Hawx flex range

PurlI been searching all over the inter webs and I’m convinced I’m searching for the wrong thing.

Here’s the deal. I got a pair (fitted and molded) of hawx ultra 130s and the stiffness is compatible to the Lange XT 130’s I came out of but what isn’t comparable is the XT’s would hold their shape deep into the flex without bellowing out. I feel the Hawx have like 3/4 the amount of flex range before they are unsupportive.

I guess my question is, is there a term that is searchable describing the amount of flex range before not being able to support?
-and-
As a 5’9” 210lb guy should I actually be in a race style boot to ski my invictus 89,108, Dictator 2.0 and dynastar xxl pro’s that are all 185+?


thanks.

@onenerdykid

PurlI been searching all over the inter webs and I’m convinced I’m searching for the wrong thing.

Here’s the deal. I got a pair (fitted and molded) of hawx ultra 130s and the stiffness is compatible to the Lange XT 130’s I came out of but what isn’t comparable is the XT’s would hold their shape deep into the flex without bellowing out. I feel the Hawx have like 3/4 the amount of flex range before they are unsupportive.

I guess my question is, is there a term that is searchable describing the amount of flex range before not being able to support?
-and-
As a 5’9” 210lb guy should I actually be in a race style boot to ski my invictus 89,108, Dictator 2.0 and dynastar xxl pro’s that are all 185+?


thanks.

I personally would not be skiing a Hawk Ultra XTD on any, “charger,” type skis. It’s a solid boot but boots of that category (the, 50/50 category like the Hawx Ultra, XT series, Mindbender series) are generally a little softer compared to an alpine boot of the same flex designation. I’m 5’11 and 200 pounds and I can bottom a Hawx Ultra XTD 130 out completely. I would be in something like the XT like you had before or consider a Lupo Pro HD from Dalbello which is a true 130. Given the 3 piece design of the boot, the walk mode doesn’t affect the flex of the boot like it does on a traditional 4 buckle shell so it’s true to flex (more or less, no such thing really as true to flex).

PurlI been searching all over the inter webs and I’m convinced I’m searching for the wrong thing.

Here’s the deal. I got a pair (fitted and molded) of hawx ultra 130s and the stiffness is compatible to the Lange XT 130’s I came out of but what isn’t comparable is the XT’s would hold their shape deep into the flex without bellowing out. I feel the Hawx have like 3/4 the amount of flex range before they are unsupportive.

I guess my question is, is there a term that is searchable describing the amount of flex range before not being able to support?
-and-
As a 5’9” 210lb guy should I actually be in a race style boot to ski my invictus 89,108, Dictator 2.0 and dynastar xxl pro’s that are all 185+?


thanks.

Couple questions:
-Are you in a 21/22 Hawx Ultra 130 or a 20/21 Hawx Ultra?
-Are you in a 21/22 Hawx Ultra 130 or a 21/22 Hawx Ultra XTD?

If you have no idea, please a post a picture of the boot. I need to know what model & model year of boot you have.

20/21 hawx ultra 130 s

I know I originally compared an AT-ish boot to a true alpine but it’s what I had and if I tour I’ll be on something completely different.

History; it was early March last year and still had 10+ days left to ski when my OG non tech pin XT 130 cracked from the lower cog saddle down towards my instep. I scrambled to find boots for the rest of the year and the Hawx served their purpose and filled the void.

I have done some side by side and have realized that the Hawx will provide the same level and/or range of flex before bellowing out when the boot is tightened extremely tight and there is more pressure on the metatarsal buckle than needed. This seemed to ensure that the plastic from the heel area up offer the Met’s were as tight as possible (to not allow the bellowing) and the upper cuff (which also would be tighter than expected) would have to use a lot more leverage to push that to bellowing.

Seems like at this point the boot worked like a unibody car, as a whole, to create the flex pattern. Rather than on older car or truck, with a true frame in this case the rear spine, to provide the full support of the flex.


I understand it’s is not a normal case because of my size, weight, skis, and ski type I’d be way outside of most demographics. And TBH I’d accept the fact that i may need to get into a Redster CS, RS, Raptor or Doberman at this point.

The bellowing/collapsing characteristic you are describing on the 20/21 model is something that can happen when people (especially larger guys) aggressively flex the boot.

For the 21/22 season, the boot received a lot of structural updates to make it more stable & more powerful and not collapse when aggressively flexing it.

Thanks. I’ve tried to understand the issue (including listening to a lot of buzzed Jonathan Ellsworth chats) to under stand the true dynamic of if there actual is a glossary term to describe the range of motion within the flex before bellowing/collapsing, and if that’s a disclosed and/or published unit of measure by manufactures.

It varies by foot shape and shell shaping understandably but is there a baseline?

PurlThanks. I’ve tried to understand the issue (including listening to a lot of buzzed Jonathan Ellsworth chats) to under stand the true dynamic of if there actual is a glossary term to describe the range of motion within the flex before bellowing/collapsing, and if that’s a disclosed and/or published unit of measure by manufactures.

It varies by foot shape and shell shaping understandably but is there a baseline?

Whether it is a 2-piece overlap boot or a 3-piece cabrio boot, all boot flex involves deforming plastic. To my knowledge, there is no term to describe movement before bellowing because there is no movement without bellowing (even a 3-piece boot bellows outward when flexing). Brands don't publish specific/detailed flex data. The closest thing you might see is a flex pattern comparison, but it won't have any meaningful values on it.

There is no agreed upon baseline, standardization, Nm torque value, etc. for ski boot flex. In the late 90s, brands were mainly ranking their boots on a 1-10 scale where 1 was softest and 10 was stiffest. In the early 2000s, Lange added another digit and started the current scale of 130-120-110-etc. which, for some reason, every brand jumped on. Flex indexes are made up numbers that only makes sense within a brand, and even then there are often differences within the brand. The only things you can be sure of as you move from a smaller numbered flex to a bigger one are: 1) the boot is getting stiffer, somehow/somewhere, 2) the boot is usually going to have nicer features, and 3) the boot is getting more expensive. It's honestly more of a hierarchy indicator than anything else.