Hjortleifson has been heard, the DynaFit Vulcan

[TheDon]

Got my first day in the Mercury today. Only about 1k up and down but so far very pleased with the cuff rotation, heel hold, and stiffness (skied WITHOUT tongues). Fully met my expectations so far.

Lots of hype for the Vulcan and Mercury but bottom line is they seem to tour and ski like a dream.

How big are you Steve? I'm sure you're a dentist that is a type III very aggressive skier so I won't ask your ski ability/style.

How stiff do you think the mercury is, really?

[steveski]

How big are you Steve? I'm sure you're a dentist that is a type III very aggressive skier so I won't ask your ski ability/style.

How stiff do you think the mercury is, really?

I'm 5'11" 155 pounds soaking wet (yes I will post pics). Seriously though, i enjoy skiing hard and charging but also like to dial it back and do mellow laps while touring. Yesterday was a mellow day and the first test drive of the mercury.

Regarding flex for someone my size: I could not imagine needing a stiffer boot, ever. I have yet to ski them with the removable tongue in and will only put them in for the resort days when big drops and high speed charging is in order.

Of course after one day out in these there is plenty more to feel out and learn, but so far so good. If you have any specific questions i will try and answer them. My info has been a little vague I realize...

[kevino]

i'm too lazy to look up your posts Sneaky Steve, what other AT boots have you skied for comparison? TLT5s?

[Dr.Sih]

The TLT5 tongue is shorter, both in the inserted portion of the tongue and where the shell/tongue plug thing line up. Doable, but maybe not easy. I'll try and grab some pictures.

just a though, if you can checked the size down tongue of the vulcan compared to the tlt5's tongue. I.e. a 27 vulcan's tongue to a 28 tlt5's shell. Would that make it more plausible, and minimize the amount of clipping?

[steveski]

i'm too lazy to look up your posts Sneaky Steve, what other AT boots have you skied for comparison? TLT5s?

I have megarides, Zzeus's, and have spent some time in older raichle flexons. So far the closest comparison is to the flexons but with a little more progressive flex.

[Jim S]

. When compared to a relatively light and well thought out boot like the Virus( And I'm just realizing how good a boot the Virus is...way ahead of it's time... good job PLake) then the Vulcan is not such a huge step forward... I was expecting more. It's those fucking tongues and having to remove them to get the best out of the boot....this tongue removal PITA may be a deal breaker for me.

Ditto. I tried on the Mercury today (no Vulcan in stock) and it fit great, nice stiffness, great features with the buckle securement.

But that tongue....I felt like a first time skier who takes 5 minutes trying to click into their bindings. I imagine with repetition I could become facile at sliding the tongue in.*

But if I was having a hard time in a warm ski shop, with no gloves and maximum manual dexterity, no wind, no cold, no blowing snow or knee deep pow, and not tired, then I think I'd be far from stoked when I fiddled with these at the end of trek up to a summit in typical winter conditions. And having to stow two more pieces of gear in my jacket or pack?

Going from walk to ski mode should be nearly effortless. Maybe in 2013-2014 someone will nail it.


*Yes, yes, obvious cunning linguist remark to follow....

[Prodigy]

Ditto. I tried on the Mercury today (no Vulcan in stock) and it fit great, nice stiffness, great features with the buckle securement.

But that tongue....I felt like a first time skier who takes 5 minutes trying to click into their bindings. I imagine with repetition I could become facile at sliding the tongue in.*

But if I was having a hard time in a warm ski shop, with no gloves and maximum manual dexterity, no wind, no cold, no blowing snow or knee deep pow, and not tired, then I think I'd be far from stoked when I fiddled with these at the end of trek up to a summit in typical winter conditions. And having to stow two more pieces of gear in my jacket or pack?

Going from walk to ski mode should be nearly effortless. Maybe in 2013-2014 someone will nail it.


*Yes, yes, obvious cunning linguist remark to follow....

It seems like there's a pretty specific process for getting the tongue in without fully unbuckling: Slide it in with the tab to the right of the nub until it hits the toe buckle strap, twist and slide it a little to the left so it comes over the nub then push it forward into the toe and it will drop onto the nub. Takes 10 seconds if you do it right. Plus there are already multiple reports of people skiing without tongues and finding them plenty stiff so it's not like the tongue is absolutely necessary.

[Jim S]

It seems like there's a pretty specific process for getting the tongue in without fully unbuckling: Slide it in with the tab to the right of the nub until it hits the toe buckle strap, twist and slide it a little to the left so it comes over the nub then push it forward into the toe and it will drop onto the nub. Takes 10 seconds if you do it right. Plus there are already multiple reports of people skiing without tongues and finding them plenty stiff so it's not like the tongue is absolutely necessary.

Left right? Which foot? Can't be the same for both. Medial or lateral?

[Prodigy]

Left right? Which foot? Can't be the same for both. Medial or lateral?

Sorry, left foot so medial/inside.

[thommy21]

I'll throw my hat in the ring here. Not looking for an all in one boot will keep my alpine set up for in bounds. No real out the gate/sidecountry where I'm at. Med wide foot typically 28.5 Salomon fit. 6'2" 195lb
Tried the following:
BD Quantum- So so fit a little too soft flex
Titan and Titan Ultralight- Ultralight was tops on my list good flex and fit
Cochise130 Pro Light- Fet ok but cheapish in buckles. Didnt like the liners wished the regular 130 Pro had a wider last.
Maestrale- Fit well cheapish buckles. Little too soft
Maestrale RS- Blue Superfeet insole Good fit and flex, couple hot spots that could be worked out - Overall liked better than Titan UL
Mercury- w/ Blue Superfeet insole Good fit and Flex. Some hot spots. They are plenty stiff for what I want. Don't think I need the Vulcan. Tounge is a little weird with in out process but got it dialed after a while. Could kind of be a pain to dick around with and have to put in and out of my pack in the field. Actually didn't feel too bad in walk mode with the tounges left in.
Coin toss on fit and walk mode between the RS and Mercury at that point.

Then tried:
Mercury with Maestrale RS liner (Intuition) Blue Superfeet insole- Money for me. Good tight fit no hot/pinch spots, best fit of any of the boot combos I've tried. Of course it will cost me an arm and a leg to do that combo. Think I will go Mercury with standard liner and get them fit. If still not happy can always move to an Intuition liner.

[TheDon]

I'm 5'11" 155 pounds soaking wet (yes I will post pics). Seriously though, i enjoy skiing hard and charging but also like to dial it back and do mellow laps while touring. Yesterday was a mellow day and the first test drive of the mercury.

Regarding flex for someone my size: I could not imagine needing a stiffer boot, ever. I have yet to ski them with the removable tongue in and will only put them in for the resort days when big drops and high speed charging is in order.

Of course after one day out in these there is plenty more to feel out and learn, but so far so good. If you have any specific questions i will try and answer them. My info has been a little vague I realize...

Great that's all I needed to hear. Pulling the trigger.

[Prodigy]

Then tried:
Mercury with Maestrale RS liner (Intuition) Blue Superfeet insole- Money for me. Good tight fit no hot/pinch spots, best fit of any of the boot combos I've tried. Of course it will cost me an arm and a leg to do that combo. Think I will go Mercury with standard liner and get them fit. If still not happy can always move to an Intuition liner.

Intuitions definitely have the better fit out of the box. Molding and some work should get you a good fit.

[GeezerSteve]

Prodigy, are there any 30-30.5 One PX in the U.S.?

[gregL]

Prodigy, are there any 30-30.5 One PX in the U.S.?

Bent Gate shows a 30.

PS Met your friends Carla and Brian the other day, they'll be over for a non-legally binding mount shortly.

[Fieldys Nuts]

Just received word that my 29.5 Vulcans are not showing up till mid December.

[steveski]

Just received word that my 29.5 Vulcans are not showing up till mid December.

These production delays are interesting. Considering (nearly?) identical designs between the mercury and Vulcan. Must be something to do with the carbon in the Vulcan? Purely speculation of course.

[XavierD]

My guess is that the production delays have to do a lot with what I I am going to guess is Dynafit's attempt to sell as many of these on pre-order before folks have a chance to put them on.

$1000 for a somewhat light ski boot not many people can flex, that requires an engineering degree to take on and off, and still fails to have replaceable toe and heel lugs, ya, hype is the only thing this has going for it.

I doubt that there will be much of anyone who would be willing to fork over the extra two hundred to get these over the Mercury once they get both on their feet.

Ya, I will say it, this boot was rushed into production, with the hope that Hoji's name and a cool color scheme would convince chumps to fork over $1000 in the hopes of being the next, more extreme GSA.

make sure you get some Mammut or Arcteryx over priced proshell to match.

[JeffreyJim]

Skied a few days on the Mercury. Tours great, PLENTY stiff (without the tongue) and light. Just a bit upright for my taste...but that is adjustable. Obviously, (much) more to come...

[steveski]

My guess is that the production delays have to do a lot with what I I am going to guess is Dynafit's attempt to sell as many of these on pre-order before folks have a chance to put them on.

I don't think that is the case. Can anyone confirm a pre-order straight from Dynafit? Retail stores were told to expect arrival of the vulcans mid November. Pre orders should not have effected that unless there is a significant under production already (unlikely).

It's unfortunate neither boot did it for you, Xavier. So far i'm experiencing a performance that is on par with all the hype.

[Prodigy]

I don't think that is the case. Can anyone confirm a pre-order straight from Dynafit? Retail stores were told to expect arrival of the vulcans mid November. Pre orders should not have effected that unless there is a significant under production already (unlikely).

It's unfortunate neither boot did it for you, Xavier. So far i'm experiencing a performance that is on par with all the hype.

Dynafit doesn't do direct sales to customers and would like nothing better than to get boots into customer's hands. Trust me, having to tell people you can't give them what they want gets old, really fast.

Speaking of hype, here's a nice little piece with a whopping 103 views http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6Bf3...hannel&list=UL. You all should watch it so that you will fall victim to the Vulcan propaganda machine and be subconsciously forced to buy them.

[auvgeek]

All I really want is a bit stiffer TLT5P w/o the bellows and a more-progressive flex. Keep the TLT5 last and buckle arrangement, but reduce the fwd lean. Keep it about 1300 g, and I'll take whatever stiffness I can get at that weight (should be in between TLT5P and Vulcan). Wish they made this boot. With this, they could add replaceable sole block to the Vulcan/Mercury, and nix the Titan/Titan UL entirely.

[Tutuko]

^My thoughts exactly, the 'one' should have been this

[Moralkaka]

Any comments on the pictures? Could a TLT5 be skied with the Vulcan tongue?

[harpo-the-skier]

Dynafit doesn't do direct sales to customers and would like nothing better than to get boots into customer's hands. Trust me, having to tell people you can't give them what they want gets old, really fast.

Speaking of hype, here's a nice little piece with a whopping 103 views http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6Bf3...hannel&list=UL. You all should watch it so that you will fall victim to the Vulcan propaganda machine and be subconsciously forced to buy them.

TLT6? You heard it here first.

[Jim S]

Speaking of hype, here's a nice little piece with a whopping 103 views http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6Bf3...hannel&list=UL.

That soundtrack gets me more pumped than Redbull vodka shots and 4 lines of blow.