Long-Term Test: 2017 Lange RS 140

[Brian Finch]

I had to laught last night, twice....

I dog ate a racers liner & he happened to have same foot size as my wife. We went back ~5 generations of NOS liners we've been hoarding to find the one that closest matched the height of his current liner. The upper rim & the hieght vary somewhat year to year, but the Lange shape is the Lange shape.

 

[Brian Finch]

Actually, the 140 has an upgrade in buckles too. There will not be a 140 next year.

What happens to the 140?

 

[Philpug]

What happens to the 140?

It was filler, most are just getting either the 130 or going to the WC boots.

 

[skifastDDS]

It was filler, most are just getting either the 130 or going to the WC boots.

That's a bummer, the 2016 RS140 is the best boot I have ever had, for my foot. It occupies a niche for those such as myself who want as much stiffness as possible but have trouble getting into the full plug due to foot volume. They are incredibly comfortable and versatile for a "race" boot, in my experience. I suspect I would not be happy with the 130 stiffness. Does "more anatomical last" mean wider? Perhaps I should stockpile some of the current RS140s...

 

[Philpug]

That's a bummer, the 2016 RS140 is the best boot I have ever had, for my foot. It occupies a niche for those such as myself who want as much stiffness as possible but have trouble getting into the full plug due to foot volume. They are incredibly comfortable and versatile for a "race" boot, in my experience. I suspect I would not be happy with the 130 stiffness. Does "more anatomical last" mean wider? Perhaps I should stockpile some of the current RS140s...

Not to burst you bubble, but the 130 and 140 were the same exact shell, the 140 had the lace up liner being the only structural difference. The more anatimical last means it is shaped more like a foot, more sculpted,

 

[hbear]

You can take a new RS130 and put a new liner in....voila your own RS140 (however without the painted 140 so everybody knows you are baller).

 

[skifastDDS]

Not to burst you bubble, but the 130 and 140 were the same exact shell, the 140 had the lace up liner being the only structural difference. The more anatimical last means it is shaped more like a foot, more sculpted,

Gotcha, well that's less concerning then. You learn something every day. I love the 140 liner, I know you are not a fan Phil.

 

[surfandski]

Hello, I tried on a pair of RS 130 in 27.5 today and I have a couple of questions about fit if any of you could help give me some feedback. Shell fitting the boot I had about 15mm behind the heel and width wise, both sides of my feet were touching the shell but not with pressure. My foot is a C or C+ at 104-105mm wide.

When I tried the boots on they were very tight which is understandable but what I'm trying to figure out is how tight should the overall width/volume be before one would know if they should go up to the 100mm last? The boots are tight in length but I know that will break in due to the shell fit but the width seems very tight. The challenge is that I have very low volume heels and I love how these RS boots locked in my heels with no hint of heel lift which is a problem in other boots. Unfortunately, they didn't have a 100mm RS boot to try to compare. I'm an aggressive, advanced skier getting back into it after a long hiatus so it's been a while since I've broken in boots and am going through the doubt phase of if these would truly ever be "all day comfortable". The boot fitter said he could punch it out wherever necessary and felt these would work for me. I would just hate to buy them and be back and forth a dozen times trying to blow out the shells to make room only to realize later on that I should have gone with the 100mm in stead. When I first put them on they feel like they are my foot's shape only crazy tight. It's not so much certain areas that hurt as much as everything uniformly being aggressively squeezed like shaking hands with a Neanderthal who squeezes your hand uniformly but at the time, you wonder if he's not going to crush it.

In the wide 100mm version of the RS is the volume in the heel increased or does that volume remain the same (low volume) and it's more of the fore foot and toe box that is more spacious? Squeezing the liner there is definitely some material there that could be compressed but it is quite firm so it would be nice if these came with thinner liners without having to immediately spend money on aftermarket ones.

Great boots if I can make them work! Thanks for your help!

 

[Philpug]

OK...IIRC, Lange claims to keep the heels the same and just widen the forefoot. I was trying to find the diagram but cannot. Yes, it is easier to get room on the forefoot, your fitter is right there. I don't 100% agree with the "just go ski it, it will pack out or we will punch it" thought process especially since it sounds like your let him know your concerns with the fit. Personally, I try to get a boot at least 90% while in the store, if there is little chance I will see the customer back or I can tell the customer does not want to come back, I will get more. The neanderthal tightness sounds like a concern to me, how thick or thin of a sock are you wearing?

 

[surfandski]

OK...IIRC, Lange claims to keep the heels the same and just widen the forefoot. I was trying to find the diagram but cannot. Yes, it is easier to get room on the forefoot, your fitter is right there. I don't 100% agree with the "just go ski it, it will pack out or we will punch it" thought process especially since it sounds like your let him know your concerns with the fit. Personally, I try to get a boot at least 90% while in the store, if there is little chance I will see the customer back or I can tell the customer does not want to come back, I will get more. The neanderthal tightness sounds like a concern to me, how thick or thin of a sock are you wearing?

I had the thinnest ultralight socks on smart wool I believe. Hmm, makes me wonder if they are too tight. I could either ride the lift up or take a run down but couldn't do both because 10-15 min is about the max I could handle before needing to get them off. A few minutes later I could put them back on and go another 10-15. Obviously, it would be a different story once punched/stretched out but I'm trying to figure out if this is the right boot to get me to where I want to go (performance but all day comfort, ok with opening buckles at the bottom of runs but not feeling like I need to take them off mid way thru the day) or if I should start with more volume. I just don't want to lose that awesome locked in feel in the heels! I also don't want these to be a never ending project as I want to get them dialed in and then enjoy skiing.

 

[surfandski]

BTW- it's not the length as the shell fit was perfect with maybe a punch on the big toe and it will be good there. Everything else is uniformly, really, really tight.

Thanks!

 

[James]

How's the instep? We can't actually fit you on the internet.

I really don't get going out and skiing a boot with no work done to it. Usually that's either sheer laziness on the fitter. Or you're thinking of swapping sizes? Or they simply don't believe it's tight on you.
A dozen trips would be a lot but a few hours of fitting for a performance fit is very common.

 

[surfandski]

I do have a high instep, 29cm on one foot and 30 on other compared to just under 28 cm length. It really comes down to very limited sizing where I live. I'd love to try the RS 130 in 100mm or RX 130 LV (supposedly a little more room in the instep) to compare but they don't have those. I went back today and did another 4x15 minutes in the boots and those liners just won't relent. I have about 1.5 hrs in them now and they feel just as tight as the first time I tried them. I don't think it's the length as shell fit shows about 12-15mm. Width wise today they seemed almost tighter where my feet are touching both sides with a little pressure. Liners are comfortable outside the boots and a hair short but once inside the shells, that extra padding all around the foot is Neanderthal tight. I bet a RS 130 100mm or a RX 130 97 or 100mm would give me some relief but they don't have any of those in my size. The same size Nordica Speedmachine in 100mm was almost too comfortable to where I could have skied it with minimal discomfort out of the box but it shell sized at least 5-8mm longer than the Lange and I know it would be too big plus it's didn't lock in my heel like the Lange. I'd probably have to go down a size in the Nordica as it ran a bit bigger. They are getting in a pair of RX 130 100mm in my size later this week so that will be interesting to try as I believe the RX has more room in the instep. I'm just hoping the heel box is about the same as the 97mm as I love how locked in my heel is in the 97mm but I'm thinking I'm going to have to go with a little more volume. I don't doubt the 97mm RS could be made to work since the length is good but I suppose if I need to have him punch everywhere possible, then I might be better going a little wider to get more volume before starting the plastic surgery. Or have some of you started your RS fitting with as tight a boot as mine and ended up with a comfortable fit?

I totally get it's impossible to internet fit as ski boot but it's also hard for the boot fitter to "feel" how tight it is to know if it's workable tight, or let's go a little wider tight? That's where people sharing their experiences does help one to discern if what they are feeling is sort of normal, or unnecessary torture. Thanks!

 

[Ken_R]

That is a pretty high instep! So I do not think your foot qualifies as low volume. How does the shell fit on the instep area? IIRC the RS and RX come from the same mold. Why don't you try another brand like the Technicas or other Nordicas?

 

[James]

It's quite normal to have boots unskiable without significant work first. Most racers require hours of work before skiing.
Usually bootfitters know what needs to be done and which models to go for. Different models have different lasts. How that matches with your foot is objective, shell fit space is objective.

What has your fitter said?

 

[surfandski]

That is a pretty high instep! So I do not think your foot qualifies as low volume. How does the shell fit on the instep area? IIRC the RS and RX come from the same mold. Why don't you try another brand like the Technicas or other Nordicas?

Agreed, I'm low volume in the heel and lower foot which is all boney with not much meat but then a fairly high instep (if I'm measuring correctly) and slightly wider than normal in the forefoot. Shell fitting for instep I have about 1.5 fingers height between foot and shell with the 2nd buckle from my toes clipped in the 2nd clip. I read somewhere that the RX and xt have more room in the instep but I guess that info is not correct. I realized today that 97mm is too narrow unless I'm wanting to buy thinner liners (which I'm not ready to do right off the bat) or do some major punching on the shell. The fitter feels he could make it work but said if we are needing to try to get more volume nearly everywhere but the heel, we have the wrong boot which I agree with.

I'm going to try the 100mm Rx 130 when it comes in and see how much difference that 3mm makes. If the RS and RX shells are 100% the same then I assume if the RX fits nicely than I could safely go with the RS 130 wide as well?

I have recently tried on the Tecnica Mach 1 MV (100mm), Speedmachine (100mm) and both of those were understandably more comfortable than the RS. In the same 27.5 they both were longer inside and of course had more width and volume all around. My concern is that they were likely "too comfortable" new as I could have gone out and skied a few runs without breaking them in and even in the new liner, I could move my heels around a bit. The Nordica Nrgy did not fit well with the rounded toe box compared to the Speedmachine (which had the best toe box of any boots with the squared off big toe). So far nothing has locked in my heel like the Lange so I'm hoping a little wider will help.

So zero difference in volume between the RS 130 wide and Rx 130? Also, is there any difference in liners between the 2014 and newer RS liners? Today while trying on the RS again I noticed the box says it was made in summer of 2014.

Thanks, I do appreciate it!

 

[Ken_R]

As far as I know the RX 130 (not the LV) and the RS 130 Wide have identical shells. I think the XT's are different.

 

[surfandski]

Thanks Ken!

 

[Ken_R]

Thanks Ken!

There are differences in the liners. As always, call your boot fitter I am sure he has much more info on this.

 

[surfandski]

There are differences in the liners. As always, call your boot fitter I am sure he has much more info on this.

I look forward to the day when I once again live in a state where it actually snows, there are actual ski shops with more than one boot above 100 flex and boot footers are abundant. It's not so easy in a state that averages 0.00mm per year. You'd laugh at some of the off the wall things I've heard the "boot fitters" say in the local "ski shops" I've been in lately. It's why I appreciate what info I can get from the internet. Thanks!