Specs

Flex: 130

Last: 98 mm

Walk Mode: Yes

Soles: Replacable rubber

Liner: I.D. Thermo Max from Intuition

***Pick up a pair of Dalbello Lupo SP ID ski boots at evo.com:  2015 Dalbelloe Lup SP ID Ski Boots 

Getting properly fitted in the Dalbello Lupo changed my skiing and unlike my friends who complained about painful ski boots, I couldn’t wait to put mine on.

Made from Dalbello’s KR2 mold, the Lupo is a descendant of the original three-piece Flexon design, which in my opinion has many advantages over the traditional overlap boot.

Flex

In an overlap design, the flex is governed by the bending of the back piece of the shell in addition to compressing the cuff against the shell in the front. In a three-piece design the flex is governed by bending of the tongue, which results in a more progressive flex, (softer at first, stiffer as you keep flexing) that’s more forgiving on landings, reducing shin bang. Changing out the tongue after 100-200 days also restores the original flex of the boot.

Walk Mode

Another thing to note about the Lupo is it’s burly walk mode. Unlike overlap boots, the three-piece design already has a notch in the back, which means a walk mode can be inserted without grinding out plastic and softening the flex. They were super solid in ski mode and skied every bit as well as the Krypton. The walk feature doesn’t articulate much, but it’s still better than a riveted boot for sidecountry boot-packs, short skins, and après dancing.

Sole

The Lupo comes with replaceable rubber toe and heel, which made scrambling up scree on Cody ridge a breeze. Another huge plus is being able to replace the toe and heel when they wear out, extending the life of the shell. The rubber soles are din certified and have a low-friction pad for proper binding release, I never had issues releasing during a fall.

Liner

A huge highlight of this boot is that it comes with an Intuition Thermo I.D. heat moldable liner. Most stock liners are awful and go straight in the garbage so it was great to skip the hassle of buying a new Intuition liner.

Buckles

The center buckle is my favorite part about this boot, at 45 degrees it pushes the foot snugly into the ankle pocket, provides a roomy toe box, and eliminates toe bang. I went a size down in the Lupos from my overlap boots because of this feature so make sure you get re-fitted.

Full Tilt Comparison

Compared to the other popular three-piece boot in its category, the Full Tilt Konflict, I thought the Lupos were stiffer fore, aft, and laterally. The Lupo’s buckles were easier to deal with and didn’t ice up like the Koflict’s and the middle buckle on Konflicts didn’t pull the foot into the heel pocket as well as the Lupos.

Overall

I’m really impressed with this boot. Dalbello stepped it up and addressed a lot of important issues like a walk mode that doesn’t suck and replaceable rubber soles. The power transmission on them was great, but if you’re used to ultra-stiff plug boots they will take some getting used to.

***Pick up a pair of Dalbello Lupo SP ID ski boots at evo.com:  2015 Dalbelloe Lup SP ID Ski Boots