching in toe box. He was concerned about stretching the toe box lengthwise because of very short BSL - he worries it might be interfering with bindings interface. Any hints?

onenerdykidThey didn't work for you? I've heard from lots of people that they are the bee's knees...

chickenthey work great in winter boots and ice skates. not in a tight-fitting ski boot. Burn the bottom of your feet and your toes are still frozen. Looking forward to trying the new toe cap version.

cobra_commanderThe heating element is on top of the foot...

Mikha197Hello? Is Hawx Ultra remoldable? I had very stiff feelings in heels before heat fitting, but after it my heels and ankles very loose. Will new molding process restore previous form or there is nothing to do with loose ankles now?

**This post was edited on Feb 14th 2018 at 12:50:07pm

onenerdykidHow many ski days do you have on the boot? (Have you packed out the liner too?)

Mikha197I'm about 3 weeks in boots. And the liner is molded and pretty packed out.
I think my bootfitter expected the boots will be pressing my foot during cooling process but they don't.

**This post was edited on Feb 15th 2018 at 3:58:12pm

DingoSeanFuckin eggshell polyammide haha. Some guy from New York came into the shop last night with a pair of hawx boots that were absolutely warped in the oven. I'm guessing the guy put it in for like 10 minutes instead of the requested 5.

onenerdykidAll regular Hawx Ultra lower shells use a special Polyurethane from the ether family. No PAs- that's for the XTD series.

There's definitely a few idiot fitters/shops that tell people to walk or flex in the boots during the molding process. Face palm.

DingoSeanYeah i'm working with the XTD's a lot as well (I'm in a backcountry shop) But the 130 ultras have a PA cuff, yes?

onenerdykidYep, the current orange/white 130s have a Grilamid (PA12) cuff. For next year, we switch the 130 cuff to a world cup PU. When we first launched Ultra, it was meant to be our lightest boot so that's why we used Grilamid in the cuff. It's only about 30g lighter than the PU cuff, which we offset by making the power strap and buckle base plates a little lighter without making them weaker. So next year's Ultra 130 is about the same exact weight but full PU.

DingoSeanSo is it basically going to be like the club sport then?

DingoSeanThe real question though.

will the cuff crack ;)

onenerdykidReal answer- no. Since we've made updates to the molds (some 16/17 boots, all 17/18 boots), we have zero warranty breakages. Those same updates were put into Ultra XTD at the very beginning, and we have no breakages there either (same exact material that was used in the first 2 years of normal Ultra 130).

DingoSeanFigured not. But yeah, the first prod. run 130's were def having issues with cracking. Glad that's sorted.