Dynafit TLT Radical Binding Review | A Real Review By A Real User

I'm planning on doing a review of the Dynafit TLT Radical Binding. In the past I've only used heavier full-frame bindings, but want to give the Dynafit's a try - especially since Dynafit has been working hard to continuously improve the design over the past years.

Unfortunately, I've just got my hands on the bindings as the snow is melting away, so the full review will need to wait until the snow files again in in the fall of 2012. But for now, I've got a few impressions from just having them in my hands.

What is it and why am I doing the Dynafit TLT Radical Binding Review?

The Dynafit binding has allowed skiers to pursue Freeriding and ski touring in the backcountry for many years. They've now been refined to a level where I think that it's tough to choose a heavier binding over them. I want to put this theory to the test!

Comparing the old and new Dynafit

Firstly, the new bindings are no longer made of steel, but of aluminium and use torx screws (so make sure to update the bits in your repair kit).

Taking a look at the toe piece of an older binding compared to the new one, it does look quite similar at first glance and the operation of it looks to be about the same, however, don't be fooled!

The new binding has a "side tower" (which can be seen just below the pins. This unassuming little addition serves to guide the boot into the correct position for locking in - lay your boot on the toe plate, slide it forward until the "side towers" stop it in proper position, and step down. With the old ones, positioning had to be done by feel and eyeballing. While grizzled veterans would maybe scoff at the necessity of this, I'm pretty sure newbies will appreciate it, especially on cold days and when transitioning on precarious slopes.

Above: an older binding toe piece

Above: the latest toe piece

It looks like the heel piece of the binding is where some real visible changes have been made. Obviously the top photo does not include the optional brakes, so ignore that and concentrate on the other parts of the binding.

The workings of the heel lift riser has been completely re-thought. On the old binding where you had to rotate it to get the different height settings, the newer requires only one rotation to bring the flippable metal unit into place, which then allows several height settings via simple flips of the two pieces.

Above: an older binding heel piece

Above: the latest heel piece

Comparing Dynafit to Heavier Full Frame Bindings

As far as weight goes, comparing the TLT Radicals to my current Silvretta Pure X-Mountains, which are already an impressively light binding, is still quite dramatic. The TLT Radical comes in at 531 grams while the X-Mountain is just about three times as heavy at 1672 grams. It's pretty obvious that I'll notice a substantial weight savings like that, especially over a long day of touring.

Another big difference is the way the foot pivots in walk mode.

With the Dynafit, the connection to the binding is close to the toe of the boot resulting in a somewhat unnatural pivot at the front of the toes - notice that when you walk barefoot, that your natural pivot is more near the base of your big toes where they bend. Silvretta has tried to duplicate this with the ingenious way they've designed their binding to pivot further back.

Note that this pivot is not the way all other full frame bindings work, but I believe is quite unique to Silvretta - other full frames are similar to the Dynafit in this regard.

So, how big a deal is this? I have walked in both bindings to get a feel for it, and the difference is actually more subtle than I thought it would be. However, this was only for a few steps - I'll update this when I've had a chance to do a long tour in them.

Above: the more forward pivot of the Dynafit

Above: the more natural Silvretta pivot

But the story doesn't end there: with the Silvretta (and other full frame bindings), I have to lift the entire binding structure along with my boot, whereas that structure is absent in the Dynafit design and I'm simply lifting the boot.

This is much less weight with each stride.

So as far as comfort in walk mode, there's a lot to factor in here. I suspect that although the Silvretta feels subtly more natural, the sheer weight savings coming from the Dynafit will prove more of a valuable blessing on long trips.

Anyhow, my first reactions are that the Dynafit TLT Radicals are quite positive and I'm eager to get them out for some big days in the snow. Stay tuned for some real tests in the field once the snow flies next fall.

Above: lifting the entire frame each step with a full frame binding

Above: no extra weight to lift with the Dynafit