Review: Mariani WRC 09 boot

by Atle Markeng (Norway)

I’ve been skating on Mariani WRC (glass 09) for some weeks, and there's no doubt these are great boots. They fitted almost perfect rigth out of the box, only a few adjustments were necessary. I did the molding while sitting on a chair with almost no preassure against the floor, and put my legs in a skating position. With a medium thin sock (Bavac Crosscountry), the boot fits closely, but not painfully.
The Mariani boots ships with a quicklacing system where only one hand is needed to operate. I was anxious this type of lacing was going to loosen after a while, but that’s not a problem if the lock is placed properly under the upper bucklet. I’ll consider to replace waxed laces on other boots I have with this quicklacing (if available).

Total weight of this setup (boot + frame + wheels) is 1258 gr.

Mariani WRC feels somewhere between Luigino Victory and BONT Apache, and that’s a good mix! The boot is very well balanced, gives precise feedback and is a pleassure to skate on for hours. Seems to be a lucky match of my feet and shape of this boot!

I have tried different frames and wheels with these Mariani boots, and for my usual skating on smooth surface rinks, the setup shown below is ideal: Cado Motus 12.8” clapframe with 90+90+100+100 mm. From previous experience with these clapframes, I’ve found it’s critical to put proper wheels in front position 1 and 2. That’s because max grip is needed in corners, where only two wheels for a short moment are in contact with the surface just before the leg is lifted. Matter F3 and MPC Streetfight (green) are great for this purpose. Wheels on position 3 and 4 should have about the same profile, but harder (85A-87A) to obtain best roll: I prefer Bont Crossover for the task.