Bro's with Dynafit--review
many people know how skeptical i was of trackhead's switch to dynafits. over the last few months i've watched him smoke my ass up the trail and then rip on the way down. about 4 weeks back gramps followed suit and took off w/ derek on uptrack only stopping to let me catch up. i chose then to atleast try a pair and see how it goes.
i recently mounted some old tlt's on my bro's and began the informal comparison to this seasons freerides. the first thing you notice is the most obvious, the weight. my the diference a couple pounds can make. you notice it in the swing of your stride and when on your pack. the stride itself is even more efficient. once locked down, the ski is easier to control with the dyna's than the fr's. the power transmission is actually noticeable when skiing crust or packed powder. no more toe slop before you actually turn, which btw was worse on my new fr's than my old grey ones.
that brings me to the freeride's advantage, the din. most would say the a din of 10 is adequate. well, that kinda depends on how you ski and how heavy you are. the fr's din of 12 is nice but would be better at 14. likewise, the din of 10 on the dyna's is lacking but would be adequate around 12. if dynafit ever figures that out, they'll have a killer bc binding.
currently, i have some adjustments to make on the heels of my used set of dynafits. i don't have a din higher than 5 for my vertical release. even with that handicap they have performed well. i was suprised by a line that cliffed out yesterday and wondered how the dyna's would perform in crappy conditions. the only way down w/o a rope was to test them. i positioned myself as close to the edge of the cliff as possible w/o slipping on the blue ice or resting my bases on the rock. a quick jump turn with a push and i was off. it was only about 10' down but with a landing of old avy debris covered with new crust, it was formidable enough. i stuck the landing and skied away on the crust as if i was back on alpine binders. it was a good enough impact to reasonably test how well they would hold me while my dins were set at 5(vertical) and 10(horizontal). i will purchase a set of tlt comforts as soon as i get my lifelink form and see how well a new set performs.
