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Dynafit vs. La Sportiva AT/ice climbing

Original Post
Dan Swansinger · · Crested Butte, CO · Joined Dec 2012 · Points: 15

Skin to an ice/mixed/alpine climb and ski decend. A boot for approaching, front pointing vertical ice and down hill. What one seems to be the best?

I've heard the TLT 5's do the job. What about La Sportiva Spectre and Sideral? I care less about weight and more about compatibility and performance on the snow and ice. Thanks!

Philip Burnett · · Ogden, UT · Joined Jul 2010 · Points: 313

Can't speak to the Spectre, but I have the spitfire which is a feature rich version of the Sideral and it's super hard to get a good crampon fit on the toe welt. I had to modify my boots to accept crampons. TLT's are much better in this regard.

Nodin deSaillan · · Boulder · Joined Mar 2013 · Points: 80

I've found my spitfires to work fine with BD stingers and camp nanotechs. Though I have not compared the fit to TLT's

Ray Pinpillage · · West Egg · Joined Jul 2010 · Points: 180

Tlt5's are no longer made.

The LS boots have a ton of rocker which makes them had to fit crampons to. I use the Petzl soft bails which work fine but I don't climb WI5 in them.

Luc-514 · · Montreal, QC · Joined Nov 2006 · Points: 12,506

Check with Dane but I think Dynafit worked with Grivel for crampon and climbing compatibility.

AlpineIce · · Upstate, NY · Joined Mar 2011 · Points: 255

Speaking of Dane, I hope everything's ok with him. Cold Thistle has had very little activity since early June. Been following Dane since the start & I've never seen him go this long w/o posts ...

Taylor-B. · · Valdez, AK · Joined Oct 2009 · Points: 3,186
Ray Pinpillage wrote:Tlt5's are no longer made.
IMHO (and a bit of Dane's;), I think the TLT6 was a step back in boot progression. I was able to score a pair of TLT5s for super cheap at geartrade.com last May, perhaps if you like the TLT5 you can still find a pair.
I really like the TLT5s toe flex for the up, including technical climbing with crampons. Sure, you are always going to compromise up for down and down for up. And the TL5 is more of a up boot. You can easily modify the TLT5 set up to give it more power on the down, with very minimal compromise on the up; with booster straps, intuition alpine wrap liners and a shorter ski length. Also, Google what Trevor Hunt has to say about big mountain ski-mo set ups.

Get better Dane! We love your blog and opinion!
Martin le Roux · · Superior, CO · Joined Jul 2003 · Points: 401

I've climbed WI4 in TLT5s and TLT6s and they both worked fine for me. Like all ski boots they have hardly any sideways ankle articulation. That isn't much an issue on pure ice climbs but it's disadvantage on mixed routes.

The standard toe bail on my BD Cyborgs was too narrow to fit the TLTs but BD sells a wider bail that works fine.

TLT5s have a fairly narrow last and I ended up selling them because they weren't quite wide enough for my feet. TLT6s have a wider last which worked better for me. My feet get cold easily so I bought the boots in a larger size than normal and replaced the stock liners with a thicker pair of Intuitions for extra insulation.

Dan Swansinger · · Crested Butte, CO · Joined Dec 2012 · Points: 15

How do the Scarpa F1 Evos compare anyone know?

Dobson · · Butte, MT · Joined Oct 2011 · Points: 215

We had a hard time getting my friend's Spitfires mounted. Tried Cyborgs, G20s, and Darts. A combination of the rocker and wide toe piece required some crampon modification including aftermarket bails. His boot size is large, like a 47 in mountaineering boots.

Brie Abram · · Celo, NC · Joined Oct 2007 · Points: 493

My wife has led WI4 in her TLT5s, and she says that for the vertical sections they were great. Due to a lack of lateral ankle flex, French technique on easy ground was basically impossible. It led to fewer sidepoints engaging and less security.

FWIW, the new Sportiva Syborgs look nice.

Jon H · · PC, UT · Joined Nov 2009 · Points: 118

Dane is fine - he's too busy skiing to make blog posts! Lucky son of a gun...

Jon Rhoderick · · Redmond, OR · Joined Jul 2009 · Points: 966

How have people been modding spitfires for better crampon fit?

Ray Pinpillage · · West Egg · Joined Jul 2010 · Points: 180
Jon Rhoderick wrote:How have people been modding spitfires for better crampon fit?
Petzl Lynx fit without modification.
Dobson · · Butte, MT · Joined Oct 2011 · Points: 215

My friend put Tele bails on his M10s and extended the bar to the farthest hole. They fit okay now. There was no way with the stock dart or M10 bails. (Again, these are really big Spitfires)

Ray Pinpillage · · West Egg · Joined Jul 2010 · Points: 180

Smaller boots fit crampons better...larger boots fit worse.

Spectres with Dartwins.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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