FIT: My foot is very average, probably a bit on the narrow side, especially through the heel. These boots have a good fit -- like the Salomon Idol 8. The salesman told me that BD had Salomon make the boots for them, but who knows if that's true. I have to say the fit feels almost exactly the same. The boots are wide in the toe box, but this is a plus for a couple reasons -- your toes have some room so they don't get as cold, and also there's plenty of room to place a toe heat pad in there. I wear a 7.5 and took a 24.5 in these. Another feature that sold me on these boots is that they're cut a bit lower, maybe an inch shorter than other boots. That fits a woman's calf muscle MUCH better. Many boots are really only smaller versions of men's boots and they rise too high for a woman's calf muscle. These are significantly better and make walking easier.

FLEX: Easy for walking, yet solid when you lock them down. Two lock-down settings at 17 and 21 degrees, flex rating is 100. They feel stiffer to me than other Randonee boots, but I'm not sure they're 100 - that seems a bit high because I can flex them okay and I'm used to an 80 flex boot. One thing that makes these easy for walking and skinning is that the boot liner has a wire lacing system. You can "tighten" it like a shoe string via a single little rachet knob on the side. This allows you to totally loosen the liner when you're walking or skinning, and contributes significantly to the good flex -- great design feature!

SKI MATCH: Since they are a more solid Randonee boot, I would recommend a heftier ski to match. Most of the Randonee-Tele skis are thin and flimsy for lighter weight while touring. These boots are similar to Alpine downhill boots so I paired them with a Salomon Lady Freeski and Marker Baron binding. It's a little heavier set-up, but I'll tell you, my downhill control is outstanding -- it's like I'm on alpine skis. It's perfect for skinning up groomed areas for an aerobic workout -- the descent on groomers and icy snow is well-controlled. The strength in these boots is a good match for a more solid ski or a larger, wide powder ski.

CONSTRUCTION - buckles are firm and solid, not flimsy like many boots.

OVERALL: really a great boot. I'm very happy with them.

Hot damn do I love these boots! After trying pretty much EVERYTHING in the market on (both men's & women's AT) and taking at least 4 of them out on the hill, I absolutely LOVE the Black Diamond Shivas. I say this with the disclaimer that I have a very odd foot (extremely wide toe width - think large bunion, and narrow heels) and therefore the fit may not be for everyone, but a super snug and yet does not result in all out PAIN. Skied them right out of the box and really will need NO modifications which is still shocking to me. I attribute a lot of the success to the tapered heel liner (think an actual crease right around the achilles) which is one reason I would not switch out the liner. My heel does NOT move within the boot and my toes lightly press against the end all day without being scrunched. I'm typically an 8.5 in street shoes which translates to a 24.5, however the 25 fit perfect reiterating the "BD's run small" comment. I didn't even have to unbuckle the boot in between runs (I'm currently only using the largest settings on most buckles), and my only discomfort was in my toenails after a day of touring - most likely a sign that my toenails needed trimming :-p. The walk mode is unbelievable (almost 45 degrees of movement and you can pretty much stand up straight) and I didn't find the weight to be an issue, although if you prefer an ultralight setup you may be dissatisfied. I'm crossing my fingers that there's no first-year snafus (other than the wearing out of my patience in waiting to obtaining a pair in my size), and will definitely report back if my new found love turns sour or hits some bumps along the road.

I also LOVE LOVE LOVE these boots so far. The ONLY thing I have done to them is to put my own footbeds in them and wear them around my house for a couple hours before skiing on them, and the first day on snow was awesome.

I tried on the Scarpa Domina, Scarpa Diva, and Garmont Xena and NONE OF THEM fit. Mostly it was a problem with my amazon calves. All of those boots had the buckles moved to their biggest settings and it was still a HUGE struggle to close them only to lose all blood flow. I was starting to think I would never be able to have a dynafit set up if I wanted to. I tried on the Shiva and it fit pretty close, AND it had two more spots to move the buckles over (i ended up moving them one bigger).

They were hard to get into at first with the BOA lace over the tongue and all the heel padding, but I quickly discovered all you have to do is pull up on the tongue and your foot slides right in (there is a band of elastic over the base of the tongue). If you put it in walk mode first it's even easier.

I was skiing a Salomon Rush 9 previously (claimed to be a 90 flex) and had spent mucho dinero on getting them fitted. The Shivas ski just as well if not better out of the box (with my own footbeds) and I would say they have a similar flex (BD says these are 110).

I have about 20 days on them so far and the liners seem to have packed in a bit so I am glad i did not get them heat molded. If it becomes a problem i will surely update my review.

Our snowpack has been super sketch until just recently so I have not taken them out on any tours, just skiing in-bounds (which should give you a good idea of how awsome they are for the pure pleasure of skiing), but will also update after a few hikes.

Final thoughts... the buckles are super smooth, and my feet are super happy. I want to go skiing now just so I have an excuse to use my new boots!