Atomic Hawk Ultra 115 S

[Midlifeaddiction]

I have the older version (Hawk Prime 110) - I need the lowest volume boot I can find so this boot choice is a no brainer. Wondering if they made the boot any easier to get into. (do older boots get more brittle?) What is the flex difference between the old Prime 110 and the Ultra 115. Also is it worth it to get the hybrid- the alpine touring one? I like a high performing alpine boot and don’t want to compromise on the front-side performance.

 

[Jilly]

@SnowHot, correct me if I've got this wrong.
The Prime is still there in the line at Atomic. It's meant for a medium width foot. The Ultra is for a narrow foot. So which would fit you better.

If you need a low volume, then look at the Redster in the Atomic line.

 

[Midlifeaddiction]

They changed things up. The Prime ( 5 years ago) was their advanced very low volume boot. They have expanded the line and now the Prime is an intermediate/med volume boot. In their Ultra models- one is piste only and one is hybrid. I am asking about the flex of the on piste one vs. the fit and performance of the hybrid one.

 

[SnowHot]

@SnowHot, correct me if I've got this wrong.
The Prime is still there in the line at Atomic. It's meant for a medium width foot. The Ultra is for a narrow foot. So which would fit you better.

If you need a low volume, then look at the Redster in the Atomic line.

The Ultra is the narrow boot, Prime is medium width and Magna is the wide body.

 

[SnowHot]

I have the older version (Hawk Prime 110) - I need the lowest volume boot I can find so this boot choice is a no brainer. Wondering if they made the boot any easier to get into. (do older boots get more brittle?) What is the flex difference between the old Prime 110 and the Ultra 115. Also is it worth it to get the hybrid- the alpine touring one? I like a high performing alpine boot and don’t want to compromise on the front-side performance.

The throat of the Atomic boot line is kinda steep and not the easiest to get into for someone with a limited ankle ROM or someone with a high instep.

I just double checked with one of the Masterfit instructors, and the Prime has always been the medium last.

 

[SnowHot]

They changed things up. The Prime ( 5 years ago) was their advanced very low volume boot. They have expanded the line and now the Prime is an intermediate/med volume boot. In their Ultra models- one is piste only and one is hybrid. I am asking about the flex of the on piste one vs. the fit and performance of the hybrid one.

Are you talking about the Hawx Ultra vs the Hawx Ultra XTD?
I have several pair of boots that I ski regularly. The Hawx Ultra XTD 115 W skis similarly to my K2 Anthem Pro which is a low volume 120 flex boot.

I don't think the XTD in a 105 will ski much differently than the Hawx Prime Ultra 105.

 

[SnowHot]

 

[Kimmyt]

Obviously @SnowHot would be the expert in this, but as an extra point of data I ski the Hawx Ultra XTD from about two seasons ago as my daily alpine boot. My fitter put me in this boot vs the Ultra because he felt the liner was a little thinner and would accomodate my wide forefoot better (i still have a low volume foot so finding a way to make the two compatible can be challenging). I have not skied the Ultra vs the XTD but when I questioned him about whether I would be making sacrifices on performance by using the hybrid boot as an aggressive all mountain skier he did not seem concerned about it.

 

[SnowHot]

Obviously @SnowHot would be the expert in this, but as an extra point of data I ski the Hawx Ultra XTD from about two seasons ago as my daily alpine boot. My fitter put me in this boot vs the Ultra because he felt the liner was a little thinner and would accomodate my wide forefoot better (i still have a low volume foot so finding a way to make the two compatible can be challenging). I have not skied the Ultra vs the XTD but when I questioned him about whether I would be making sacrifices on performance by using the hybrid boot as an aggressive all mountain skier he did not seem concerned about it.

The XTD liner is different because you want it to articulate when hiking so that “could” make it softer but when I tried them back to back the sure felt the same stiffness

 

[elemmac]

Wondering if they made the boot any easier to get into. (do older boots get more brittle?) What is the flex difference between the old Prime 110 and the Ultra 115. Also is it worth it to get the hybrid- the alpine touring one? I like a high performing alpine boot and don’t want to compromise on the front-side performance.

I am currently wearing an Ultra 115. In my opinion, they're a PITA to get on. Not the worst I've ever had, but they're pretty rough if they're not heated up a bit first (foot heater of the passenger side of your car works pretty well, in a pinch). I would image the older 110 and new 115 are pretty similar in flex, but I don't have firsthand knowledge.

As for getting the XTD version...do you plan on touring with it? If you do, my understanding is that minimal performance is given up (from discussions with people that have skied both), but once again, I do not have firsthand experience comparing the 2. As mentioned above, the feedback I've gotten is that the liner is thinner, and thus can be prone to wearing out a bit quicker.

 

[mustski]

I have bone inhibited dorsiflexion in one foot and can't ever get a boot on unless I heat it first. A heated boot bag is a very worthwhile investment - IMO. I have 2 of them. One for daily use and one for aiplane travel that is smaller.

 

[vanhoskier]

I have bone inhibited dorsiflexion in one foot and can't ever get a boot on unless I heat it first. A heated boot bag is a very worthwhile investment - IMO. I have 2 of them. One for daily use and one for aiplane travel that is smaller.

My Ultras were still a PITO to get on, even with the heated boot bag.
I learned from a recent boot fitting session that even though I have a narrow foot, the shape of my calf and dorsiflexion made it difficult to get my heel seated in the heel pocket, throwing off my balance.

 

[vanhoskier]

I am currently wearing an Ultra 115. In my opinion, they're a PITA to get on. Not the worst I've ever had, but they're pretty rough if they're not heated up a bit first (foot heater of the passenger side of your car works pretty well, in a pinch). I would image the older 110 and new 115 are pretty similar in flex, but I don't have firsthand knowledge.

As for getting the XTD version...do you plan on touring with it? If you do, my understanding is that minimal performance is given up (from discussions with people that have skied both), but once again, I do not have firsthand experience comparing the 2. As mentioned above, the feedback I've gotten is that the liner is thinner, and thus can be prone to wearing out a bit quicker.

My bootfitter did say that if one needs a lot of boot modifications, it's harder to do with the XTD version, or with any touring/hybrid boot compared to a full alpine boot.

Might be something to consider, depending on the person.

@Midlifeaddiction if you want a high performance alpine boot, I'd take a look at one of the Redster models in the Atomic line.

 

[mustski]

@vanhoskier I think we are currently in the same boot. You ended up with the anthem pros, right?

 

[vanhoskier]

@vanhoskier I think we are currently in the same boot. You ended up with the anthem pros, right?

I was in the Recon 120, very similar to the Anthem Pro.
But....it got lost in the move.

So I'm being fitted in a slightly narrower Salomon S Pro Alpha.

 

[mustski]

Yikes! Lost in the move! So, are you coming to Reno?

 

[vanhoskier]

Yikes! Lost in the move! So, are you coming to Reno?

Yup, Just need to figure out when!!

 

[mustski]

Come after the new year so we can hang out!

 

[Midlifeaddiction]

The throat of the Atomic boot line is kinda steep and not the easiest to get into for someone with a limited ankle ROM or someone with a high instep.

I just double checked with one of the Masterfit instructors, and the Prime has always been the medium last.

You are correct. I realize my 110s are actually ultras. What was pointed out to me is that the flex can be modified with the pins in the back. Have decided to get alpine and touring specific boots.