SCARPA Maestrale RS
Boot: 2012-2013 SCARPA Maestrale RS
Stated Flex Rating: 120
Stated Last: 102mm
BLISTER’s Measured Weight Per Boot: 1,315 grams (shell) + 225 grams (liner)
Boot Sole Length: 306mm at 27.0
Skier: 6’2”, 205 lbs., athletic, technically proficient, fast and fluid skier.
Foot: size 10.5/11 street shoe (278mm actual length); C+ width (105mm width, weighted); high instep; low-volume heel, ankle, and lower calf.
My Regular Ski Boots: 27.5 Head Raptor RD 130 (95mm last) with several punches for width in the instep and metatarsal heads, 26.5 Tecnica Cochise Pro Light (100mm last) as a touring boot.
Conditions Tested: Backcountry powder, sun affected, wind affected, in-bounds chalk, hard pack and spring slop. Basically everything.
Test Duration: 6 days of skiing
MSRP: $699
I should start by saying that I was only able to ski the SCARPA Maestrale RS for six days, so I cannot do my normal over-analysis. This review presents my first impressions of the Maestrale RS, and I hope to follow up later in the season with a more thorough going-over of the boot.
The Maestrale RS strives to be a no-compromise backcountry boot for the freeride skier who wants control and precision at speed on wide skis, without paying any penalty in weight or stride while touring. I do not think the Maestrale RS is intended to be a crossover boot per se, but if you have bindings that are compatible with the SCARPA’s heavily rockered sole, the Maestrale RS will be up to the task.
The Maestrale RS is an updated version of the original, now-two-season-old orange Maestrale. The RS features a Nylon shell, as opposed to the original’s Pebax shell. This new material choice makes the boot much more laterally rigid and also yields less shell deformation in the lower, making it effectively stiffer on snow. The RS also includes a stiffer tongue, which matches the increased performance of the shell nicely.
Weight
The Maestrale RS comes in at an attractive ~1,550g weight. That is weight-competitive with the new Dynafit Vulcan and Mercury, and is actually a shade lighter than the original Maestrale.
Neither of the Maestrale boots nor the Dynafit Vulcan nor Mercury boots have replaceable toe and heel blocks. If you count grams, this is likely not important to you, but if you like to switch between alpine and AT bindings, or replace the boot soles regularly when they are smoked from scrambling on rocks, replaceable soles do add about 200 grams to the system’s weight. The Cochise Pro Light boot comes in 180g heavier, but does have replaceable soles.
Liner and Fit
I, for one, really appreciate that SCARPA includes an Intuition Pro Tour liner with this boot. They are light, warm, heat moldable, and match the shell nicely. That said, I did need to put “L-pads” around the ankle of the liner to get adequate heel hold. Should you feel heel-lift, that would be my first suggestion. (You might also be interested in reading my Intuition Liners review.)
The fit of the boot itself is very comfortable out of the box, which typically is worrisome, and often indicative of a boot that’s too big. But in this case, the initial fit is deceptively precise. The original Maestrale was roundly praised for skiing much better than its soft flex might indicate, due to a precise shape that gave the skier more control over the skis than they otherwise would in a stiffer but less anatomical shell.
The RS offers nice closure on the front fold of the ankle and lower tibia, decent heel hold, and a nicely shaped toe-box that will fit most feet without issue. I don’t really have much to say here, SCARPA really did their homework on the anatomy, and the Maestrale RS will fit most feet straight out of the box. I would compare the overall shape of the Maestrale to some of the top-selling alpine boots out there, such as a Lange RX. A very nice fit that will work with most feet.
I do think that the side-pivoting tongue arrangement is a bit finicky, and it takes a little practice to figure out how to fold the upper buckle out of the way, pivot the tongue, and then put it all back together…but it works. No harm, no foul. But expect a learning curve.
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October 16, 2012 at 2:21 pm
Excellent review, as always Marshal. Especially like the estimate compared to the FT. I usually run a #10 tongue in my Full Tilts, but I suspect the RS will be perfect for my needs. I was really expecting to want the Vulcan, but progressive flex > stiff flex in my book.
It’ll be interesting to see how much the weight will change if the removal of the bottom buckle and addition of a booster strap (with plastic hardware, not the steel).
October 16, 2012 at 2:36 pm
yeah man, the Maestrale RS does have a pretty nice strap. Its not a full booster like the mobe used to have, but it matches the boot very well IMO. anyhow, just saying i would try the stock prior to replacing.
I think one could get flexon 10 stiffness just off a liner switch (power wrap or alpine liner), should they so desire.
October 23, 2012 at 10:48 pm
Figured I’d provide an update that might be helpful to others. I bought these off of Bent Gate the day I read this review, and just got them today. (None of the local shops are stocking them yet, and I figured I’d return them if they don’t fit.)
Normal boot is a 27 Full Tilt, so I ordered a 26.5. While the Full Tilt is slightly lower volume, the 26.5 RS is a good fit. Maybe even great — almost too good, actually, for an out-of-the-box fit. I punched my Full Tilts in the 5th met head region, and probably won’t have to do that for these. Interestingly, didn’t notice much of a difference in fit between the new, stock liner and the packed-out powerwraps from my Full Tilts. Also tried them back-to-back with the Cochise 120 I used last season — I tried the Cochise on with the stock liners that I never used, so basically an out-of-the box fit there also. Much lower volume than the Cochise, and they had MUCH better heel hold. I’ll probably try on the 25.5/26 RS, but it’s probably going to be too small.
Interestingly, they felt noticeably stiffer at the 11.5 deg forward lean. Which is what I prefer anyway, so that’s fine. With the powerwraps, they felt a little softer than the Full Tilt #10 tongue (same liner) and another increment softer than the Cochise 120. I’d probably call them a FT #9 tongue. Agree that they’re about a FT#8 with the stock liners. But the flex is very similar in progression. They felt considerably a bit softer than what I remember the Cochise 120 feeling with powerwraps (different, bigger pair). But I could barely flex those at room temperature with the powerwraps installed and buckled tightly enough to take up the volume around my shins, even with a tongue eliminator shim in. Simply too stiff for my foot shape.
I need to go try on the Cochise Light in a 26.5 and the Vulcan/Mercury, but I’m pretty stoked on how the 26.5 RS fits. I’d prefer if it were just slightly stiffer, but it’s pretty decent as it is.
Thanks again for the excellent review, Marshal.
October 16, 2012 at 3:09 pm
Marshal, how would this boot compare with the bd factor in skiing ability on firm snow?
And how upright is it, say compared to a lange rx?
Thanks
October 16, 2012 at 3:14 pm
rod- i have not skied in factors since 2008, and only for 1 run then… so i can’t really help you there.
the forward lean is 11.5 and 13deg on the RS. i believe the RX is 12deg, and the cochise is about 14deg.
cheers!
October 16, 2012 at 4:09 pm
I tried a pair of these on last week and I think I’m going to buy. They’s be a replacement for my Scarpa Mobe, which while ski reasonably well have a fairly limited range of motion for walking. Do you have any comparisons to the Mobe in particular?
October 16, 2012 at 9:21 pm
Nice review, as usual.
FWIW, re the binding compatibility, I ground/sanded the soles of my orange Maestrales the tiniest bit (just a little flat patch where it touches the afd), and they work beautifully with both my Solly STHs and Marker Jesters.
No DIN test, but I can twist/wack out of them laterally without any problem. And they drive my Protests very nicely, thank you.
October 19, 2012 at 8:35 am
Marsh,
Another solid review. I actually just bought a pair of these boots a couple weeks ago and your fit analysis was spot on. I went into a shop to try on a pair of the Vulcan’s, but was only able to try on the Mercury. When I saw the RS I decided for the $$ compared to the Vulcan and other Dynafit products it was worth my time to give them a shot. Out of the box the fit felt dialed and the flex was noticeably more progressive than what my Titan’s offer. Pulled the trigger a week later. I found the Titan’s to be overkill for my 155lb self so looking forward to giving these a go as I think they will provide more of the “feedback” I am looking for.
January 29, 2013 at 2:57 pm
Do you think this boot would work for Backcountry and ski area with bigger skis? Could it be a one boot solution?
March 8, 2013 at 7:11 pm
Gary — I’ve got 20+ days of heavy resort use so far on my RS’s pushing 112mm waisted skis. Once dialed in, I prefer the RS to my alpine boots for in-bounds.
January 29, 2013 at 9:03 pm
It’s a little anemic but I have skied it inbounds a fair amount and as long as you aren’t switching back to a real alpine boot every other day you will likely be really happy with these. That said, I am 160 lbs… I have charged chopped pow but I would not be happy skiing high speed hard pack w this boot. It could be a quiver killer though depending on your style.
March 8, 2013 at 7:37 pm
This boot has a pretty deep, consistent flex, and if you are like me, doesn’t stiffen up enough for heavy in-bounds snow until I’m farther into the flex than I want. My intent was to swap to an overlap liner, but decided to play with them for the season and see what I could figure out, swapping liners next season. For what it’s worth, I’ve found a little trick that works for me… When I put the boots on, I pull the tongue of the liner up so it extends about an inch above the top of the cuff and plastic tongue. Then when I go to tighten the power-strap, I pull it up a bit in front so it extends above the plastic tongue, and directly against the liner tongue (basically, use it to pull the top of the liner tongue tight to your shin). It greatly minimizes heel lift (if you have that problem), and significantly shortens the forward flex travel to give you the “alpine boot forward flex feel”. At 250#, I’ve been throwing DPS Wailer 112 Hybrids around like this inbounds all season, and now prefer these to my alpine boots…
February 15, 2013 at 3:58 pm
I really like these boots. They are a HUGE step fwd from my BDel Factors. Sheeesh… How do you adjust the FWD lean? I cannot find where to do this. Thanks.
March 8, 2013 at 7:23 pm
The stainless steel bar you see on the back of your boot has 2 holes drilled in it. The forward lean setting you ski is established by which hole the pin drops into when you flip the lever from “walk” to “ski” mode. When standing upright in walk mode, flip the lever to “ski” mode and slowly flex the boot forward. You should feel/hear the pin drop into the first hole, which is the more upright setting (I think Scarpa says it’s 16 degrees.) Once it has clicked in there, continue leaning forward into the boot, flip the lever back to “walk” mode, and then flex further into the boot as you flip the lever back into “ski” mode. You should feel the pin drop into the forward lean setting (which I think Scarpa has listed as 22 degrees). I liked the forward lean setting for inbounds skiing, as it pre-loads the tongue and the boot is a bit stiffer, but I’ve got to ski very aggressive to make it work, and that much forward lean takes a serious toll on the quads.