AT Gear reviews?

[Ned_Flanders]

Hey, I want to get rid of my telemark gear and get some randonnee. Does anybody have any opinions about bindings: fritschi diamir, dynafit, silveretta

also on boots: scarpa lazer or others?

thanks

Josh

[Ibex]

quote:

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Originally posted by Ned Flanders:

Hey, I want to get rid of my telemark gear and get some randonnee. Does anybody have any opinions about bindings: fritschi diamir, dynafit, silveretta

also on boots: scarpa lazer or others?

thanks

Josh

---

Flanders,

 

Do some searching, this topic has been debated quite a bit on this board.

 

Basically, you need to decide if you are more of a skiier (1) or mtneer (2)

 

1) get a pair of Scarpa Lasers, and Fritchi's

 

2) Use plastic mtneering boots with Silveretta's

 

You can guess which one skis better and which one hikes/climbs better.

 

An alternative solution is to move to FL where you won't have to ponder such issues.

 

Cheers

 

Shawn

[Poseur]

I'll ditto Ibex, if you want to ski go with the Diamir's and whatever boot fits. The Diamirs function like an alpine binding - step in, DIN releasable, good strength, brakes, etc. A good in bounds/BC hybrid. My Karakorams will fit the Freerides good enough for skinning, but the Silvretta's are supposed to be more compatible and the choice of climbers first, skiers second crowd. I wouldn't want to ski the K2s anyway, but that's me. The Dyna's are lighter, but it seems like lining up the little holes would be a pain, but I've never tried them so I dunno.

 

Gotta try on the boots. I was pre-sold on the Lowa Struk's until I tried them on, along with Dyna's and Lazer - the Lazers were the boot for me hands down based on fit. Try the Denali's if you really want to rock the downhills.

 

Bring on the snow baby!

[fern]

quote:

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Originally posted by Poseur:

I but it seems like lining up the little holes would be a pain

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it's not

[iain]

Dynafits. I know a couple of people who swear by them, but a guy had them up at fairy meadows this year and every turn on the skin track he would be popping out of them. It became a real hassle and he had to borrow a set of skis.

 

I'd go w/ diamirs or fr's. I have silvretta 500's and a step-in binding would be real nice.

 

Boots: I use the Denali XT (I think it's available in the USA this year) and find it damn stiff (but I'm not a skiing allstar so I like that). You will flail like a maniac if you try to climb in these things on rock, as I have done at times. That's where the 500's come into play, as they fit my invernos nicely. Denalis work great on snow/ice routes though. I'd check out the lazer. I've heard good things.

[Goat_Boy]

I've been using the old Silveretta 404's with a variety of boots with good results for my abilities. Silverettas are simple, bombproof, and easy to adjust and maintain. If you're looking for Warren Miller action, you might be better off with Diamir, though. I'd be interested to hear more on the Lazer. I've found Denali's to be more boot than I needed (or wanted) for the cascades. But I've settled into the climb first category.

[philfort]

If you care about weight at all, nothing comes close to the dynafit system. New this year (in N.A.) is the MLT 4 a "mountaineering oriented" boot that fits the dynafit binding... from the picture though, it still looks higher cut than a normal mountaineering boot:

 

http://www.life-link.com/dynafit.htm

[pete_a]

I'm in the market to buy a rando setup this season too, been doing lots of homework on the issue. Buying the gear mainly to use on Denali next summer where I don't want to use my tele gear...anyways...

The pre-release problem with the dynafit tri-step binding that some folks had last season has been fixed, according to a few websites and the life-link rep I spoke with. The older dynafit binding has never had a major problem with prereleasing while skinning.

Something to consider is that the lace-up MLT dynafit boot cannot be purchased with a thermoflex liner, while the lightweight TLT4-Pro buckle boot can be bought with a thermoflex. The difference between the MLT and the TLT4 with the thermo liner is only about 2 or 3 ounces per boot and the TLT is going to ski a lot better. The Life-Link rep I spoke with said that Mark Twight tested the MLT boot and didn't like it cause he couldn't lace it tight enough to make it ski all that well, and that Twight actually used the TLT4 with a thermoflex liner on his most recent ski mountaineering trips to Alaska.

I know some folks who own the TLT boot and ski it with boards as wide as the Tua Sumo and seem to do just fine. Of course you can always look at the Dynafit all-terrain boot, lighter than the Scarpa Lazer and supposedly better too.

Just something to think about.

 

[ 09-25-2002, 01:12 PM: Message edited by: pete a ]

[philfort]

I will vouch for the ski ability of the TLT4-pro. I skied it on hydrogens last season, and it was a great setup. The only bad part was the pre-release of the Tri-step while skinning up. They have fixed "a" problem with pre-release caused by the boot toe pushing against the binding (not a problem with the TLT4), but the problem I have is that the pins don't close as tightly as they do on the older (& lighter) binding.

 

Kind of weird they aren't selling the MLT4 with a thermoflex liner. They even say (about thermoflex liner) "the perfect liner for MLT 4".

 

Also, it looks like the weights of the boots are incorrect on the lifelink site. Try http://www.dynafit.at

and do the conversion from kg to LBS yourself (2.2). That's more in line with what my boots weigh.

 

[ 09-25-2002, 02:08 PM: Message edited by: philfort ]

[pete_a]

Hey Philfort,

 

I hadn't been able to find the dynafit.at site before, thanks for the link.

So would you recommend going with the older dyna binding instead of the tri-step? The only advantage of the newer one is its easier to get in and out of it, right?

And yeah, it stinks that the MLT isn't available with a thermo liner right off the shelf...seems like it makes perfect sense to put the two together...bet they bring out that option next season.

 

[ 09-25-2002, 02:26 PM: Message edited by: pete a ]

[Freeman]

Ned and Pete

 

For what its worth, the guide that I have been skiing with in B.C. has been on the same pair of Dynafit boots and bindings for at least 5 or 6 years in a row. Boots have Intuition thermo liners and he claims than he has never had a binding failure. Since he skis all conditions about 180 days a year this seems to be a pretty good endorsement. This last year he had a new pair of the newer blue Dynafits boots, but still with the older binding instead of the Tri Step.

 

We have seen both Silverette 404 and Diamirs break on these tours (but of course, we've broken a few cables too) but never a Dynafit.

 

If I were ever to consider heel bondage this is the system I would choose on some short wide light boards like Bandit XXX's.

 

Randonne - French for can't tele

[philfort]

The reason I got the tri-step was the anticipation of having two pairs of boots of slightly different sizes (its length is adjustable, the old binding is not). If you don't need that, then go with the old binding, since it's lighter. The tri-step is supposed to be easier to get into, but friends I know with the old binding don't seem to have any problem getting into it. Another minor problem with the tri-step is that the heel-lift gets plugged with snow, so you can no longer rotate it with your ski pole (you have to bend down!).

[snoboy]

quote:

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Originally posted by philfort:

The reason I got the tri-step was the anticipation of having two pairs of boots of slightly different sizes (its length is adjustable, the old binding is not). If you don't need that, then go with the old binding, since it's lighter.

---

Or go with the old binding and the "Rental Plate" which gives you lots of adjustability, plus the time proven reliability of the TLT4. Don't know the track record of this part though. Telemark pyrenees had them last winter, as far as I know you can't get them in NA. Light gear rules - especially when it's the most reliable system out there.

 

Friends have had problems with the brakes though. How's this for fun: Ski pops off in bad fall, lands on binding, then pressure from the brake pops the heel piece of the binding sending the internal spring flying. Oh goodie!

 

Let the snow fly...

[iain]

quote:

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Originally posted by Freeman:

Randonne - French for can't tele

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Heh, here we go. Funny how it's telemarkers who are self-concious enough to introduce the jabs. You usually see that bumper sticker on suby's in the parking lot at Mt Hood Meadows, as a pair of T-Races/Bandit XXX's comes off the rack. That's a better parallel setup than my randonee-imprisoned heel crap! Anyways, I know you're just joking around. Doesn't matter how you get down the hill. I ski with plenty of tele-heads.

[Poseur]

The TLT4s were noticeably lighter than the the Lazers in my "walk around the store demo". They were just little too narrow for me.

 

Gettin about that time of year for tele/AT wars. Now how does that go, "drop your knee, squat to pee"?

[snoboy]

quote:

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Originally posted by Poseur:

The TLT4s were noticeably lighter than the the Lazers in my "walk around the store demo". They were just little too narrow for me.

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fern told me a story about the dynafit boots. She was on a trip with someone who had a brand new pair, that basically self destructed over the course of two weeks. Another friend hates his. I'm sure some people like them.

[fern]

I didn't tell you anything cause I don't know anybody called 'snoboy'. But yes I have seen a pair of Dynafit boots break apart over the course of a 3 week trip. Those stupid hinged girder things along the sides cracked in several places. (I don't know if they have them anymore). The buckles bent and I think a rivet popped. The stitching on the liner ripped out.

[russ]

quote:

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Originally posted by pete a:

So would you recommend going with the older dyna binding instead of the tri-step? The only advantage of the newer one is its easier to get in and out of it, right?

[/QB]

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I got dynafits last year and went with the older model (techlite?) because of the tri-step toe release problem. According to the sales rep (and I've heard it elsewhere) one improvement worth considering is the newer heel piece have slightly longer metal rods which engage the rear bracket on the boots. This makes the binding less prone to release due to upward lift of the boot/upward flex of the ski when you have a heavy snow load on the tips and tails. The upward flex causes the distance between toe and heel pieces of the binding to increase and the boots pop out.

 

I had half a dozen or so releases last year because of this. Mostly when I stopped in deep heavy snow and started to lift the ski straight up.

 

I'm going to get a second set of dynafits for some light weight skis to use in summer conditions. I've thought about using the toe piece from the techlite with the heel piece of the tri-step on my winter/spring skis, but I don't know enough to determine if that's safe to do. Figured I'd ask around at a few shops....

[Mike_Palmer]

The Laser is probably the best boot for a combination of turns and touring. That's why it is the number one boot in Europe. The new Dynafit TLT 700 is worth taking a look at. It is now more comparable to the Lazer in skiing ability. I like the forward lock mechanism better on the Laser. It has two levels of forward lean. The Dynafit has only one. The TLT 700 also is coming with a thermoflex liner for only $25 more than the regular. You have to buy the Intuition liner for the Laser for an extra $150 to get the weight down. If you are planning on wanting to do any skiing at all, then an AT boot is your only option. I haven't seen anyone that can ski very well with mountaineering boots. If you are going to go with a climbing boot go real short on the ski. Most people that use a Dynafit binding like them, but they do take some getting used to and they can be fussy. They can pop out due to not cleaning the pin holes properly, or just torquing them while touring. It sounds like they ski fine.

[pete_a]

Never heard horror stories about those boots blowing apart before. Anyone else had this happen? Philfort, you've got the TLT4's, right? any durability problems with them?