2027 Salomon S/Pro Alpha C Boa 130 Ski Boot Review

The 2027 Salomon S/Pro Alpha C 130 BOA is a new boot with a new design, bringing low-volume and high-performance attributes to advanced and expert skiers. There’s a lot of engineering and physics that went into developing this new boot, with the ultimate goal of providing excellent energy transfer with minimal effort. It’s fair to say that Salomon has taken a big step in relinquishing the traditional four-buckle narrative in favor of more innovation and uniqueness. It’s still (nearly) fair to say that this is a two-piece boot, but the pieces certainly fit together in a different way. At the same time, this boot operates on a much different level of existence as it foregoes a medial ankle hinge in favor of a mechanical plastic connection. We put a lot of days on this boot over the second half of this past winter, and it’s clearly a winner for us in terms of mixing fit and performance.

The construction of the boot is quite unique. They start with a remote concept of a two-piece shell but then take the upper cuff and totally redefine it. Both parts are made with a thinner polyurethane plastic, but the ExoDrive of the cuff boosts the stiffness of the ski. The medial side of the cuff is brought lower into the shell and mated with a Powerlink metal piece that eliminates the need for a hinge point. This effectively doubles the amount of plastic on the inside portion of the boot. Salomon refers to this as a 3rd cuff overlap, and that does make sense, but it only makes sense when we talk about the higher angle of the instep buckle. Instead of just pushing down on the foot, this second buckle has more angle to it and more effectively brings the ankle and heel back into the pocket. This is a rare system to have in terms of buckling, and it’s amplified by the use of the cuff’s BOA closure system. The upper BOA does a great job of providing feedback and allowing the boot to flex evenly and predictably. With so much plastic along the medial side, the forward flex can be a bit stiff, so adding some cables that provide feedback makes more sense than a more static buckle system here. To make things a bit more customizable in this realm, Salomon also uses their Power Spine system that allows you to choose a stiffer or more active setting by turning a star nut to either boost or lessen leverage. The lateral hinge still exists, and that’s where we’re able to adjust the upper cuff angle if you so desire. In terms of stance, the boot board angle of 4 degrees is offset by a forward lean of 13.5. The removable spoiler increases it to 14.5. On the Powerlink side, you can also flip the metal piece over to further alter cuff angles. It’s also fun to play around with the tightness of the huge 50 mm Energyzer Claw strap, as it has both static and elastic layers to it. Salomon uses their new S/Pro CF Expert liner here with moldable foam and a custom tongue, and it works great. The tongue has an energy-absorbing foam that sits nicely against your shin and makes everything just a bit more comfortable.

At a Glance:

2027 Salomon S/Pro Alpha C Boa 130 Ski Boots

In terms of fit, this is a low-volume boot with a 98 mm forefoot last in the 26.5 length. It feels snug, not tight, in terms of width, and the instep height is a bit more gratuitous than in the older S/Pro Alpha series of boots, mainly due to the new instep buckle. The real tightness and lower-volume aspect of this boot is found in the ankle and heel area—there's very little movement at all, keeping you locked in. When you look down the throat of the boot, it’s not only small, but also contoured and anatomically shaped. By keeping the plastic closer to the foot, the overall snugness of the boot drastically increases. Thanks to the liner, this doesn’t end up feeling harsh or overly aggressive, but certainly supportive. It’s comparable to other LV 130 boots out there in terms of width and height, but we do find it to be snugger in the ankle and heel. While there are a few more moving parts than other boots of this level, we did not find it any more difficult to put on or take off—the instep buckle and zone is able to be opened easily. If you’re not familiar with the BOA closure system, it does take a minute to get used to, but once you get it, there’s no issues with on or off. The performance, though, is the bigger part of why we’re so excited about these boots, so ample room is dedicated here:

Bob’s Take:

I’ve been a fan of Salomon boots for years, but I’ve never been in anything like this new boot. The fit out of the box is very tight, especially since I’m more of a mid-volume foot. A bit of stretching in the forefoot was all it took to be able to feel somewhat comfortable here, but it’s also more than manageable. You need to be a bit careful when tightening the upper portion of these boots because it amplifies the stiffness quite a bit. I ended up keeping the BOA and the strap a bit looser than I normally would because the fore/aft flex is so stiff. You don’t need all that fore/aft stiffness since the lateral stiffness and reactivity are off the charts. What’s surprising to me is how light the boots feel on the feet but also how strong and planted they are. The plastic is thinner than something like K2 Cortex 140 or a Kastle K130P, but these are stiffer due to the mechanical advantage. The whole medial half of the boot feels so connected to the snow it’s insane. It’s also been a lot of fun to try and find limitations to the performance of these boots. Whether it’s icy groomers, packed powder, pure powder, bumps, or trees, these boots can handle it all. Anything technical is a breeze because they’re mobile and rugged. That’s a rare combination for a boot, and it totally works here.

Jeff’s Experience:

Bob and Matt seem to be able to swap around between different boots without significant issues. I don’t exactly know why, but it has always seemed like it’s harder for me, mostly from a fit perspective, but performance too. Ski boots provide such a difference in feel. It’s a hard thing to quantify as there are so many different variables involved when discussing the differences between ski boots. The best way I can describe it anecdotally is, at least in the past 6-7 years, I’ve always found a boot that felt great to me and spent most of my time in that boot. I’ll work in different models from time to time for testing purposes, but I don’t split my time between different boots as easily as Bob and Matt seem to. I’ll spend enough time in a boot to understand it and have a good sense of its fit, performance, strengths, and weaknesses, but I always find myself gravitating back to a certain boot for most of my skiing. A couple years ago that boot was the Lange Shadow 130 LV and more recently it’s been the Nordica Speedmachine 130 DD. I’ve had decent success in the K2 Cortex 140 Zonal Boa too, although that never quite worked its way into regular use.

I enjoy testing boots and I’m always keen to find a new favorite, so I was excited to try this Salomon S/Pro Alpha C 130 BOA. I don’t think I’ve ever had quite the journey with any product, skiing related or not, from my first impressions to my final opinion of the boot. At first, not only was it quite a bit tighter than anything I’ve skied in recently, I was shocked by how it felt, and not necessarily in a good way. Bob talked about how the medial side of the boot is so incredibly connected to the snow, and it’s worth emphasizing again. It’s wild. It feels like all the power from your body goes directly to your inside edge. It feels like there’s absolutely no loss of precision or connection through any movement. On paper, that sounds like a good thing, and I think it is a good thing fundamentally, but gosh darn, it’s pretty weird at first. I think a lot of it came from them being so tight, but at first, I found them stiffer than what I thought I wanted and more reactive than I was ready for.

It took playing around with liners and fit a little bit to start to get really comfortable in them, but that went a long way towards improved feel and performance for me. They are objectively stiff, but the better you can get them to fit, the more you can push your heel back into the heel pocket, the more leverage you have and the easier you can flex them. That direct power transfer from your body to the inside edge of the ski suddenly started to feel like it was 100% beneficial, rather than something to which I had to be acutely aware and adapt my skiing. From day one, I loved how they felt in a carve, and that became further enhanced by just being comfortable. Also on day one, I remember thinking I almost definitely wouldn’t like them in the park because of the stiffness and the precision. It felt like a great frontside carving boot, but maybe that’s it.

I was wrong there, too. I’m not sure everyone would like it, as there are definitely a lot of park skier out there who prefer some amount of looseness in their gear and their skiing. I can certainly understand that, but the more I got used to the precision of these boots, the more and more I liked it and the more and more I felt I could use it to my advantage. Also, after spending probably close to 50 days in them this season, they don’t actually feel stiff anymore. They just feel like a normal 130 flex boot to me that happens to provide better power transmission. I don’t actually think that’s coming from the boot breaking in... Maybe a little bit, but I think mostly just from my personal comfort with the boot and the technology it uses. I feel like now would be a good time for me to encourage you to watch the video, as I feel like I’ll do a much better job describing these boots through speech than through text. They’re so different than anything else out there, while also still just being a ski boot... it honestly makes it hard for me to describe in anything that resembles conciseness.

Matt’s Reaction:

I logged a ton of time in this boot and skied it across North America, so they have certainly been through the ringer. The first day out on them was here in Stowe on a sweet powder day, and they felt great. Compliant, yet responsive, and very stable. You certainly feel the stiffness right off the bat, but they feel light on the feet. It wasn’t until I got them on a true packed powder groomer when I could fully experience the ExoDrive/PowerLink and let me tell you, it is ALL there when it comes to power transfer and lateral stiffness. Your inside edge hooks up and locks in immediately. It is impossible to not notice the difference from a more standard boot construction. I was lucky enough to get an invite to Revelstoke BC with Salomon for a trip centered around this boot where I got a deep dive into the R&D process as well as how they compare to other brands’ boots in the same category. It was very interesting to see how Salomon was able to use a lower density plastic combined with their ExoDrive and PowerLink to achieve better power transfer than a higher density plastic with a more standard design. Also, when comparing this new Alpha to the previous version, the power transfer is dramatically more consistent, and more power altogether is being transferred, a win-win for sure.

In terms of fit, this is certainly a low-volume boot. I typically ride the line between LV and MV, more recently preferring LV options. This S/Pro Alpha fits like a glove. Tight enough to offer the precision I want, but enough room to keep my feet warm and comfortable throughout the day. I skied this most of the time with the stock liner with no adjustments to the liner nor the shell itself. I found the stock liner to offer excellent heel hold, warmth, and no hot spots. Did I mention how easy it is to put on and take off? Absolutely incredible. The shell easily comes apart no matter the temperature to get your foot in and is just as easy to take off. I did use my ZipFit Gara LV liners in them as well and had even more heel retention with some added toe room. To be honest, I preferred the tighter forefoot feel of the stock liner, but the ZipFit certainly stiffened up the boot even more. I did find that for my feet, the stock liner anatomically worked better for me, which was surprising. It should be noted that I did not remold my ZipFits to these boots, so there is that to consider.

On-piste performance was off the charts for me. The power transfer advantage was undeniable, and it quickly became by boot of choice if I knew we were going to be testing frontside skis that day. The connection you feel to your inside edge is something that is hard to describe other than it being a solid extension of your leg and foot to the inside edge of the ski. Even at slower speeds, you can feel that inside edge want to hook up. That is simply the mechanical advantage of the boot working compared to the wholistic power of your body when in a full speed carve. I have never felt anything like it. It does take some getting used to at first, I did not know if I would like it but once it clicks, it is hard not to look for it in other boots. Other boots can achieve the same outcome, but the S/Pro Alpha makes you “feel it”. If you are looking for a totally new feeling with performance to back it, the S/Pro Alpha will deliver.

Off-piste that power transfer is a huge asset, but there is enough compliance for forgiveness to allow for more fluid skiing. Although these boots prefer the skier to drive hard and be aggressive, they are perfectly okay with surfing and skiing more neutral. But they do react to more minor inputs because of the ExoDrive. Out in Revelstoke, the bigger terrain demanded more stability and power, for which these boots excelled. If you put your skis sideways over the top of a mogul, you will feel all of that downhill ski’s inside edge. So, I did need to adjust my style to be more fluid and looser to account for that. But overall, I was very happy with the support at higher speeds and on big impacts as the boot did not fold whatsoever. The rearward support was also great for more backseat landings. Here at Stowe, our trees are incredibly tight, so you need to make a lot of very quick and rapid movements. Due to the combination of precision and power transfer that comes from minor inputs from these boots, they were amazing for our terrain. Any sudden adjustments or changes of direction were quickly done and with intention. There is no lag time here.

Overall, this is an incredibly well-rounded boot with lots of performance both on trail and off. Skiers looking for a light feeling, reactive, and powerful boot will find a lot to like. It’s not as smooth as an Atomic Remedy 130 or Head Raptor 140, but there is enough stiffness to match them. Power transfer is more similar to that Raptor 140 and there is more power than the Remedy. It does feel more smooth and powerful than a Tecnica Mach1 130 LV, but not as snappy. It just slots itself nicely between being powerful and quick. For further testing, I am going to be trying them with the ZipFit Corsa liner which is a lower volume liner compared to the ZipFit Gara LV. With this change, I am aiming to have more of a direct connection to the plastic of the boot and get a more refined foot fit. As it stands, I would be happy to ski these boots every day, all-season.

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