SIA Snow Show 2010: Tecnica Dragon 120 Boots

Feb 11, 2010  ·  03:14 AM  ·  permalink

Among the gear we demo’ed last Monday at the SIA demo day at Winter Park were the Tecnica Dragon 120 HiPerFit ski boots. I was skeptical about the claims of the rep that these would be a comfortable performance boot, but his claims bore out on the slopes.

The Dragon 120s were immediately more comfortable than my regular boots—snug and secure without any excess pressure or hot spots. Built on a 100mm last, the toe box was snug but comfortable and I developed a little numbness after a few runs, but a slight adjustment to a few buckles fixed that. What was wonderful, though, was the secure seating of my heal with no need to crank the buckles and no need to readjust. I skied 12 runs in the Dragon 120s with only the one adjustment for numbness, and it was like they’d been made for my feet.

With a flex rating of 120, the Dragons are theoretically stiff—and they perform like a stiff boot with great lateral response and very positive weight transference. But they don’t feel stiff—or at least not rigid. The cuff actually provides a pretty broad range of travel and becomes progressively stiffer as you flex forward. The upshot is that they were comfy at low speeds in upright stances, but were right there if I decided to make a tight carve or to throw my skis around in the trees.

At $895 msrp, the Dragon 120s won’t be a bargain boot, but when I got back into my regular boots, the difference was immediately apparent. I thought I’d gotten my regular boots dialed in after many boot fittings, but the contrast was stark, making $895 seem like a small price to pay for a big step up.

My advice:

• If you’re considering new boots, definitely check out the Dragon 120s—especially if you expect to need a performance boot.
• Then check out 10 or 20 other boots in a range of prices from a range of makers.
• If at all possible, demo your boots on the mountain before you buy. Nothing can serve like a side-by-side comparison of how the boots feel on your feet and perform on the mountain.
• Try your best to find a seller near you with an excellent reputation for sizing and fitting boots. More and more I’m convinced than buying boots from big boxes—where everyone is a generalist and no one is an expert—is a bad idea. Paying a little extra for service and expertise can make skiing a lot more fun.
• And lastly: Just because the Dragon 120 was great on my feet doesn’t mean it’ll be great on yours. Remember that, where ski boots are concerned, one man’s comfortable performance boot is another man’s torture device.