Hjortleifson has been heard, the DynaFit Vulcan

[ccwaskier]

They're widely available, so either people aren't buying them or aren't liking them based on the dearth of beta.

I think a lot of people who might have bought the Vulcans and were really interested in them when the images were released went with the Mercury. For most people the Mercury its a plenty stout boot at a better price point than the Vulcan. Quite a few shop friends (at shops that have both boots in stock) seem to be recommending the Mercury and feel that people just don't need the added stiffness of the vulcan.

[Scotsman50]

So, any longer-term actual reviews of the production Vulcan (not Mercury, not One, not lean mods or liner swaps) aside from foreal? I'm most interested in how they ski relative to other stiff touring boots. I have Factors that need replacing. I have TLT5s, so I know how well these tour. How do they SKI? The Vulcan fits my foot, but standing around a shop doesn't tell you much other than that. They're widely available, so either people aren't buying them or aren't liking them based on the dearth of beta.

I can't give you a technical review but after two and a half months, lots of lift served, lots of touring and a trip to Europe, I can tell you that my love for my Vulcan's increases with every day I use them. I've had no durability issues, have learnt to deal with the tongues and just think they are the best boots I have ever had, Alpine or AT. I got a great fit right out of the box, stock liners and haven't had a single blister or foot issue and I regularily put in 5000 vf days. They are great . I'm 6ft-2" and 200 lbs and I'm glad I went for the stiffer Vulcan's. Some of my smaller friends are just as happy with their Mercury's. They are stiff and I wanted stiff.

[Andyski]

I've had no durability issues, have learnt to deal with the tongues and just think they are the best boots I have ever had, Alpine or AT.

Right on. You had the Virus before, right???

[Scotsman50]

Right on. You had the Virus before, right???

Yep...and I really liked my Virus's but the Vulcan's ( and the Mercurys and TLT5's) are just a whole leap forward.

[Chugachjed]

So the Vulcan is stiffer than the mercury? I don't know how many more seasons my titans have left. And I'd like something stiffer that tours better. And a pet unicorn.

[kevino]

For what it's worth, tried on both the mercury and Vulcan on one foot with my Titan Ul on the other foot. Vulcan is easily the stiffest, also has least amount of progressive flex, and also felt slightly heavier. The mercury felt slightly stiffer and not quite as progressive as the Titan but was close and much more to my liking.

The fit out of box for my Titan was tight, the mercury actually felt surprisingly good

[PNWbrit]

also felt slightly heavier.

If only there was some weigh of measuring that?

[kevino]

I know the vulcans are lighter, which is why I said felt. Obviously that entire paragraph was subjective.

Straight from dynafit:
Titan UL: 1750 g
Vulcan: 1590 g
Mercury: 1600 g
Maestrale RS: 1571 g

[PNWbrit]

I know the vulcans are lighter, which is why I said felt. Obviously that entire paragraph was subjective.

Gravity anomaly?

[kevino]

It must have been all that meth I've been using out here in Spokompton.

[retirwntm]

I've looked on this thread and the Mercury thread, searched google and consulted a psychic. No answer.

Anyone have thoughts on how the Vulcan and or Mercury fits and how you sized them WRT either TLT5's or other Dynafit boots. I'm coming from 26.5 zzero and 27 TLT'S. TIA.

[Andyski]

Another data point on fit: 25.5 TLT5P, 25.5 Factor, 25.5 Lange 120 LF, 25.5 Vulcan. I needed to punch the Factors/Langes at the sixth toe, but not the TLT5s. Weird, I know. Vulcan fit feels pretty much perfect when moving my Intuition PWs from the Factors over. Perhaps a bit tight on the side of my feet (well back of sixth toe), but if that issue persists I'll throw in the thinner Plug PWs from my TLT5s.

Haven't had a chance to cook the stock liners, and wasn't going to chance a tour w/them uncooked as they're tight widthwise.

Did my first tour on them yesterday. Toured great, as expected. I idiotically neglected to move the lean to the more forward position, which messed with my balance a bit, so I'm not going to give much feedback until I get more time on them. Skied them mostly w/o the toungue, and they felt very much like a TLT5P on steriods, which is to be expected. Same "angular" flex and feel. With the tongues, they felt absurdly stiff, as everyone says.

I'll have the small fry (5'8", 130#s) review in the next couple weeks. Didn't go with the Mercury because I felt the ankle area deform on them when clicked in on a shop carpet, which is a big hate of mine. Vulcan doesn't do this. And also because fuck it .

[LeeLau]

So the Vulcan is stiffer than the mercury? I don't know how many more seasons my titans have left. And I'd like something stiffer that tours better. And a pet unicorn.

Probably 15 - 20% stiffer - number pulled out of ass

I've looked on this thread and the Mercury thread, searched google and consulted a psychic. No answer.

Anyone have thoughts on how the Vulcan and or Mercury fits and how you sized them WRT either TLT5's or other Dynafit boots. I'm coming from 26.5 zzero and 27 TLT'S. TIA.

27 TLT5, TLT6, Titan UL, Titan, ZZeus, Mercury and Vulcan

[Scotsman50]

Another data point on fit: 25.5 TLT5P, 25.5 Factor, 25.5 Lange 120 LF, 25.5 Vulcan. I needed to punch the Factors/Langes at the sixth toe, but not the TLT5s. Weird, I know. Vulcan fit feels pretty much perfect when moving my Intuition PWs from the Factors over. Perhaps a bit tight on the side of my feet (well back of sixth toe), but if that issue persists I'll throw in the thinner Plug PWs from my TLT5s.

Haven't had a chance to cook the stock liners, and wasn't going to chance a tour w/them uncooked as they're tight widthwise.

Did my first tour on them yesterday. Toured great, as expected. I idiotically neglected to move the lean to the more forward position, which messed with my balance a bit, so I'm not going to give much feedback until I get more time on them. Skied them mostly w/o the toungue, and they felt very much like a TLT5P on steriods, which is to be expected. Same "angular" flex and feel. With the tongues, they felt absurdly stiff, as everyone says.

I'll have the small fry (5'8", 130#s) review in the next couple weeks. Didn't go with the Mercury because I felt the ankle area deform on them when clicked in on a shop carpet, which is a big hate of mine. Vulcan doesn't do this. And also because fuck it .

Are u using them on Dyanfits? cuz I found the lower lean angle was good with the ramp angle inherent in dyanfits and that if I went to the more forward lean angle Plus dynaffidle ramp angle...felt redockulossly too much forward lean....but YMMV.

[Andyski]

Are u using them on Dyanfits? cuz I found the lower lean angle was good with the ramp angle inherent in dyanfits and that if I went to the more forward lean angle Plus dynaffidle ramp angle...felt redockulossly too much forward lean....but YMMV.

Definitely Dynafits. Having now read that the more forward position is a degree more than the TLT5, perhaps that move won't be good, but we'll see, as the Vulcan is so much beefier. Just going through the usual new gear adjustment phase. Funny to think how I hated the 112RP in powder the first couple times I got out in them...

[retirwntm]

Thanks guys

[ctw55]

I need a problem solved. I am on the One PX now but it really isn't stiff enough. I would love to throw a PowerWrap in there and stiffen it right up and also ditch the powerstrap for even quicker transitions...but I am afraid that the range of motion will drop horribly with the PowerWrap so I though maybe I could get the ProTour and add the "Thick Tongue" in hopes to boost stiffness compared to my stock liner but keep ROM. Any thoughts?

[Andyski]

Less subjective issue: good god the forward lean lock screws DO NOT want to budge. It's just blue loctite, so what the hell? Worried about stripping the screws. Any tips??? Have tried hot water....

[XXX-er]

soldering iron?

either side of those screws are pretty easy to get at I could even see doing it with an open flame on the nut side

[Andyski]

soldering iron?

either side of those screws are pretty easy to get at I could even see doing it with an open flame on the nut side

Yeah, I was hoping to avoid open flame on brand new boots.

[XXX-er]

Yeah a soldering iron would be best but if you don't have a soldering iron a cigarette lighter with the flame turned way down or even a match held under the nut for 5 or 10 sec would probably do it ... be careful eh

[Andyski]

Yeah a soldering iron would be best but if you don't have a soldering iron a cigarette lighter with the flame turned way down or even a match held under the nut for 5 or 10 sec would probably do it ... be careful eh

Cool. I'll give it a shot. Thanks!

[harpo-the-skier]

Heat the torx driver with a flame, then insert it in the screw?

[sb]

ran across this review on Americas Best Bootfitter site



The new Dynafit Vulcan TF surprised testers this year at the ABB boot test
April weather suited testers Mason Tuor and Charlie Bradley just fine

Dynafit's new Vulcan TF sports an interesting amalgam of design features adopted from other touring boots in its line. It has a Freeride-Frankenboot flavor influenced by design team member Eric Hjorleifson (hyor-leaf-son, aka Hoji) who helped devise this answer to the puzzle of how to combine downhill performance with lightweight uphill capability.

The Vulcan is one of several boots submitted to the boot test that are not DIN compatible (rockered sole with tech fittings), thus requiring a toe-height adjustable binding for them to be safely skied. We wrestled with the question of whether or not these types of boots should even be tested in our admittedly Alpine-centric program but decided to see how the boots stacked up against the rest, especially those entered into a straight width category, like the Vulcan.

Long story short, we're glad we did. But let's get two things straight: first, the boot has some fit issues (i.e. it hurt like hell in a couple spots) and second, it has an all-new liner on tap for the Fall which we weren't able to test. That said, this carbon and Grilamid boot skis like an ultra light alpine race boot. No, really. In fact, comparisons were drawn to the carbon fiber Dodge race boots we tested last year due to the Vulcan's insanely crisp carbon fiber feel and direct power transmission to the ski edge, but at a fraction of the weight of most sidecountry boots we tested.

Testers were repeatedly shocked, shocked we say, at how well the boot skied through all manner of terrain—with a few caveats. The cuff is a bit low on the leg (great for touring and weight) and abrupt in its padding, so it made dealing with inconsistent surfaces a little tricky (crud piles, bumps, etc.) and uncomfortable, but so long as testers stayed centered and gritted their teeth, the boot drove the skis right through whatever lay in their path.

The other fit issue that testers mentioned (edgy over the midfoot) led to a related performance problem in that numb feet don't ski so well. The Vulcan's closure system is an ingenious (bordering on over-complex) three-piece with an additional "booster" tongue that snaps on top of the stock external tongue to beef the flex for downhill performance. The booster can be kept in a pack or large pocket during ascent and it worked great going downhill.

Testers were equally intrigued and annoyed by the lasso-style loop buckles, but they functioned fine and are featherweight. Every tester was a fan of the Vulcan's Ultra-Lock ski/tour mechanism, which is not new to Dynafit but was a surprise to many of our test team. The boot's top buckle closes upon the rear spine of the upper boot, driving a pin through a hole in both upper and lower boot, locking the flex.

Opening the buckle pulls the pin and unlocks the upper boot into touring mode. Simple, sick and surprisingly solid. Note that sizing is like alpine boots in that the shell changes on the whole size (26.0 and 26.5 are same sole length) but that internal space ran a touch long, so that many of our team were able to size down. Testers say: one of the lightest and one of the best-skiing, too--crazy huh? Oh yeah, and it'll cost you a few tears and a thousand bucks.

Tester Comments
Kudos

"Holy powered-up Batman! This is the most control I have ever had over a ski from an AT boot. The power from Carbon fiber is stellar." Jim Schaffner.
"Better balance and feel than three-quarters of the narrow category boots I tested." Jeff Rich
"Predictable power—an AT boot with BMW M-Series response." Laurent "Larry" Smith
"Are these really ski boots? Super light!" John "Moose" Millslagle
"It is very light but possesses a structural spine." Bob Gleason
"Carbon fiber cuff generates crisp arcs—powerful but super sensitive." Mark Elling
"The fit is in between on length. Great quick feel—highly powered and light." Brian Elling
"Killer. Skis better than some race boots." Charlie Bradley
"Smooth flex—it felt the most controlled of the touring boots I tested." Matt Baldwin

Caveats

"The entry is a tricky puzzle—too complicated." Laurent "Larry" Smith
"The fit was unbearable and I wonder about it overpowering light AT skis." Jim Schaffner
"Closure system borders on rat trap and the midfoot fit isn't quite right—maybe the new liner will help." Mark Elling
"Comfort is non-existent." Charlie Bradley

[Andyski]

After a full weekend of touring, I'm in love with these boots. Light, precise, powerful, awesome tour mode and fit me perfectly (alpine wraps). I can't see a scenario where I'd use the tongues (ho ho ho), but we'll see. On the groomer exit today, they felt too upright in the more upright lean lock, but in pow I wouldn't change a thing. Maybe I'll try the forward position on corn. The Vulcan is the perfect touring boot for me.