Performance
Will and Charlie have already written very well about the nuances of this boot, and I’m in large agreement with them.
But the main thing I found myself thinking about this boot was that it just disappeared. I.e., I didn’t find myself thinking about it while skiing it. My boots are usually a very snug fit, so I never really forget that I’m wearing ski boots. The Fischer Vacuums are snug, but sort of perfectly snug—not too much room, not too little.
In fact, I’m so used to tight boots that I initially was concerned that my RC4 130’s were too big. But they aren’t; there is very little extra space. They’re just exactly the right fit through the heel pocket, ankle pocket, and instep. (The one caveat here is their length. See that section below).
Furthermore, the flex (for me) feels great. The boot never feels punishing, as the Atomic Redster Pro could when I got backseat. The boot does what I want, and fits like I want. It disappears. I ran all of that by Charlie Bradley and Will, and they both agree. It’s one of the best compliments you can pay a piece of gear.
Customizable Forward Lean
Will Brown and Charlie Bradley have already detailed the Vacuum Fit process, so I’m not going to repeat it. But I do want to point out that one of the features of the Vacuum process is that you can choose the forward-lean angle you’d prefer, between a more upright 13-angle, and a more forward 17-degree angle.
When we were down in New Zealand, Leith Kerr at Gnomes Alpine Sports in Darfield did a stance analysis for me, which revealed that I tend to weight the balls of my feet far more than my heels—by a distribution of about 80% to 20%.
Given this, a more upright boot tends to work well for me, while those who have a lot of range of motion in their ankle joints can better tolerate boots with more forward lean.
So when asked when getting fit what my preference was, I opted for the most upright position: 13 degrees. And the results for me have been (as you already know by now) very good, both from a fit and from a performance perspective.
One Thing: Length
The compression-fit (“Vacuum”) process that has led to such an outstanding fit does have a slight limitation: it is not that effective at creating more length in the toe box. Of course, this is rather insignificant given that if you’re getting fit for these boots and you find that you’d like more length in the toe box, you can have the boot fitter performing the custom fit just do a traditional punch of the toe. So no biggie, just something to be aware of.
Warmth
How cold or warm these boots are has been a matter of debate. All I can say is that in the past several years I have worn a number of boots with their stock liners, including the Atomic Redster Pro, the Nordica Patron Pro, the Tecnica Mach 1, the Salomon X-Pro 120, the Atomic Hawx 2.0, etc., and after 50+ days and some very big storms here in Taos, I haven’t had an issue with the cold.
Then again, I haven’t had an issue with any of the boots I’ve just named. We are wading into highly subjective territory here, but that’s my experience. (I also wear extremely thin socks, for what it’s worth.)
Liner Update
For 15/16, the liner of the RC4 130 gets a tweak. According to Fischer, they’ve “completely reshaped the toebox of the liner, giving 7% more width/height.” I haven’t skied the previous liner, so can’t speak to the on-snow difference here.
What I can say is that the liner has held up well for more than 50 days, and is showing very little wear. This isn’t the most impressive stock liner I’ve seen, but the exceptional fit and performance that I’ve received from this boot have occurred while using exclusively the stock liner and the custom Instaprint footbed that Bradley made for me several years ago.
A Few Quick Comparisons
While we think that a strong case could be made that the Fischer RC4 130 is the best boot in its class (based on fit + performance), there are certainly a number of serious contenders, including a few that I am particularly interested in: the 15/16 Lange RX 130 LV, the Salomon X-Max 130, and the 15/16 Tecnica Mach 1.
I’m hoping to put time in the Salomon and Lange (again, I’ve tried on the Lange RX 130 LV, and it’s nice).
And I’ve been getting time in the new Mach 1, and my initial impressions are quite positive.
• 15/16 Fischer RC4 130 vs. 15/16 Tecnica Mach 1 130 LV
You may recall Blister reviewer, Marshal Olson, losing his mind over the Tecnica R9.8. Well, Tecnica has now used a very-slightly-modified lower of the R9.8 on the new Mach 1, and the fit is impressive.
I don’t want to say too much yet about the RC4 130 vs. the Mach 1, but I will say that the Mach 1 is a beautiful, low-volume fit, and the boot is a bit stiffer than the RC4 130. I have been A/B-ing these two boots, and I really appreciate them both. But so far, the Mach 1 does not “disappear” like the RC4 130 does for me; the size 26.5 Mach 1 is a very snug fit—not painful, but very snug. It is noticeably lower volume than the 15/16 Lange RX 130 LV.
One thing that I definitely prefer about the Mach 1 is that it has a longer toe box than the RC4 130. I haven’t yet punched out the toe of the RC4 130, but I could / should. I won’t need to create more length in the Mach 1, and the boot is very snug everywhere else—where it should be.
Anyway, my only point here is that for those of you looking for a low-volume, high-performance boot, the RC4 130 and the new Mach 1 both deserve to be on your radar. And I’ll say more about the two boots in my upcoming review of the Mach 1.
Bottom Line
The Fischer RC4 130 is the best-fitting ski boot I have ever worn.
And that now goes for three of us here at Blister.
Furthermore, in addition to the fit of the RC4 130, I am extremely happy with the performance of the boot.
Fischer makes a range of Vacuum Fit boots to accommodate a range of flex patterns and foot widths. So if you like what you’ve read here, you should definitely take the time to also read Will Brown and Charlie Bradley’s reviews for more info, then go find a shop that carries them.
Is the general consensus to size up or down in this boot? A lot of the reviews leave me wondering. My left foot is a 25 with a very high arch and my right foot is a 26 with a very high arch. I’ve never been able to make a 25 work, other than in the Cochise Pro which has a 300 bsl in size 25 and that was with some punches. My gut, personally, is that a 26 would work for me so long as the vacuum process sures up the heel hold and maybe reduces the last a bit?
Any recommendations for a bootfitter in the Northeast who works with the Vacuum boots?
To start with your second question, AK, we’d recommend heading to the Boot Lab at Windham Mountain and seeing Marc Stewart. Marc will be able to give you a proper recommendation re: whether to go 25 or 26.
But in general, if you’ve never / rarely been able to make a 25 work, the vacuum fit process on a size 26 ought to accomplish what you’re looking for. Still … go see Marc.
A buddy of mine was skiing on a pair of the Fischer vacuum fit boots last year. He loved the fit and the way they skied but his feet were constantly cold. Now this is a guy who never got cold feet. Very maddening for someone (me) who’s feet get cold very easily. He went back to the shop numerous times to try and fix the problem but nothing helped. He was told by the boot fitter he wasn’t the only one have this issue.As I said the fit was great, no circulation problems.
I have a pair of Fisher Vacuum RC 130 (2014). My feet also got cold. I discovered that the shell isn’t all that air tight after you buckle. I used to get a little bit of snow in my boots from the gap. Duct taping the boots over the toes and along the seam under the first two buckles over the fore foot helped a lot. A better gasket sure would help in the next design.
Lots of interesting comments on the Fischer boots in Will’s review that never really got addressed.
Awesome review! Maybe I will wait for this boot to come out and compare with the Mach 1 LV, I look forward to that review. Our feet sound similar, minus mine being a bit longer. Not sure what the Melili is, a google search yielded nothing. Thank god they murdered out the boot, those bright yellow models were atrocious.
Pat
You guys seem to gloss over a number of issues that have been plaguing this technology since the start. First, the plastic tends to crack a lot. I have seem a number of cracked Vacuum boots, mostly in the areas that get high amount of repeated stress, like the instep. Both of mine have cracked. Second, the liner has never been up to the quality of the shell, most happy users I know have replaced the liner with an aftermarket option. I ended up skiing a different liner as well. A lot of the coldness issues can be traced to the liner design as well- the shell expands, the liner does not, so it either creates gaps or compresses the toes too much. Yes, the fit you get is amazing, but it gets overshadowed by some of the persistent problems in the other areas, and over the long run they matter quite a bit. Third issue is that the plastic is way softer than the regular plastic, so the amount of wear in a season is pretty alarming, especially in an almost $1000 boot. I’ve spent two happy years in Fisher Vacs, but now I’m am back to well-fitted regular boots. I’m surprised your review is so one sided. The technology is great, but Fischer has a long way to go with it.
We now have 3 separate reviews of various iterations of this boot & liner that we’ve posted over the past four years. I don’t think you can say that we’ve been one-sided; Charlie, Will, and I have as accurately as possible detailed our experiences with the vacuum process and these boots.
I have over 50 days in mine – stock liner and shell – and I’ve reported above what I’ve found. No cracking, no excessive wear.
I showed your comment to Will Brown, and he wrote: “I’ve put about 80 days in my Ranger Pro 13s, and while Al is correct that the plastic is softer than most other boots, I haven’t had any issues as a result – no cracking. And I didn’t have any cracking on the RC4 130s, after putting about 80 days in those. Also, the replaceable sole blocks are a different, harder material from the rest of the shell, they seem quite durable, and I haven’t needed to replace them.”
I can’t speak to why your experience has been different, but we can and always will tell you exactly what we’ve found to be the case.
It probably depends a lot on whether your foot is narrow or not and how much the boot has to expand during the molding. I know of at least three people that complained of cracking, and there is more evidence of that posted online. One happy user who I know seems to have a narrow foot, so the shell was not expanded much. By the way expansion also bring up another ugly Vacuum 130 problem- the rubber toe dam is quite primitive, and when the shell expands, the boot starts to leak pretty badly ( duct tape helps a lot, but you shouldnt have to duct tape a $1,000 boot out of the box). The bottom line is that this technology does not work for everyone, and your review makes it sound like its the solution to the most fit problems. It’s not and its important to make it clear before people start bringing boots back to the shops. I’m happy to give you the details of my experience offline.
I agree with Al. These aren’t a panacea. My experience with Fischer vacuum boots was awful. From issues with heel retention to problems with durability and cracking. The season I spent with mine were a nightmare.
Do all of the Vacuums get the increased toe box?
I have the original 130s and a short and low toe area was my only issue.
I enjoyed the review, thanks!!
When will you submit your review of the Technica Mach 1 130?
Hi guys, on my first day using RC4 110 vacuums, custom fit with superfeet insoles, the balls of both feet, and several toes, became numb, and 5 days later they are still affected. Can anyone comment as to what might be going on and possible remedies? I don’t know what last or forward flex settings the fitter used during the molding process.
In general when the balls of the feet and toes become numb and they are still affected after some time, there could be too much pressure over the instep. Do you have relative high arches?
Something like Boot Compression Syndrome (BCS) can occur. Do something about it with your bootfitter cause if the pain after some is still there that means some nerves are pinched.
Greetings from Amsterdam
Marco-Paul Breijer
DutchBootFitter Amsterdam
http://www.bootfitter.nl
I have a pair of the first generation Vacuums and sure enough, both boots developed cracks at the instep. Every shop that offers the boot that I’ve spoken to admits the same problem. Big problem given the price!
I’m at my second pair of Vacuum RC4 130 and both pairs have had cracks at the instep. The 1st pair had been Vacuum’ed twice but the new pair has not been Vacuum’ed at all so the Vacuum process doesn’t seem to be the culprit here.
FYI I have a very narrow feet (I easily fit in a Lange WC160 Z boot at 92mm last without any grinding!) so the stretching explanation above doesn’t apply to me…I’ll have to get the Lange WC160 Z boots out of the basement to finish the season…
Was quite happy with the fit and performance of this Fischer boot but quite disappointed by the durability…
I’ll be looking into the new Dalbello DRS WC Soft or SuperSoft (130 or 110 Flex) for next year.
I just pulled the trigger on a new set of RC4 130 Vac Boots. First impressions: Just like the review said. They fit tight right out of the box. I could have skied them that way… but why would I. I bought a mondo 27.5, one size down from my previous boot, a Rossi All Track Pro. They were too soft, as I am a returning skier from a 20 year absence, the learning curve moved up quite fast. Some things you don’t forget, your body just has to come back up to speed. Ha Ha Yah! First thing; DON’T buy this boot without the input from a good boot fitter. These are as close to ski moccasins as I will ever get. When they are soft from the oven you could easily mess them up. Chris at Technosport walked me through the fit up step by step before we did the fit. He was on top of things all the way never rushed or guessing at the outcome. They examined my foot issues, I have a bad twist in my left foot. pronation and a knee issue on the right leg. I required lifts and we adjusted my ankle center line. All these things improved the fit so I get what I am paying for. This is not an inexpensive purchase for me and as such I expected a lot for my money. I have not skied them yet but I tried several boots before Fischer and could not find what I wanted. Can hardly wait for the cool down period to end. Watea 120’s Volkl 724 Pro and 2 years back from Cross Country skis. Time to break in the boots…
…. after the 24 hour cool down the boots felt softer then expected when I tried them on. I let them sit in my basement for another 24 hours and then they rode in the truck to the ski hill. After cooling they felt much stiffer so they do adjust to temperature. -3C is a warm ski day for me. the ride up the lifts revealed a weight difference I will love. My 120 skis are some what heavy but now have a new life and spring to them My foot is flat to the ski with no movement in the heal wow! Love this ride. Skied all day never felt the pinch of tight boots. I did notice the cuff cant is steeper when walking the metal stair case at lunch. Unbuckling the boot top cures that, and the cold boot did not happen. I’ll have to wait for -20C on another day. I know these are the boots for me, 190lbs 5’10”, because it doesn’t bother me if other people prefer another boot, that will be there quest not mine. I am reminded of an old car shoe Hot Rod Garage. DO YOU NEED A BOOT LIKE THIS?- No, there are lots of boots that fit fine right out of the box and won’t pack out for a couple years. DO YOU WANT A BOOT LIKE THIS?- OH YAH, oh yah! you want a boot like this. Happy hunting!
I’d agree with Gerry that you still need a good boot fitter – really one that has had plenty of experience fitting these. It also helps if you know what setup you like (forward lean angle, stance width, pressure setttings, etc) as these all make a big difference to how the boot performs. I’d also point out that Fischer has been quietly improving the Vacuum boots over the years. I just got my second pair (2017-18 RC4 Curv vs 2014-15 RC4 Pro, both 130 flex) and you can really see a big difference in the liners (warmer in the toe box but still relatively thin and responsive in the cuff) and (hopefully) in the durability of the shell, which feels thicker.
I’m no pro … Why does the reviewer seem to be a fan of low volume boots (e..g., Lange RX 130 LV and Tecnica Mach 1 130 LV) when he says he has a high arch and high instep? Seems low volume is the opposite of what should fit his feet, right?
Hi, Roger – good question, and I suspect it’s one that some other people might have, too. So I’ll write something soon about this and publish it as a Topic of the Week post.
I have had my vacs for 4 yrs and they were a God send for my feet. I was literally ready to quit skiing until I found these. I really love skiing that’s how bad my feet would hurt.Only issues I’m having is major thigh burn at high elevation bit I think it’s from to much forward lean and big calfs. I ski about 20 days a year.
Can you explain the difference between the 2018 ‘RC4 the curve 130 ‘ and the ‘RC4 130 Pro’ – which ‘appears’ to be the boot shown/reviewed above? Looks like a last / material difference but there is no explanation of the difference I can find…