These Cross-Country Ski Boots Were All Over The Olympics — I Got to Try Them

The Fischer Speedmax 9 RL BOA is a downright ridiculous cross-country ski boot. If you watched any of the cross-country events in the 2026 Winter Olympics, they were regularly featured. I even saw the non-BOA model on the feet of Norway’s now-legendary Johannes Klæbo and a whole bunch of biathletes.

So I certainly felt a bit of impostor syndrome as I cranked up the dials at the Frisco Nordic Center in Summit County, Colo., to put these seriously high-performance nordic skate boots to the test. Sure, I’ve been cross-country skiing for more than 40 years. But that doesn’t mean I’m technically very good.

Fortunately, I also enlisted my father, a PSIA Level 3 instructor, to try them out.

Our assessment? Yeah, these expensive, racey cross-country ski boots are incredible. And they definitely are not for everyone.

In short: The Fischer Speedmax 9 RL BOA skate ski boot ($900) is incredibly light, stiff, and efficient. They offer extreme ankle support, a stiff-as-it-gets carbon fiber sole, and a remarkable heel hold. The BOA dials offered a near-custom fit. But the Speedmax 9 is way too much for beginner skiers. They require assertive, fast skiing and aren’t very warm. For experts, progressing intermediates, and racers, this boot is amazing.

Check out our guide to the Best Cross-Country Skis.

Fischer Speedmax 9 RL BOA Review

I stepped into the Speedmax 9 RL BOA skate boots for the first time at the Frisco Nordic Center. I immediately noticed that they were feather-light — no surprise given that my size 43 test pair weighed in at 516 g per boot. The carbon fiber glinted off the heel as I unzipped the thin upper and opened the internal booty.

Click, click — the two external BOA dials popped as I pulled them to release tension on the inner bootie. I grabbed a yellow tongue strap and heel strap and pulled my foot in.

The size felt right and relatively snug. I pushed in the front dial and twisted, noting the hugging sensation around my forefoot as the BOA constricted. Then I did the same with the rear dial and felt the BOA tighten over the top of my foot near the ankle, driving my heel down and securing me tightly.

I zipped up the outer boot, Velcroed the ankle support in place, and stepped onto my skis. My bindings buckled in with no issue. I began to skate, lightly at first, and then harder, as I accelerated away from the warming house.

Oh yeah, these boots were ready to fly.

Skiing Impressions: Fischer Speedmax 9 RL BOA

It took me just minutes to find comfort in the Speedmax 9 RL BOA. For my foot, which is pretty average in width and shape, the Speedmax 9 RL skate boot felt comfortable right out of the box.

With the BOA dialed in, my feet were locked in place, although I noticed a little slack after a few minutes of skiing. I stopped, cranked down the BOA dials a bit more, and carried on, feet now gripped firmly by the stiff, powerful boots.

Compared with my other ski boots, these were clearly meant for speed. With each thrust of a skate stroke, I lurched forward on the skis, energy moving right from my leg into the ski and propelling me forward. The boots did not give an inch, resulting in a pure energy transfer that made me feel as fast as I ever have.

My foot felt close to the ski, stable and light. I could see exactly why elite athletes raced in these boots, and why, realistically, they were more boot than I’d ever really need.

But man, they sure were fun.

I tore around a few laps, covering a couple of miles, and headed back to the clubhouse to switch boots with my father. Time for some expert impressions.

A Second Opinion

My father, who shares my boot size, was up next. He strapped into the Speedmax 9 RL BOA and took off to ski a couple of familiar miles of trail. We linked up after a lap and chatted.

“First impression, first 20 minutes, this boot is going to make me want brand new boots,” he beamed. “Everything about them is just subtly better. I am quicker, and my balance is improved. I have to ski more aggressively; they are not a walk-in-the-park boot.”

To give the boot its full due, he took it out for a few more miles and then wore it on a training session the next morning. He offered similar, glowing reviews with the caveat that this is an expert’s boot meant for speed.

“I like the fact that I could have a custom fit both front and rear, but most importantly, to stabilize my foot in the heel of the boot,” he told me later. “I had a better feel of the full length of the ski, which was most important in higher speed skate turns and that sort of maneuver. That and the fact that it was a very comfortable boot.”

He and I agreed that the boot inspires confidence, feels extremely fast, and is comfortable. We also suspect that it’ll be cold in truly frigid weather, but for the target market of elite and expert racers, that should hardly be an issue.

An Ideal Use of BOA

While BOA dials have been around for 25 years and have been adopted into a wide variety of snowsports gear, they’ve been relatively slowly adopted in the world of nordic skiing. In fact, the Fischer Speedmax 9 RL BOA is the first BOA boot I have been on.

And frankly, it’s an ideal use of BOA. The dial system is light, but I found it much more intuitive to dial in the inner bootie than a speed lace or traditional lace system. The dual BOA allows for the boot to tighten differently in the front and rear, which gives a lot of customization for differing foot shapes.

Given that BOA has many years of experience building running shoes, a nordic ski boot seems like an easy extension. And compared with alpine boots (where BOA launched in 2023), nordic gear is much lighter. It feels very impactful for the light boot fitting. It’s also much quicker to adjust than alpine gear, which seems to require many turns of a buckle to make the rougher adjustments that replace buckles.

Ultimately, I love the use of BOA in nordic boots, and I can imagine it’ll be adopted in lower-tier models much more broadly, as it has in the world of alpine ski boots.

Fischer Speedmax 9 RL BOA: Who It’s For

The Speedmax 9 is a speartip product from Fischer. It’s stiff, fast, comfortable, and supportive. It is aimed squarely at elite and expert nordic ski racers, and that’s who should buy it.

Of course, expert and athletic intermediate skiers who want the benefits of a high-end race boot should also consider this boot. I have decades of experience on nordic skis, but I’m not very fast or skilled compared to elite skiers.

But darn, I love this boot. For me, it both feels good and fast. And while I can’t squeeze every drop of performance out of it, I sure do enjoy the confidence it inspires.

If you can handle the price and are looking for a top-tier skate boot, the Fischer Speedmax 9 RL BOA is absolutely worth trying on.