PRODUCT SUMMARY
By Steep and Deep

THE GOOD
ULTRA LIGHT WEIGHT! It's the reason that you want them. At only 1.1 lbs, this is an excellent binding that combines lightweight with solid all mountain performance.

LESS TORQUE. The binding is designed so that your boot is not elevated from the ski nor is there any side to side flex which makes it
perform more like an alpine binding.

RELEASE. This 2007 binding has a DIN 10 setting which makes it bomber on the descents, and if this is not enough the toe can be partially or fully locked to prevent an unintentional release. 2008 models have been increased to a 12 din!

The carbon fiber plate of the FT model increases amount of rigidity of the binding and helps to prevent unintentional release.

EASE OF USE. The heel design is also very easy to manipulate with most ski poles, which is very nice in undulating terrain. With the brakes and the binding system it is very easy to reattach skis on the slope or in powder. The spikes on the toe piece are strong enough to break through any ice or snow that is caught in the toe holes of your boot.

THE BAD
ADJUSTMENTS. Switching from ski mode to tour mode is a hassle and becomes very inconvenient in the type of terrain where it would be easier to quickly pop your binding into tour mode and shuffle instead of putting your skins on.

Another problem is that with two-piece poles, especially those with carbon fiber lowers, the pole tends to have so much flex that it is difficult to twist the heel.

STRENGTH. There have been reports (especially with heavier skiers) of these bindings releasing unintentionally.

COMPATIBILITY. Dynafit compatible boots are required, and boots can be expensive and/or hard to find. Also, limited boot size variability after mounting onto skis makes the Dynafits difficult to sell in the future and hard to loan out to a friend.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
All dynafit bindings are extremely lightweight (the TLT FT is ¼ of the weight of the Fritschi Diamir Freeride. They are ideal for ski mountaineering and also great for general backcountry skiing. If you are looking for a binding to huck 60 foot cliffs with, or if you want to use with alpine boots this is likely not your best choice. While they are more expensive they are a very versatile lightweight touring binding.

OUR ADVICE


AVG USER ADVICE

randorandy wrote on 12/02/08 at 7:16:29 pm pst:

an unbeatable binding for the rando rallies and bomber for general backcountry skiing

Their Advice

powderjunky wrote on 12/03/08 at 08:59:27 am pst:

Its amazing how well these perform. The only problem is getting them back on while on a steep slope or deep snow. I think they are the best touring binding out there.

Their Advice

Patricio wrote on 12/05/08 at 12:57:50 am pst:

Dynafit in general is super solid. I've had my TLTs for a full year now and my only problem is that my volcanoes (the thing you stick your pole in to twist the heel piece) have cracked. They still work though.
People worry about the durability, but ask Mark Newcomb and he'll tell you what he's skied in them - crazier stuff than most of us would ski with any gear.

Their Advice

Tim wrote on 01/05/09 at 10:45:39 am pst:

There may be some misleading segments of the "Bad" portion of the review.

1. Carbon poles (remember, we were teamed with Life-Link and their carbon poles for years) work great with our heal piece....to change between its 3 tour modes. Most users do not actually place much torque on the pole in this situation...but some first time users tend to not realize that the pole (when inserted into the upper climbing post) needs to make a sweeping motion (as the pole sticks out of the heal piece on an angle away from their body) and therefore....they sometimes find their carbon pole binding under this stress....until a friend shows them the proper method.


2. Dynafit boots make up 85% or more of A.T. Boots on the walls for dealers across the country.

3. You list in Strengths that heavier skiers pop out of this binding unintentionally. This is actually an old urban (backcountry) legend. The reason we dominate the AT binding world is that this is known as another stereo type of a binding that is 2lbs vs. 5lb competition. This stereo type is so often debunked that Coombs skied the East Face of the Grand, Kit, Rob and Jimmy skied Everest, and countless hucksters and hard chargers on Igneous and other monster boards are laying down first ascents in and out of Jackson on Dynafit.....and only on Dynafit....for this very reason. When the binding is set to the boot correctly (there is a size adjustment that needs to be correct) and the DIN is set as needed (a 10 DIN can hold a guy like Don Sharaf from Valdez Heli/the Teton Avalanche instructor guru in on hard charging drops and blasts anywhere from Mt. Taylor to Alaska. So a 12 is that much better! Not to mention you can lock the toe if you are so inclined and never release).


4. Dynafit bindings or boots are the same prices or within $10 of others.....so price is rarely an issue....plus you save half the weight!

Their Advice

fred wrote on 01/05/09 at 11:20:08 am pst:

I think the main thing with price is that you have to buy new boots to use the binding. And if you ever buy new boots again, they may not fit the mounted binding, which means you have to remount.

One of my biggest problems with dynafit is they have definitely popped off at inopportune times. Yeah there is the lock down feature but I think that is just as scary to never come out of your skis as it is to come out randomly.

Besides that the weight and simplicity are great.

Their Advice

Jonathan S. Shefftz wrote on 05/15/09 at 11:05:37 am pst:

In addition to Tim's corrections, here's are some corrections to a comment:
"I think the main thing with price is that you have to buy new boots to use the binding.

-- Only if you have some old outdated boot like the Denali. Otherwise, almost all AT boots currently on the market are either Dynafit compatible or have a nearly identical equivalent boot with the Dynafit interface.

"And if you ever buy new boots again, they may not fit the mounted binding, which means you have to remount."
-- The fore/aft adjustment range is identical to a typical alpine downhill binding. In other words, if the binding is mounted in the center of its fore/aft range as it should be, highly unlikely that a new boot shell would be outside the adjustment range.

-- O

Their Advice

Jeff wrote on 05/15/09 at 5:42:09 pm pst:

Of course all the new boots on the market are mostly tech compatible. I think that is the point, most people don't have or want to buy "new" boots because they cost more than skis :).

And as for the binding having identical fore/aft range, definitely not the same as my marker jesters.

Their Advice

Denalijay wrote on 06/13/09 at 07:36:51 am pst:

There's room in the world for at least two competent approaches to AT binding interfaces. The thing about this one is lighter weight. Those of you, like me, with a stable of Freeride bindings that work very well are missing the point: DYNAFIT BINDINGS ARE MUCH MUCH LIGHTER! - and they have addressed traditional and mythical shortcomings in a full and complete way. These bindings will do anything a ski mountaineer should want to do - at a substantial weight savings. THAT'S THE POINT HERE. Folks who are going to hike or ride snow machines into bowls to build jumps and clear 100 foot plus hucks should choose whatever works best for that - and not confuse it with touring or mountaineering. Folks who want to rent or resell lots of bindings should really look for max adjustability. Those of us who love to tour and to scale peaks on skis and have great descents should consider Dynafit carefully for its strengths. I have a supelight setup that I just love.

Their Advice