Dalbello Lupo Carbon T.I.

Downhill performance An ultraburly boot, the Dalbello Lupo Carbon T.I. was a favorite among our most aggressive shredders. A rigid carbon cuff and relatively significant forward lean helped us stay low and over our feet when straightlining and arcing high-speed turns. “No performance dip on the downhill when I compare them to my resort boots,” one tester says.

Touring A boot with downhill chops like this usually gets little more than a “parking lot” walk mode. Not so with the Lupo Carbon T.I., which sports a surprising 67 degrees of ankle articulation. Credit the removable tongue, which allows for unimpeded range of motion when skinning. This tech isn’t new, but the design here is super-smart: You engage a pull tab at the toe end of the tongue—like a walk mode flip—to pop the tongue out. “It takes more time to figure out where to stuff the tongues in your jacket than it does to remove them from the boot,” our tester says. (Flip side: Transitions back to ski mode take longer.) 24-29.5