I got in a Poweslide Victory to test today. Being a distance skater I enjoy skating on smaller wheels to save my ankles for the distance. Well the Victory I got to test is a long mount 195mm boot. I would be comparing the Victory to the good working C4 and C6 boots that are 165mm mount boots. The C4 and C6 165mm boots mount right up to the Mogema 5x80 12.8" frame I enjoy distance skating on. (review continued below)
Here is an article to show how I mounted the 195mm Victory to the 165mm Mogema CT 5x80 frame. First sitting down and trying the Victory on it felt extremely comfortable, maybe the most comfort I have felt in an off the shelf boot. The size ran about the same as the C4 and C6 sizes. I mounted up the Mogema CT 5x80 frame and changed between the C4 and C6 multiple times. I could feel right away I was seeing more support in the C4 and C6 over the Victory.
When I got back to the shop I could see the upper cuff and support carbon was 1/4 of an inch lower on the Victory. This is good news for those that felt that the C4 and C6 was to high for them and some did express that fact. I like the greater support of the C4 and C6 but I know others that don't feel that way. I do believe the Victory was a tad more comfortable then the C4 and C6 but I still think for myself the extra 1/4 inch of support in the C4 and C6 still won me over.
One thing I was worried about looking at the pictures in the past months is at the top of the Victory around the ankle it looked like hard plastic cradling the top of the ankle. Well it is definitely not hard, in fact it is softer then leather. It looks a little deceiving but if this was a worry for you there is no need to worry, it is very soft. Crossovers were good, high speed was good, comfort was great.
If a person can handle a lower cut boot and the extra ankle deflection it allows they will be faster then being on a higher cut boot that doesn't allow the extra ankle deflection. I'm not a world class skater and can't make use of the extra ankle deflection the Victory allows but there are those that will turn that extra ankle deflection into higher speeds. If you were waiting for a good 195mm boot to come out this is the boot you've been waiting for.
Addition: The Victory will be coming in a 165 and 195mm boot spacing.
