Atomic Hawx Prime 130 S Ski Boots 26/27

Atomic builds the Hawx Prime 130 S as the accessible 130 in its four-buckle Prime line — a 100mm, medium-volume shell whose flex prior-generation reviews read as soft for a 130. It is comfortable early, it is heat-moldable throughout, and at $970 it comes in under the BOA build of the same shell. What you get is support without a race boot's bite; the catch is that the friendly flex is also the ceiling, and that is where most of this verdict goes.

Fit leads on any boot. The Prime 130 S sits on Atomic's medium 100mm last, between the narrow Ultra and the wide Magna, and prior-generation bootfitter reviews describe a genuinely roomy instep with a cuff that runs a touch tall and flares around a bigger calf — which is why thicker, higher-volume feet tend to settle in without much fuss. Those same reviews call the last true to size and the instep easy to step into, worth knowing because a 130 you can get your foot into is not a given. Memory Fit heat-molds the shell, cuff and liner, which lets a fitter chase out pressure points, but molding adjusts a fit; it does not rebuild a last. Get the volume right first: a narrow foot swims here and a wide one bulges, and those feet want the Ultra or the Magna, not a buckle turned harder.

There is a lot to tune. Power Shift 2.0 sets the forward lean across three stops and lets a fitter fine-tune the flex, dual-sided alignment cants the cuff on both sides, and Atomic packs the second Power Shift screw and a liner spoiler in the box. The 'S' is not decoration — it marks the top build in the four-buckle line, with the Mimic Platinum liner and Power Ankle Lock holding the heel where the 110 S and 100 drop to lesser liners and a plainer ankle hold. Closure is four micro-adjustable aluminum buckles and a Velcro strap: no dial to fail and a wide range of adjustment.

The flex itself is the whole conversation. Across prior-generation (2021/22) reviews of this same platform, the shell comes across as soft and progressive for a 130 — an asset for the advancing skier who wants a boot that supports without slamming shut, and a real limit at the other end. Those reviews are candid that a powerful skier who drives a demanding, stiff ski hard on firm groomers can out-drive the flex and get behind, and that it struggles when the snow turns hard. So take the number as a direction, not a promise: a flex index is Atomic's own house scale, nothing makes it comparable between brands, and this 130 reads soft even within its own class. A skier who wants maximum hold at speed is better served by a firmer boot — the Ultra 130, or a truly race-stiff 130.

The sole is the piece you do not get to take for granted. The Prime 130 S ships with a GripWalk sole certified to ISO 23223, which means it needs a binding certified for GripWalk, or a MultiNorm (MNC) binding that accepts it — a binding built only for the alpine ISO 5355 standard will not take it. The boot has no walk mode and no pin inserts, so this is a resort boot rather than a touring one; a skier who wants to skin should be looking at the Prime XTD. And whatever you mount it in, a certified technician has to confirm the sole against that binding and set and test the release — that is never something we settle in copy.

Set against the BOA 130 S, this four-buckle version swaps the dial for four serviceable metal buckles and costs less; go BOA only if lower buckles pinch your forefoot or you want dial-fine micro-adjustment. Set against the Ultra, you are trading narrow-foot precision and outright support for volume and an easier flex. Two honest caveats to close. Atomic publishes a weight of 1,934 g per boot at one reference size — the feel above is read from the prior-generation boot on the same Prolite, Memory Fit and Mimic Platinum platform. And PTO's read: the chassis and the fit are real for the medium-volume, advancing skier this is built for, but buy it for the fit and the comfort, not for the number stamped on the cuff.