Gear Review

Dynafit TLT Vertical ST

1. learning curve
2. excellent up/down performance
3. primitive release/retention
4. 2 lbs 5 ounces/pair

A quick review of the benefits of Dynafit's brilliant Alpine Touring bindings will make you wonder why anyone would ever want to use anything else. To start with, they're light: wonderfully, magically, impossibly light (as low as 1 pound 4 ounces per pair for the brakeless TLT Speed).

Along with being the lightest A/T binding by a mile, Dynafit also offers the most natural kick-n-glide stride, a free flexing ski underfoot for silky-smooth downhill performance, and a rigid ski-binding-boot interface with less wiggle than some dedicated Alpine bindings.

Obviously, since Fritschi and Naxo are still in business, there must be a catch.

Dynafit bindings shed weight by using your ski boot as an integral part of the binding.

This requires you to use boots which are specially designed to be compatible with Dynafits: a relatively short list which happily includes the Garmont Mega Ride and the Scarpa Spirit 3 (as well as, of course, Dynafit's boot line).

A Dynafit-compatible boot features two little holes built into the boot's toe and heel, into which go the binding's small metal lever arms, which lock the boot into place.

Release the heel, and the toe becomes the pivot, allowing freeheel climbing—and even a variable-height heel elevator, by rotating the rear binding piece.

The design is a marvel of simplicity and function. Long-time Dynafit users tend to be passionate about their bindings.

First-time Dynafit users can be equally passionate in their frustration. Unlike the mindless ease of snapping into a step-in binding, getting into Dynafits can be something of an adventure—especially in challenging conditions. Unfortunately, the small holes in the boot mounts tend to fill with dirt and ice. This is inherent to the design, requiring careful cleaning with a small hook or pick before snapping in.

If you fail to clear the holes completely, it's possible the bindings will engage but not lock, leading to a sudden prerelease on the descent: not good. My first experience with Dynafits came not as a user but as a spectator. I was watching someone try to step in to their bindings, only to click out immediately each time afterward. Now image yourself in the scene, wearing a heavy backpack, in deep snow, getting madder by the minute.

In contrast, on the same day I watched an experienced Dynafit user get into his bindings with no problems in horrendous conditions: a whiteout, 60-70mph winds, on a steep angle. The lesson here is clear: it takes time to learn how to use Dynafits, and master their quirks.

Due to the mechanical simplicity of the interface, as well as the close proximity of boot and ski, Dynafits provide an enviably stiff connection, eliminating the toe 'slop' or wiggle so common to Alpine Touring Bindings. Since the ski is allowed to flex naturally beneath the boot, the Dynafit provides perhaps the best downhill 'feel' for performance-oriented skiers.

Be warned, however, that this secure connection is a bit illusory. Yes, you can lock the toe unit, disabling release functionality while skiing (not recommended), but the heelpiece can be vulnerable to prerelease under certain triggering contexts, such as flexing the ski while pressuring the binding backwards. Again, experienced users tend to learn how to avoid these triggers. Nonetheless, such possibilities make the Dynafit (arguably!) less appropriate for true Extreme skiing.

The Dynafit's release mechanism is primitive compared to practically any other modern binding. If you are interested in maximum safety to protect your knees in a fall, this binding ain't it. Thus, the Dynafit is not recommended for frequent in-bounds use, though of course Europeans would scoff at that restriction.

Dynafit users do report relatively high breakage reports as the bindings age, typically involving secondary parts (such as the heel elevator post). Dynafits thus require more careful monitoring and maintenance than other bindings. It helps to be mechanically inclined if you're going to do a lot of skiing on them.

*note: I would be grossly remiss here if I did not mention that these breakages tend to be more cosmetic than functional. Dynafits rarely break to the point of losing structural integrity, making them an outstanding choice for expeditions or other contexts where a breakdown could be catastrophic.

Personally, I'm not comfortable enough with the Dynafit's release/retention quality to use it in high-risk situations—ie, North Peak's North Couloir. But I should mention that a pair of Dynafits were recently used by Kit DesLauriers for her ski descent of Everest's Lhotse Face—certainly a Ski Extreme context. And Dynafits have earned the absolute trust of many top ski mountaineers, including Andrew McLean.

In any case, if you can live with the binding's inherent quirks, you'll find their benefits hard to beat in practically any other backcountry environment—especially as you trend toward multi-day or expedition skiing where weight matters above all else.

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