According to my 13/14 Dynafit Dealer Tech Manual the liners in the Vulcan, the Mercury & the One PX/U are identical - item ref 65207/0900.
Printable View
According to my 13/14 Dynafit Dealer Tech Manual the liners in the Vulcan, the Mercury & the One PX/U are identical - item ref 65207/0900.
One would think, but the Vulcan definitely had a roomier fit than the Mercury and I compared the liners and the Mercury liners were thicker. I put them in the Vulcan shells and they fit just like the Mercury. I took several pair of each and mixed and matched. Each time, the Mercury liners had a snugger fit in both the Vulcan and Mercury shell. I thought it seemed weird, but three pairs of each boot and it was consistent each time. I could feel the difference in liner thickness with my fingers.
I just confirmed today by taking a good look at both liners that they are definitely not the same, though very similar. The Mercury liner is slightly thicker and the foam is less dense. You can feel it with your fingers and see it up around the top rim of the cuff and it is evident when you have them on. There are extra seam lines on the Mercury which are not evident on the Vulcan liner. The Mercury fits more snugly but the liner compresses to fit your feet. The Vulcan has a more harsh and slightly looser fit that is less compressive when your foot is in the boot. The difference in the foam would be like the difference between an Intuition Power Wrap liner vs a Luxury or Dream liner for those familiar with the Intuitions. However, with heat molding this may end up being a non issue, but it is disconcerting for an out of the box fit and feel. I think the Vulcan liner might end up being a little colder as well. I liked the out of box fit of the Mercury liner better, but the flex of the Vulcan boot was more appealing to me. As I am probably going to replace the stock liner with an intuition, I went with the Vulcan. MEC, where I tried them on, said that a number of people had made this observation about the liners and had been swapping between the boots to compare as I had done. Just remember when you buy a boot, other than a Scarpa or a Delbello which come with Intuitions, to mentally add the price of a good after market liner like an Intuition into the mix.
Anyone know if there's any actual difference in volume between the full & half sizes in the Vulcans/Mercurys? If so how is it achieved? Thinner liner perhaps?
Yo Jon,
Snell sports in Chamonix are (or were, when I was trying them on three weeks ago) only stocking the half sizes in each, the dude I spoke to said it was because the difference between the inside dimensions of the actual shell for the (let's say) 26 and the 26,5 only amounts to just about 1mm, and any sizing issues would just be sucked up by the liners (which are, as you say, identical for Mercury, Vulcan, and One), but that didn't indicate to me that the liners in the half sizes would be thinner (or thicker), comparatively, than the full sizes. He seemed a little hurried and unwilling to talk at length about them, so either he didn't know himself or he just didn't want to be talking about ski boots in September.
Pretty sure it's just a thinner insole on the .5 sizes, like most boots.
+1 the difference is in the liner not the shell.
Anyone have some fitting tips for upper midfoot issues? I've been fiddling with my bootfitter trying to sort that spot out (top inside of the foot, basically right under the second buckle), and I'm partially convinced that it's more a result of the liner tongue than shell issues... liner body/tongue interface aligns more or less with the shell edge, resulting in a ridge that goes right up the midfoot over musculature for the big toe, which is quite irritating and eventually painful. The stock liners are otherwise nice, and I'm tempted to fiddle more to try and get them to work, but if dropping in an intuition luxury liner sorts the issue, I'd just assume do that rather than resort to more drastic shell work.
The tongue of the liner is pretty rigid and can get weird as it overlaps with the side of the liner.
I think a lot of people that bailed on the stock liner had problem with that area, myself included.
andybrnr, I had a similar issue although not to the extent of some, it was tight and a bit uncomfortable after a while but not terrible. I actually ended up skiing without the second buckle done up a lot of the time for a couple of weeks. For me the problem went a way after a while which suggests I could have nixed it just by remoulding the liner with padding on the top of my foot. When the liner dies I'll switch to Intuition.
Go tongue-less
I have had that same problem in all my ski boots and recently that would have been a scarpa T-1/salomon 8.0 xw-ave/ mercury, last spring at intuition I tried 2 of their tongued liners and I still had problems in my mercury's so I went power wrap
I now have power wraps in my 4 buckle alpines and my tele boots, I have found unless a tonged liner is very soft on the top of foot it bugs me SO ... no more tongues
got some Vulcan's recently, haven't skied them yet. For shits & giggles, I put the liners from my old Garmont in them to see if they were useable. Had a pressure point on the edge of the tongue, inside & just in front of my ankle bone. I put the (heat molded) Vulcan liners back in & it was better.
The Vulcan liners seem ok for me, I think they will be ok once I ski them a few days & get them packed properly. Liners aren't as nice as intuition, but they are not so bad that I am rushing out to buy new liners. First & 2nd buckle are only just tight enough to stop them falling off, my feet are fairly wide & I've always buckled boots this way.
Overall fit for me, heel is a fraction tight, width at the forefoot is snug but lots of room to wriggle my toes up & down. Forefoot is better with the boot tongues in (pushes my foot back a touch). I'll ski them a few days & see how they go, but I might have to re-mold liners with some extra foam bits on forefoot & heel/ankle .
Just got a pair of 26.0 Mercurys & some 27.0 Vulcans to shell fit. When the liners are removed the inside of both shells are stamped 26.5 & 27.5 respectively so the shells are definitely identical in the full & half sizes.
Really like the fit of the 26's - super snug heel & plenty of wiggle room in the toes (first boot I've tried that has sufficient height in the toe box for me) - definitely a bit too tight on top of the mid forefoot (just in front of the 2nd buckle) but that'll hopefully be cured by cooking the liner or worst case get an Intuition.
My big concern is that the 26 only gives me a 9-10mm shell gap (which matches my Atomic alpine boots so I'm used to a snug fit) but I'm concerned I'll need more room for when in tour mode. But the 20mm gap on the 27 shell seems excessive & the boot feels too big/wide everywhere else.
Is a 9/10mm gap to small? Thinking of going with it as the heel hold is so good & I can always punch the toes if necessary?
Jon - its a touring boot. If in doubt go hike around some steep hills going uphill and downhill. Gut instinct is to size for comfort. Sizing for alpine boots is a mugs game
My take is that my foot will rattle around and hurt in a shell that is too big so I go for a shell fit on the smaller side ... but ymmv
Spyderjon,
Could try punching the toes where you need it- could get you another 3-4mm in the 26? Easier to make boots bigger than smaller, IMO, but yes, as a touring boot, comfort is important.
Jon - I'll let you know how I get on with the 27 Vulcans when they arrive. I think a shell check is one thing but the most important is how the boot fits over your instep and around your ankle. If that's all snug there's no need to cram your toes into a short boot, especially if you'll be doing a reasonable amount of walking (esp downhill) or any kicking steps. My current boots have a great performance fit for skiing but my toenails still haven't fully recovered from kicking steps up a 300m couloir 3 years ago!
Anybody put some time in on these with dukes, as well as tech bindings. At this price it would be my only boot. These boots really fit my foot well out of the box, better than any other boots I've tried. Feels as burly as my old Langes, and much stiffer than Cochise 130 Pro I skied last year, which just doesn't have the right last for my foot. Seriously considering this as an everyday boot.
I've ended up going for 27/27.5's so I've got a brand new pair of 26/26.5 Mercurys & a brand new pair of 26/26.5 Vulcans available at the right price if any UK/Yurp maggots want 'em at a bargain price. Would even still be a very good price including shipping to the US. Both are 13/14 boots. PM me if interested.
Supposedly there were going to be removable flex inhibitors on the lower cuff of the mercs and vulcans this year. Where last year they were molded into the mercury cuff, but not the vulcan.
Can anyone confirm or deny this? Pics of said thingies?
Yes my vulcans have 2 little blocks on each boot, on the rear/sides of the cuff, attached by hex bolt so they are removeable. I'll try get pics later.
I'll double check mine, but pretty sure mercury tabs are molded on again.
I'd be really glad to pick up some flex stops if they are available from Salewa, I ground them out on my Mercury, I'm thinking of putting them back in. I could probably make one myself, but I'd dig the factory one more.
Calling all stock Mercury/Vulcan liner users - anyone using the laces?
I replaced them with some bungee laces just to keep the tongue in place/centerd while in walk mode. They're just tied off kind of loosely, can put on take off boot without undoing.
I'm scared to grind off the nub.
The guy who ground off the nub also replaced the tongues with some raichle's which gave the boot a more progressive flex
I finally made my stock liners feel ok on the descent. I was having a lot of pressure on the top of my instep and discovered after two heat molds that the problem was the elastic patch on top of the foot that keeps the tongue down. I seam ripped the whole piece out and problem was solved. Doesnt seem to be too much of a inconvenience without it.
Skialpy are you talking about that 4" long black piece (with a 1" piece of elastic ) that is stitched to the top of the liner toe?
that sounds reasonable to me, the edge of the 4" black piece and the seam of the liner are stacked right where they bug my foot
I thought Lee removed his nub. Can't find the thread.
Chugachied are you talking about grinding off the nub on the removable tongue or the flex stops on the cuff?
nub on the tongue is probably not a biggy flex stops more so of a biggy
and the boot might be too soft without a stiffer tongue
The nub that centers the tongue, to ease insertion and removal.
this^^ is where I could/would make all kinds of jokes about your sexual prowness or lack there of but I am gona take the high road and just suggest that removing the nub would be no biggy and way easier than say ... circumcision
I'm not referring to the clitoris, I've found that once or twice.