Ski Boot Reviews | The Best Ski Boots 2025

Ski boots are usually the first bit of hardware skiers buy when they first get into the sport. While a new set of skis—whether that's an all mountain model or a pair of piste skis—might sound like a sexier purchase, a decent pair of ski boots is far more useful and versatile. Unlike skis, ski boots mould to your feet, meaning rental boots will never be as good as your own. 

"Unlike skis, ski boots mould to your feet, meaning rental boots will never be as good as your own"

And while most airlines will charge you a king's ransom to carry a ski bag on board, you can usually sneak ski boots in a much smaller suitcase. For this reason, even advanced skiers will usually prioritise having a good pair of ski boots (or several) over having a good pair of skis. 

Harnessing the potential of space-age materials, new lasts and moulds, and innovative clasps and fastening systems, the latest crop of ski boots are the best that have ever been brought to market. If you're wondering about some of the jargon, or which kind of ski boots might suit you best, check out our comprehensive guide on how to buy ski boots at the bottom of this post.

Otherwise, read on to find out our experts' picks for the best men's and women's ski boots of 2025. 

The Best Ski Boots 2025

K2 BFC Boa 120 Ski Boots

Type: Piste
Fit: Men/Wide
Price: £525
Weight: 1970g per boot
Flex: 120

If you’re looking for comfort straight out of the box, look no further than K2’s BFC (Built for Comfort) range. Designed with high volume feet in mind (they have a 103mm last), they prioritise a relaxed fit and come with a Boa across the foot to really dial in a secure fit.

The 120 offers stronger, more advanced skiers that extra bit of support and responsiveness for cranking turns around the resort all day long.

Nordica HF Pro 95 W Ski Boots

Type: Piste
Fit: Women/Medium
Price: £470
Weight: 1750g per boot
Flex: 95

Say goodbye to your daily boot wrestle with the new HF Pro from Nordica. They’re built to give you a super easy on-and-off with a rear-entry style design that means you barely need to bend down to slide your foot in.

Ideal for anyone with high arches or in-flexible ankles, the HF Pro offers a soft flex and forgiving ride with a nice sturdy tongue to lean into. The two buckles have micro-adjustability so you can really personalise the fit throughout a full day of fun on the groomers. 

Rossignol Vizion Pro 100 Ski Boots

Type: Piste
Fit: Men/Medium 
Price: £400
Weight: 1920g per boot
Flex: 100

The latest technology from Rossignol is designed to give a smooth on-and-off without compromising the performance and precision of a classic four-buckle boot. The Vizion Pro has a steel spine that can be locked in position for full downhill performance and then unlocked to release the cuff. This allows the cuff to open extra wide providing a “slipper-like” entry and exit into the elasticated liner.

The Vizion Pro 100 is ideal for intermediate skiers looking for an easy-on boot that will keep you pushing your performance to the next level.

Tecnica Mach Boa HV 105 W Ski Boots

Type: Piste
Fit: Women/Wide
Price: £550 
Weight: 1710g per boot
Flex: 105

The all-new Tecnica Mach Boa 105 is built for intermediate skiers looking for a precision fit. It’s designed to help you develop your skills on blue and red runs, when all-day comfort is your number one priority.

It has a thermoformable liner with extra thick, soft padding for added cosiness and a roomy fit, ideal for wider, higher volume feet. If you’re looking for something with a little more oomph, why not step up to the Mach 1, which is available in both high and low volume versions. 

Nordica Speedmachine 3 Boa 120 Ski Boots

Type: All Mountain
Fit: Men/Medium
Price: £520    
Weight: 1920g per boot
Flex: 120

The Speedmachine 3 has been praised for its comfort and versatility on the mountain. Now, with the addition of the Boa, they provide a super exacting fit. The Speedmachine get top marks for their progressive flex and forgiving nature whether you’re blasting through the bumps or cutting through wind packed pow.

A true all mountain, SUV-style of boot, these are ideal for the intermediate-to-advanced skier tackling all terrain.

Atomic Hawx Prime 115 S Boa W Ski Boots

Type: All Mountain
Fit: Women/Medium
Price: £560
Weight: 1774g per boot
Flex: 115

Built for hard charging women who like to ski the whole mountain, the Hawx Prime 115 offers a blend of comfort and precision. The Boa system allows for a truly dialed-in fit, enhancing control and power transfer, and with its lightweight Prolite construction and Memory Fit liner, it provides great support and ankle security.

It has a strong 115 flex, so you can drive the ski at high speeds and enjoy a great response.   

K2 Mindbender 110 Boa Ski Boots

Type: Freeride 
Fit: Men/Medium
Price: £625
Weight: 1710g
Flex: 110
Walk Mode Range of Movement: 50°

All new for this season, the Mindbender 110 Boa is an accessible freeride boot with a forgiving flex, perfect for stomping landings and generally hoofing it around the entire mountain in style. 

The Mindbender range has a decent walk mode that works well for short ski tours or a quick boot-pack to reach the goods. What’s more, we think they’re some of the best-looking boots on the market. 

Salomon Shift Alpha BOA 95 W Ski Boots

Type: Freeride
Fit: Women/Narrow
Price: £580
Weight: 1600g
Flex: 95
Walk Mode Range of Movement: 55°

An all-in-one boot for backcountry freeriders that doesn’t compromise on downhill performance. This good-looking new boot from Salomon is perfect for thrashing around in all conditions, short skins for mini-golf laps, or sidecountry hikes to reach your line.

The sole is super grippy, the liner is snug fitting, and the adjustable fit system keeps your foot secure all day. If you need extra power and precision check out the 115 model.

Scott Hint 130 Ski Boots

Type: Freeride
Fit: Unisex/Medium
Price: £680
Weight: 1790g
Flex: 130
Walk Mode Range of Movement: 55°

This all new four-buckle freetour boot from Scott is a serious one-quiver contender for backcountry explorers. With a 55-degree walk mode and a solid downhill performance, it’s designed to take you further and faster.

The ideal boot for hard charging freeriders who refuse to compromise on the descent, it’s lightweight but aggressive and won’t fail you when it gets steep and deep. 

Scarpa 4 Quattro Pro Ski Boots

Type: Touring
Fit: Unisex/Medium
Price: £790
Weight: 1555g
Flex: 130
Walk Mode Range of Movement: 60°

The all-new 4 Quattro Pro is the next generation in Scarpa’s crossover Quattro range. Designed to offer backcountry skiers a high performance freeride boot that still has the hallmark, high Range of Movement, walk-mode of a Scarpa touring boot.

It has a tall, stout cuff and a hard 130 flex designed to drive through all conditions. The ski/walk mechanism is now built with a lock to ensure you stay in ski mode when it matters most. 

Dynafit Ridge W Ski Boots

Type: Touring
Fit: Women/Medium
Price: £700
Weight: 1150g
Flex: 100
Walk Mode Range of Movement: 70°

Dynafit’s all-new Ridge boots have struck that magic balance between ultra lightweight and high performance. Comfortable for long distance missions, but offering exceptional power transfer for demanding descents, we’d expect nothing less from the brand that’s in cahoots with Eric ‘Hoji’ Hjorleifson.

For those with a need for speed, check out the Ridge Pro, featuring the same lightweight Grilamid construction but with added carbon fibre.  

Dalbello Quantum Free 110 Ski Boots

Type: Touring
Fit: Men/Medium
Price: £600
Weight: 1270g
Flex: 110
Walk Mode Range of Movement: 65°

The Quantum Free 110 is Dalbello’s best-selling boot for good reason – the little brother of the Free Pro, its slightly softer 110 flex is more than enough for most seasoned tourers who want efficient uphills and plenty of fun on the descent.

With a redesigned liner and memory foam tongue, you can expect a snug, secure fit, while the Vibram sole ensures excellent grip on a scramble to the summit. Perfect for hut-based adventures and big mountain missions. 

Ski boot buyer's guide

Now more than ever, the sheer number of ski boot designs can make finding the right one a minefield. We’ve cut through the jargon to come up with the ultimate guide to finding the right footwear.

How to choose your ski boots: ski boot types

Ski boots can be divided into seven main categories:

Piste ski boots cover the broad ground between beginner hire boots and more technical, stiff performance boots which incorporate various race-style technologies. They tend to focus on comfort and styling, ideal for ski holidays and (in reality) the majority of skiers.

Race ski boots take the piste boot one step further, discarding comfort and warmth in favour of stiffness and control. These boots are likely to be packed full of technical features, but are uncomfortable to wear for prolonged periods, simply because they’re incredibly tight-fitting and offer minimal resistance to the cold. 

All Mountain ski boots are designed to handle every kind of skiing, and aimed at people who want to tackle all terrain types—from high alpine steeps, to icy pistes, to powder-laden tree runs. Inevitably, there are compromises that need to be made, and all mountain boots can be a bit "jack of all trades, master of none." But if you're only going to own one pair of ski boots, they're well worth a look in.

Freestyle ski boots are built for jumps and rails, so can not only take a beating, but have a fair amount of flex in them to soak up the impacts. 

Freeride ski boots set out to tackle all kinds of mixed terrain, so they typically have more give, in order to allow them to deal with sudden changes in snow conditions. That said, they’ll often have a stiffer lateral flex to provide the extra control freeriders need. 

Alpine touring (AT) ski boots can vary hugely, which is hardly surprising given that they’re designed to blend Alpine-style downhill prowess with the ability to unlock the ankle for long hikes, too. Increasingly sophisticated, there are many shades of AT boot, and features vary hugely – you’ll find boots with different binding compatibility, greater or lesser ankle movement, and varying weights to trade stiffness for lightness.

Our top tip? Take the time to think about how much time you’ll spend skinning uphill and skiing downhill and look for a boot with the features you feel will be of most value,  whether it’s a low weight for uphill ascents or extra stiffness for brilliant control on descents.

Ski touring boots: Touring boots take that AT concept one step further, building in a switch or lock which lets you choose ski mode (stiff, ankle cuff locked), or touring, where the cuff of the boot can move, allowing much easier movement, especially when skinning uphill.

For obvious reasons, weight makes a big difference when you’re carrying it uphill, so touring boots tend to be lightweight, often relying on space-age materials which push up the price tag.

There was a time when ski touring boots struggled to address balancing act between uphill performance and downhill ability, with the latter traditionally losing out, but that’s (thankfully) no longer the case. Today, touring boots blur the lines between boots designed for AT, ski touring, and ski mountaineering.

How to choose your ski boots: sizing and fitting

Mondo, or mondopoint sizes are a universal measuring system for ski boots, originally intended to ease confusion. Very simply, it’s the length of your foot in centimetres. With your mondo size in hand, picking a boot should be child’s play - but there are still couple of factors to bear in mind. 

Firstly, your skill level will dictate just how tight you want your boots - bigger and looser if you’re planning on annual ski holidays at your favourite resort, through to a tighter fit for advanced skiers who prioritise control. The latter is much more likely to be less comfortable for long periods thanks to pressure points and hotspots, so there’s a balance to be struck here. 

Although it’s worth taking the time to find a ski boot which fits well and feels comfortable, ski boots can be tweaked in a myriad of ways by experienced fitters. The most common tweaks are to the liners, which are now made in a wide range of materials. Most ski boot manufacturers now offer customers the chance to get their liners heat-moulded, and in recent years a number of brands have launched standalone heat-moldable liners, which can be added after you’ve purchased your boots.

Modifying the shell of the boot without compromising its structural integrity is often done with infrared heat and suction, but can also include grinding, punching, shaping and stretching. Overall, it’s vital to pick an experienced fitter to take this process on, not only to get a good fit in the first place, but also to have an expert on hand for future tweaks as the boots (and your feet) bed in and change through use – after all, boots will ‘pack out’ (expand in size) to a certain extent after a few runs.

Most resorts will have boot fitting experts on hand, and closer to home larger UK retailers such as Snow and Rock and Ellis Brigham’s SureFit programme, or specialists such as ProFeet are all good choices. 

How to choose your ski boots: Flex

Ski boots’ flex numbers, which range between 60 and 130, indicate how much give the boot has. The lower the flex number the softer, suppler the boot. Freestyle and all-mountain boots tend to have a lower flex as they’re more forgiving and give you the ability to work with your skis better.

The harder and stiffer the boot, the harder you’ll need to work to get the efficiency and the ability you’ll need for fast, aggressive skiing, hence the very high flex on racing boots. Touring boots are a hybrid of flexes, and rely on walk /ski modes to offer best of both worlds. This mechanism makes the boot more flexible for walking uphill but allows you to ramp up the stiffness on those high speed descents.

How to choose your ski boots: Last

Knowing the width of your foot can mean the difference between a comfortable ski boot and an incredibly painful blister-inducing one. Working out your width is simple. Wearing a sock, measure the width of the outline of your foot at its widest point in millimetres. This will tell you whether you need a narrow boot or a wide one.

Generally, anything below 100 mm is considered narrow while anything above 104 mm is considered wide. Ski boot brands tend to veer towards one or the other, so it is vital you go for a boot that encapsulates your foot comfortably.