HEAD RAPTOR 40 Junior Boot 25/26

The HEAD Raptor 40 is the entry point of HEAD's junior Raptor line — a two-piece, lightweight shell boot built around one idea: get a young skier buckled in, comfortable, and actually wanting to go back out. The 40 flex is genuinely soft, meaning a child's legs can drive the boot without fighting it, which is exactly right for kids who are still building snow sense and leg strength. Three low-profile plastic buckles close the boot without the fuss of micro-adjustable hardware, and the Junior Team liner uses self-modeling padding and mesh construction to wrap the foot in warmth while accommodating the growth and movement that come with young feet. There's no dedicated walk mode. As it ships, the Raptor 40 wears a standard flat alpine sole (ISO 5355), and HEAD offers a GripWalk sole as an option — a curved rubber sole that adds a bit of rocker and makes walking through a lodge or across a parking lot less awkward. That distinction matters for bindings: the stock alpine sole pairs with alpine/MNC/GripWalk-certified junior bindings, while fitting the GripWalk sole means the binding has to accept GripWalk — so if you're mounting these to an existing or hand-me-down kids' setup, check the sole and binding match before you ski them. The self-shaping footbed conforms gradually with heat and use — it's not a heat-mold session in a boot oven, just a liner that adjusts over time.

This boot is for kids who are learning to ski or who have a season or two under their belt and need something easy to get on, easy to close, and warm enough to last a full day. If your child is skiing confidently on blue runs and starting to push into steeper terrain, they will outgrow the 40 flex quickly and would be better served moving up to the Raptor 65 or Raptor WCR 70, both of which carry more cuff stiffness for a skier who is actually loading the boot. On the fit side, HEAD does not publish an exact last width in millimeters for the Raptor 40 — it uses a junior-specific last that sits in the broader medium range for kids' boots, but if your child has a notably wide or narrow foot, come in and we will measure them properly before committing to a size. Flex and foot volume need to match the skier, not just the age on the chart, and that — along with making sure the sole works with your bindings — is a conversation worth having in the shop.