Hjortleifson has been heard, the DynaFit Vulcan

[superdigg]

I felt like they were too stiff with powerwraps. I swapped them for the tour liners.

Vulcan + Pro Tours are a very nice match

[Va Ki Bo]

About vulcan tongues stiffness and lack of progressive flex.

Had the same problem, but now it is gone.
Pre-bend the tongues (just hot water and bare hands).


Now the boot flex is perfectly smooth and supportive from the very beginning and feels a bit stiffer than lovely
Dalbello Krypton Pros with B-tongues with rear cuff stiffeners engaged.

While in the walk mode the tongues looks a bit awkward - too far forward from the shins, but don't skin with the
tongues anyway.

Pic: Boot in ski mode. The cuff is in second - more forward stance angle position, with the lower two buckles closed.

[auvgeek]

Now the boot flex is perfectly smooth and supportive from the very beginning and feels a bit stiffer than lovely
krypton B-tongues with rear cuff blockers installed.

Really neat idea, but doesn't that change the effective forward lean of the boot, particularly in the more upright angle?

[Va Ki Bo]

... but doesn't that change the effective forward lean of the boot, particularly in the more upright angle?

Didn't try it that way, but as long as you will use your boots with top buckles tighten and powerstraps it will not be an issue (imho): you will still have some support from the cuff.

The Vulcan tongues don't have flex ribs (like flexons or kryptons do) and are really stiff both in terms of plastic AND (foremost) in terms of its geometry. It is like flexing a halfpipe - pretty rigid construction. Without pre-bending the tongues It feels like You're not flexing it, but shifting it forward as a whole using just a small contact area under the powerstrap. Another way I see - tighten the middle buckle crazy-tight to fix the concave part of the tongue on the proper part of the foot.

The good thing is that this mod is totally reversible which is pretty "un-hoji" for Hoji topic

[YoEddy]

I'm definitely going to try the tongue mod - both the heated pre-bend and swap. I've been looking around for Krypton B tongues, but they don't seem to be readily available like the Full Tilt tongues. Will the Full Tilt / Flexon tongues work as well as Krypton tongues?

Also, how exact in shell/tongue size do I need? Would for example a 27.5 FT tongue work with a 29.5 Vulcan?

[LC]

I'm feeling like I want more cuff lean in my Vulcans lately (already got them in the "more lean" position). Any tips? It doesn't look like the cuff lean mechanism could be easily modified, so should I just add a spoiler or make one from foam sheets? Better/easier to attach a spoiler to the shell or liner?

The "heat & bend the tongue" modification is interesting but I feel like I don't have enough lean even when skiing without the tongues.

[XXX-er]

Really neat idea, but doesn't that change the effective forward lean of the boot, particularly in the more upright angle?

the top buckle locks the cuff/rear pylon in one of 2 positons depending on if you flip the metal guide period so doing anything with the tongue will not change forward lean

a spoiler on the back of calf WILL change forward lean or possibly making a new guide plate for the buckle to lock into if such a thing could be done ?

bending that tongue would be like the negative air spring in a mtn bike fork which gets the travel started to reduce stiction

[Theo-san]

The black elastic is gone and
Cutting liner material out of the tongue itself over the 1st met head. Still have instep pain and arch pain too. Might have to ditch the super feet orange for something like the blue less arch support but less volume

Or a new liner... Intuition Pro Tongue? Intuition Pro Tour? Or Power Wrap?

I baked the liners with green superfeet before cutting the seam, then cut and put in black superfeet. Changed the feel of the boots from torture devices to great AT boots (not comfy, but I don't think ski boots should be anyway). Greens with cut liner still took too much volume - even though I have used greens/reds with all of my other boots.

[stormrider194]

I just bought a new pair of Vulcans today. Anybody have any advice on home baking the liners?

[XXX-er]

So I got my new Vulcans in the mail and they come with a handful of stops which all look the same OR are they different??

[XXX-er]

I did 3 seasons on Mercury's probably 200 days and today my 1st 2 runs on Vulcan's ... Fuck those boots are STIFF!

I did one run without tongues and one with tongues, Vulcan without tongue is as stiff as a Mercury with tongue but the ROM is better

only reason I can see to use the tongues is at the hill

swapped the liners & power strap over to the merc's , sell them next october

it sure is nice to just put a new boot on and it fits perfect ...no fucking around

[sethschmautz]

only reason I can see to use the tongues is at the hill

My thoughts exactly.

[swissiphic]

Hey Al; didja try the vulcans with the bump stops removed? the big guy at earlyups thought they flexed more progressively without them and he's 6' 2" and 200 pounds. Sounds like his favorite combo was flex stops removed, tongue inserted. For lighter guys perhaps no tongue and no bump stops? Curious, as I did extensive testing on my mercuries with constructing removable ramps so the cuff glides over the flex stops and even with tongue inserted, the boot basically collapsed and buckled forward in true coastal deeper cementons while wearing a ski touring pack and i'm 175 pounds.

I did 3 seasons on Mercury's probably 200 days and today my 1st 2 runs on Vulcan's ... Fuck those boots are STIFF!

I did one run without tongues and one with tongues, Vulcan without tongue is as stiff as a Mercury with tongue but the ROM is better

only reason I can see to use the tongues is at the hill

swapped the liners & power strap over to the merc's , sell them next october

it sure is nice to just put a new boot on and it fits perfect ...no fucking around

[XXX-er]

well guido your wild ass idea is so intriguing that I immediately tried it AND the Vulcan did not fold, keep in mind this is just a small AZN man doing the cheap laminate floor test. SO I will probably be trying the boot without stops also with & without tongue next season the stiffness in this design comes from that pylon in the back locking into that stiff as fuck carbon cuff which isn't quite stiff enough in the Mercury but does the trick on the Vulcan so what you end up with is a whole lot of options eh?

I thot the early ups dude ground the stops out of a Mercury which created a noodle so he adapted a stiff tongue out of an alpine boot?

there is still a ton of snow up there but its been 8C at night up high so piste is slushy/punched ...gave the skiing a rest

You have completely dissapeared from FB even conversations where you asked a question now just show the answer to a non existent entity any

[swissiphic]

Yup, the earlyups guy did remove the flex stops from the merc but also in his test of the vulcan mentions testing without the flex stops (removed them).

"Second, I pulled the boot’s bump stops from the get go to offer a bit more progressive “in the boot” flex. For those wondering, bump stops are the little bits of plastic that engage the uppers with the lowers when you flex forward. Essentially, it stops the boot from flexing forward off the tongue and instead defers the forward flex to the entireboot. Confused? Don’t be. In layman’s term, with the bump stops installed, the boot was very very stiff and offered very little in the way of “feel”. This shouldn’t be a huge surprise when you think about it as you are essentially bending the back of the boot when leaning into the boot. (bending carbon fiber…) For some, leaving the stops in and skiing without the tounge may be an option. For me, it left the boot feeling as though I was flexing off the “back” of the boot in a slightly unstable way. Hence, I chose to run the tongue and pull the stops. For those wondering, leaving the bump stops in and skiing with the tongue was stiff in a “I can’t flex this at all” kind of way. Those coming from plug like boots might feel the bump stop + tongue combo to be just right."

http://earlyups.com/gear-dynafit-vulcan-2/

soooo....intrigued myself about the stiffer pylon in the back.....might just add a few grams and laminate some fiberglass onto the cuff to stiffen it up a hair...of course, this will be removable...affixed with my new favorite ghettoworks temporary adhesive...double sided carpet tape.

also, fyi, starting to notice just a tiny bit of play where the top buckle nob locks in the rear fiberglass portion of the cuff due to a bit of wear. might play around with fix options too, maybe some epoxy on the alu nob to tighten up the mating surface.

[XXX-er]

Duno how you will effectively stiffen up that cuff, modifying a raichle tongue might do more ?

I also noticed some wear on the Mercury cuff from the top buckle locking the pylon/cuff together but the The Vulcan Cuff has metal popriveted to the area around the hole for a metal to metal interface so wear should not be a problem, I would guess CF doesn't wear well which is why the Vulcan bump stops are replaceable/bolt in cuz the boot comes with 4 spare stops in the box.

[Nordic Giant]

@XXX'er et al

So, Me: 6'4" 215 beerbelly athlete skiing since I was a kid but no race or competive experience.
I really think Dynafit has hit a sweetspot with this boot given it's sort of built in tunability. Sure hope they keep it or something very close to it in the lineup in the future despite it's idiosyncracies and basically crap stock liner. It's Tits McGee for bigger guys.


YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND perhaps that the removable bump stops on the Vulcan are two different sizes. Check em out, one set is a few millimeters wider and will engage the cuff sooner. At least on my boots from a couple seasons ago.

FWIW I've found the bump stops cause a way too wickedly stiff as well as negative flex. (softer at first then stiffer). For skiing any kind of powder or even lower angle corn, I never use the tongue. For harder snow or higher angle corn/mountaineering days i'll sometimes use the tongue. Intuition powerwrap liners. Use power straps all the time routed under the cuff/on top of the liner just to snug the liner around my skinny ass calves, not to try to stiffen the boot at all. Using the straps this way you don't have to adjust them for the up-down transitions. Just leave them in place all day. My last two touring boots I didn't use straps at all but it doesn't work with this boot. would rather not have to fiddle with straps at all while touring but it seems necessary with this boot for me.

So for me: Better Liner. Usually no tongue unless skiing firm snow. No bump stops. Powerstrap under the cuff.

I've heard of guys modifying/trimming the stock tongue down to tune the flex. This is a cool idea especially if you're skiing without the tongue anyway. You might be able to tour with the tongue inserted and still get good ROM. Haven't tried this myself but think I will check it out soon since my boots are out of warranty and still feel slightly too stiff with the tongues even on harder snow.

[XXX-er]

yeah i asked and nobody had anything to offer on the stops but since I got em out anyhow I measured AND they come in 2 sizes as you mention

I agree the Dynafit liner sucks dead goats and the power wraps work awesume for me also but I can't tell the difference between a power strap or not so I leave them off altho I might put them on at the hill

I think they are changing the Vulcan which must be why I got em for >65% off

[Nordic Giant]

I think they are changing the Vulcan which must be why I got em for >65% off

Well shoot. I guess mine are going strong.

[gregL]

I think they are changing the Vulcan which must be why I got em for >65% off

The boot they call the Vulcan next season will essentially be a green-on-green 2015 Mercury (though I think they are switching the shells on all the boots to Pebax). Chuck Norris will be rocking the Khion.

[XXX-er]

The model change means retailers need to kick out last seasons Vulcan so Conrad is liquidating the leftover small sizes at 65% off ... a small woman could rock that boot by fiddling with stops and tongue

[Nordic Giant]

boot they call the Vulcan next season will essentially be a green-on-green 2015 Mercury

Huh. Is the Mercury going away then or is it being detuned as well? Certain folks have given me shit for buying the Vulcan and detuning it to my liking, but hey I got them at a wicked deal originally anyway. Mercury might have been a better boot for me perhaps but they felt approx. same flex as my old blown out Zzeus' which always were too soft so I would've needed to pretty much always ski with the tongue in which I didn't want to do.
XXXer, who'd you get that 65% off Vulcan from.? Might have to hold a pair in reserve if the new version is changing.

[PNWbrit]

XXXer, who'd you get that 65% off Vulcan from.? Might have to hold a pair in reserve if the new version is changing.

Telemarkpyrenees had about the best prices.

[swissiphic]

Full admission of early adopter temptation...Khion...for sure, the mercury is all I NEED but sometimes desire trumps needs...yup, desire the four buckles for mo betta securing of cuff for skinny ankles/lower calves...yup, hate the tongue/no tongue fiddle fuckery of merc...yup, want more natural feeling progressive forward flex...yup, find the top buckle throw of merc too long/cumbersome...yup...hoping for a better wearing outsole for non snow hiking that doesn't need frequent shoe goo bolstering under the toe insert area...yup, don't care about the zero weight loss in comparo. Lack of powerstrap on Khion is a concern...but looking closely at pics appears that upper liner tongue has a thicker 'bulge' to perhaps compensate?

Question is, how many years do I have to wait for 65 percent off list price to make it ski bum affordable, mr. XXX? lol. Maybe the less stiffer than Vulcan model Khion will blow out for less at the end of season one and sounds like enough boot anyways.

[XXX-er]

http://www.sport-conrad.com/page/pro...hop/prod/25020

I checked, Sport conrad was cheaper than tp.com and they had my size

Any time there is a model change last years product can no longer be sold as new so IMO you gotta wait till they announce the follow on to the Khion for the smoking deal Guido probably 3 yrs

but if you take a 27 the boot will likely be sold out before they need to get cleared out whereas I bet those ^^22 vulcans will still be there next season