Older Dynafit binder differences?

[comish]

I'm looking at getting some dynafit's for some of the big Sierra tours. Wondering what the differences are from the old stuff to the current stuff. I think I have the comfort figured out. What is the difference between a "tourlite 3" or a "tourlite tech"? Is the current tourlite tech the same thing as the old one?

Anything to watch out for on used one's?

[Will]

More info than you probably need here.

Watch out for Dynafit "Tri-step" bindings. It was released in 01/02 (I think) then hung around for 02/03 before being replaced by the "Comfort" binding. Basically it had a slightly jazzier heel piece than the regular TLT, which worked fine. The toe-piece was a disaster though, and had a tendency to ice up and also not to lock properly - leading to sudden and unexpected release during kick-turns while climbing. A pain in the ass, as if you were using ski-brakes instead of leashes you got to watch your ski slide down everything you just climbed.

For a detailed discussion of these issues check this out.

The Comfort binding solved this problem by matching a tri-step heel piece with a TLT toe-piece.

[Jonathan S.]

The key excerpt from the faq for the question at hand is:
“Later models are much much better, mostly because they have adjustable vertical release that can be fine tuned, rather than having the U shaped springs that you swap into the heel of the older model, in order to change your vertical release tension.”
The TLT 3 on eBay now is one such example. (The current TLT was previously called the TLT IV, but then the numerical designation was dropped once the older versions had been out of circulation for so long.) The release setting is stamped somewhere on a part, but the seller doesn’t know how to find it. As of last summer, Marmot Mountain Works still had extras in stock - might want to check to see what they have left. Plus an after-market toe shim from Life-Link would probably be necessary for crampon compatibility. (Although all this is moot now since someone just used the buy it now option.)

[cj001f]

The U shaped spring models are in demand if you want to make an ultralight Euro racer setup. Which would be cool for super light tours.

[Jonathan S.]

The Euro racer setups are not the same as the old TLT3. I've inspected the old TLT3, and although I haven't weighed them separately from the skis, they're definitely lighter than the current TLT. But the difference is probably about like the weight difference between the TLT and the Comfort, i.e., 24 vs. 28 oz, per pair, w/o brakes. By contrast, the TLT w/ after-market race heel weighs a bit over 9 oz per pair -- only slightly heavier for an entire binding than the Comfort brakes.

[cj001f]

The Euro racer setups are not the same as the old TLT3. I've inspected the old TLT3, and although I haven't weighed them separately from the skis, they're definitely lighter than the current TLT.

Many of the custom Euro racer setups are created using the U shaped heel spring with a custom mount, at least that's my understanding.

[Jonathan S.]

I was thinking about these:
http://jshefftz2.photosite.com/Dynaf..._TLT_Race.html
but who knows what crazy cutomized jobs (based on salvaged older bindings) are out there....

[cj001f]

I was thinking about these but who knows what crazy cutomized jobs (based on salvaged older bindings) are out there....

Before the crash there was a thread on ttips talking about the customizations that also mentioned the TLT Races - think it was on the Wasatch Powder Keg. Also had some modified Dynafits, if I remember. Of course that's all lost to the wind.