I tried the Maestrale RS today, no play like the Maestrale.Quote:
Originally Posted by afraid
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I tried the Maestrale RS today, no play like the Maestrale.Quote:
Originally Posted by afraid
First day lift skiing on the Vulcans and all I can say is WOW. I take back everything bad I have said about these boots. Stiff yes but once you get used to them there is some flex and I liked it.
Incredible boot.
Tangenial, I picked up a pair of little brother Mercury's today. The tour mode has a huge ROM (range of motion), they are light, and I'll ski them without the Rubic's Cube effort of reinserting the tongues.
I skinned the Vulcans yesterday with both the tongues in and out. For mellow skin tracks, skiing with the tongues in was perfectly OK. With the tongues out the ROM is incredible but offers little support. On steep icy sidehilling sometime in future.. I think I"ll keep the tongues in!
^^^tlt5s have the same issue: "I'll just leave them unbuckled for this little downhill...ahh. So that's what my ski tips taste like"
New Dynafit Mecurys ski like a f#cking dream. Didn't try them tongues out downhill, but touring with them out gives quite incredible range of movement... disconcertingly so at first. no resistance from cuff at all - like a tech fitted sneaker, you really have to use proper form and tour through your heels since you can't put any pressure on the ski in front of your toe. Kick turns amazingly easy, since you can pull the ballet 3rd position toe to heel move with only your creaky joints inhibiting movement, the second foot step up and around to complete turn also great because cuff moves so far back on the uphill planted foot. Can see how you'd actually want to keep them in for many touring situations like a tricky traverse or firm snow, real track stomping or anything with some rolling terrain/slight downhill. Also heel lifters can go one notch lower or just stay flat. With tongues in they still tour far better than any AT boot I've been in.
Downhill is a revelation for this has not skied an alpine boot in 10 years gaper. Like driving a pick up truck for a decade then being handed the keys to BMW M3.
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot...48866313_n.jpg
That's the rub. I'd probably leave the tongues in almost all the timeQuote:
Originally Posted by PNWbrit
Yep. In deep snow yesterday where a one ski at a time transition was needed to avoid sinking up to your nuts and with wanting to keep gloves on, tongue insertion was a royal pain in the ass and required some choice Antipodean vulgarities.Quote:
Originally Posted by LeeLau
Fasten the power strap in BACK of both tongues and just leave the removable tongues in; they tour fine.Quote:
Originally Posted by PNWbrit
I really want that buckles powerstrap to rivet onto my alpine boot, it's epic.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lindahl
I could only bare the Cochise Light Pro due to the Palau liner that the rest of the line doesn't have.
A good slackcountry boot.
On topic though, molding my Mercury's tomorrow, stoked to try e'm out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gregL
Darn good idea. I have to try that
...when we get some more snow.
Ill be interested to see the results of some hard climbing and touring with these and the soles.
Another weekend touring with the merury's and i just cant believe how good they are for me. I was telemarking for a long time and missed the lightweight and ease of motion from that in my previous setup but with these new boots and my dynafit bindings i finally have it all! ;) lightweight, manouverable, ease of use and power. Every week now i just think of the weekends for more skiing.
Anyone tried out the One? Curious as to how it compares to Vulcan and Mercury. I'm in the market for a lightweight, competent touring boot to replace some aging and heavy-as-all-hell Spirit 4's, and the One may be the ticket. I'm 6'2, 185, and will be driving G3 Tonics the majority of the time.
Note that the One doesn't have a secondary tongue the way the Vulcan, Mercury and TLT5 do. Didn't bother trying them on because of that.Quote:
Originally Posted by midnite
Thanks. Lou Dawson mentioned the tongue in his review and seemed to be more than satisfied with the stiffness/performance on the down. I'd be very interested to hear some real world feedback if anyone's had a chance to try them out. With Bentgate's current discount, the Ones can be had for about $500... Call me a cheapskate, but that price point sounds a lot better to me than shelling out for Mercury/Vulcan. If they provide at least the level same level of stiffness I'm getting out of my 9lb Spirit 4's, I'll bite.
Pebax is definitely not grilamid.......
One review if you havent already read it with lots of questions asked by lou among others: http://www.wildsnow.com/7345/dynafit-one-boot-review/
Saw Lou's review: very helpful, but since I'm 20 lbs heavier and a fairly aggressive skier, I'm wondering if Mercury may be more to my liking. Then again, I like the simplicity of the one design... Anyone tried both?
Get the MercuryQuote:
Originally Posted by midnite
That was the push I needed. Grazie.
No problem - Lou would be the first to admit he's into the short radius turns and weighs nothing
Skied the merc's again but this time with Booster straps replacing the stock straps. Fucking wow...$$$$$ The flex is nice and smooth and felt very progressive. That's with tongues in. Also didn't bother removing the tongues to tour in and still skins quite nicely. The booster straps also remove the fiddle factor of the velcro.
...still not quite as stiff as my Lange Freeride 130's, but plenty of boot no doubt. Close.
Pretty much the only issue I've found, and a small one at that, would be how the power strap is attached to the Mercury.
The beta Vulcan had a much burlier way to attach the powerstrap but I guess in the final production they decided to go with two little dinky screws that can easily rip out.
Powerstrap being ripped out has already happened to one Mercury pair at work and my pair as well.
I ended up slappin on washers to all the screws, haven't had a problem since.
Anywho, first day up on the boots today, it was a dream come true. $.
I have a one day tour on my Ones. So far, so nice. Fore-aft stiffness seems like TLT5Ms with tongue, i.e., plenty for my big butt. (If the Ones came with the additional tongue I would probably not use it.) I really like the flex, but I'm an outlier, big (240-250 lbs., satisfied with 90 flex). Touring/walking mode is great, just a notch shy of TLT5 w/o tongues. They will tour and ski way the fuck better than your Spirit 4s.Quote:
Originally Posted by midnite
What's your skiing style?Quote:
., plenty for my big butt. (If the Ones came with the additional tongue I would probably not use it.) I really like the flex, but I'm an outlier, big (240-250 lbs., satisfied with 90 flex
Had a few days on my Mercuries and I definately need more room in the instep. The liners seem to be causing most of it (i think), and I'm contemplating getting some Intuition liners to replace the liners that came with them. I tried putting my Powerwraps in them but the top buckle won't close with my big-ass calves. I've read through Marshal's lengthy article and read through most of Intuitions site.
I'm thinking either the Pro Tours or a medium volume Dreamliner. Not exactly sure which of those to get, rest of the boot fits pretty good after three days on them aside from the instep. I'm running them with custom footbeds, which at least the Dreamliner seems to take into account, but does anyone else have any more feedback? Should maybe post this in the Intution thread instead but this seemed like a good fit :)
Thanks for the feedback regarding the ones. I took Lee's advice and went ahead and bought the mercuries from Bentgate; the 20% off promotion made the rationalization that much easier. I'm fairly aggressive, but won't do anything more than a 10 foot drop or so. I prefer big arcing turns, but also like tight turns and precision in the trees... These should be just the ticket. Thanks again for the feedback-
FWIW I've only worn my Mercuries around the house, but they were borderline unbearable on my instep with the stock liners in there. I was worried I'd have to size up or get a ton of work done to them. I grabbed my powerwraps out of my last pair of full tilts though and they fit perfectly with them in there. You may have already done this, but you can adjust the length of the teeth for the top buckle - just need a small screwdriver.Quote:
Originally Posted by rewbn
I saw Eric Hjorleifson skinning up to Whistler peak yesterday. He was using Mercuries and not Vulcans, and was skiing his Renegades.
He stopped to ask me about my Sollyfit plates. I was definitely a touch star-struck.
Sounds like maybe the Hoji boot's too stiff for him?Quote:
Originally Posted by D(C)
Either will work. I stuck a Dreamliner in mine. Like other people have said there's quite a bit of instep space. For me with no arches I have to put padding on my instep to take up space. The stock Dynafit liner has a lot of instep volume and is perfect for my no-arch foot but as expected most people would fine the stock liner to be tight on the instep without cooking.Quote:
Originally Posted by rewbn
Use Pro-tour if you want more stride. It adds the tiniest bit of stride. Most of the walk mode smooth feel is in the boot shell imo
He doesn't have his size production Vulcans yet. Very few people have them yet and it seems to me Dynafit is trying to fill orders of people who are paying for them Asap rather than getting them to media whores or athletes.Quote:
Originally Posted by gregL
Makes sense - they are selling briskly at full retail, though not as well as the Mercury.Quote:
Originally Posted by LeeLau
Hey Lee how did the AZN foot do in the mercury, good for the typical foot, wide in front narrow in back and flatter than piss on a plate?
I talked to a boot fitter who told me yeah the problem fitting that boot has been around the instep
That boot is getting sold out every where but I managed to order a pair
Greg - been trying to get a sense of how boots are selling as I was surprised there are so few questions about the Maestrale RS vs Mercury/Vulcan/One. Two shops in Whistler and MEC in North Van and Van tell me that its basically a tie between Maestrale RS and Mercury in terms of buying interest; then Vulcan. TLT5 is further down as is the legacy Maestrales. Garmont & BD pretty far down the list with BD more than Garmont. That about right?Quote:
Originally Posted by gregL
Fwiw I spoke to two people who've been on the proto Vulcan which was as close to production as possible and they both agree with you that its close to 130 flex so I'l be upping my estimate. Thx for the input
The bootboard is flat. I think most boot companies now are starting with the flat boot; makes it a lot easier to fit.Quote:
Originally Posted by XXX-er
Lots of volume around toe and instep. A bit less volume around ankle but still room to play with. Not as form-fitting as TLT5 but I think of that boot as the tightest fitting AT boot I've tried. With that boot I think whatever liner you stick in you want to get it molded. I think Dynafit designed in room so it would fit lots of people. So yeh - I think it'll work for you.
Sounds about the same as Seattle. Almost everyone is interested in the Vulcan/Mercury and Maestrale RS. They'll try on the Dynafits first, then move on to the Scarpas if the instep/medial midfoot issues arise. Cochise 120 is selling like crazy too. Very little apparent interest in the Cosmo. Likewise for BD, except for super wide/high volume types.Quote:
Originally Posted by LeeLau
Everyone in Washington already owns a pair of TLT5's or regular Maestrales . . .
^^^ Yup Cochise has attracted lots of interest too but I don't have sense on actual numbers. I wonder what its like in CO, UT.
Maestrales pretty much dominated the market last year but that could never last.
That post^^^ makes me feel good Lee, I was racking my brains for an alternative to MEC and somehow I thot of Monod ...scored the last pair of 24's
I think garmont is down the tubes after that wildsnow expose
Does anyone know if the last of the smaller sized, i.e. 25/25.5 Mercury/Vulcan is less than 103MM? Given the paucity of 25/25.5 Mondos to try on, I haven't been able to get fix on the fit of these. Only been able to try on 26s around here...