Dynafit Ridge Pro Boot

Brief review after finally getting my hands on a pair of 26.5s (easier getting off Interpol’s red notice list than procuring these boots right now)

I think the weight of these boots is a red herring. Just as the weight of the Tecnica Zero G Pro Tour is a red herring. The ROM in the Ridge Pro’s is game changing for their ski performance. I’m having a hard time differentiating between them and the Radical Pros on good snow. The Tecnicas are crazy light (esp new 24/25) for the weight but are so limited in ROM and a nightmare to put on when cold.

I recently put in a few thousand kick turns on a trip to arctic Norway and wished I had a boot like the Ridge Pro with me. Long days skinning in the Radical Pro were miserable and my new Tecnica Zero G Peak Carbons were cold and struggled in poor quality snow.

I think the Ridge Pros as a bit of a goldilocks boot: while compromised in certain areas, they do just enough to take the place of two boots in my quiver.

Any word if these are compatible with the Fritschi Tecton?

I'd be mostly skiing these in lighter pin bindings, but I have 1 heavier setup mounted with Tectons and wondering if these would be compatible.

Thank you.

i skied the ridge about 4 days. i think the stiffness and floating tongue and amount of throw on the hoji lock make the boot a large improvement over the hoji family. its a great boot that walks excellently. However i found the ramp angle and lean to feel larger than on the radical series and couldnt get along with it. I also found the material very hard to punch and just couldnt get a good fit in general. For those that it fits, enjoy! Docking a star because although the liner quality is improved it is still not as quality as intuition made liners, and somewhat docking because its a notably different fit than what dynafit has been doing in both stance and other metrics and how the boot will ski is highly dependent on setting the floating tongue properly by pulling it back. Most boots these days come with adjustable forward lean and i think the ridge would benefit from that to accommodate different stances. and although the frothers are calling it category breaking, it isnt. mine weighed just over 1400g. Less than 100g difference that the scarpa quattro and even closer to maestrale rs, both of which are just as powerful and certainly more in the case of the quattro. and both of which have adjustable lean to accommodate different stances, better liners, are very easy to punch, and dont use boa. where the ridge wins is the hoji lock which now has more throw so it actually loosens enough to not readjust the power strap for walk mode. so by flipping the single lock and middle its ready to go. i skied 189 113 1800g skis with it and it was starting to get overpowered. but for typical touring skis, shorter and more like 1300-1500 it is plenty.

What is the "internal BSL" of a 25/26/27? I'm basically trying to get a shell fit here--I'm measuring my foot's length and by "internal BSL" I'm asking how much room is inside the shell plastic for my foot to actually take up?

How do you think these will take a punch? Specifically big toe for length and on the lateral midfoot area (base of 5th met).

Do you know the BSL for the 28? Thank you!

Given that my favorite-fitting boot of all time is the TLT5, what do you think? I understand this is a wider boot, but the way it cinches down sounds promising. Thoughts?

Finally back from my jet-setting and was able to get on these this week. In one take: I am 90% sure I've finally found my Scarpa F1 replacement. Walks and skis better at an identical weight.

Shell plus liner came in at 1250g in a 26.5, which is almost identical to my size 26.5/27.0 Scarpa F1. The shell itself is just a few grams heavier than the F1 shell, but Dynafit definitely didn't skimp on the liner to make weight. It has enough to it that a good heat mold with your bootfitter is worthwhile in my opinion, especially if you have some persistent foot issues like myself.

I have a moderately wide foot, biut it's my high arch and instep that usually is the dealbreaker with many low volume boots like some of the Sportivas, etc. I ski the Radical Pro and compared to that the Ridge is definiely not as super wide, but still accommodates a wider forefoot. Instep volume is also a little lower than the Radical, but I was able to simply add a pad on my instep before heat molding the liner and it made just enough space that I find the fit very comfortable.

This is one of the great features of this boot in my opinion. The way the floating tongue works it kind of "auto adjusts" when you lock the ankle buckle and adapts to a wide range of foot volumes. The boa closure on the lower seems to really "wrap" things together as well as opposed to just "cinching down" so again, I feel like this boot will work with a range of footshapes.

Heel pocket seems to be normal. I must have somewhat of a narrow heel as even with my high instep often times I find my heel wanting to lift in some boots. Again, after a good liner mold I feel like my heel is well secured.

Uphill: Walks better than the radical, and is an improvement over the Scarpa F1 as well. Hoji-locks are so great cause the shell almost falls apart open when its in walk mode and the range of motion is very free. Again compared to the Scarpa F1, I feel like you notice less of the tongue in the Ridge than in the F1 when in walk mode. I felt like my skis were lighter touring in the Ridges vs. my F1s which to me says the Ridge Pro has a more efficient stride/less friction in the walk mode.

Ski performance: Outstanding. Man, I love me a good hoji-lock. In my opinion one of the few "non gimmick" features in snow sports equipment. Just like in the Radical, in ski mode there is a noticeable absence of the little "play" you get in touring boots, even stiff ones, from the spine-lever style lock mechanisms. This translates to a feel on the downhill much closer to the progressive flex of a traditional alpine boot. In the F1, which I think skis very good, I could still kind of feel where the flex of the tongue and liner ended and the spine-lock took over on the flex. On the ridge there is much more of a seamless or even flex pattern. The Ridge is very stiff, but not in a "hit a brick wall" way. Again, the way the cuff locks up with the lower internally and not just with a lever makes it feel more solid in my opinion. I have skied this boot with 105mm waisted skis in the 1300-1450g weight range and it is plenty of boot to really charge, not just make wiggly turns. I want to pair them up next with my 110mm 1550g powder skis as my feeling is they can handle even more (go find the youtube of Hoji dropping an insane line on one of the Ridge Prototypes:)

And lastly what I love most about Hoji-locks: transitions. When you lift the rear lever it not only unlocks the cuff into walk mode but releases just the right amount of tension on the powerstrap. I buckle up the boot in the parking lot like I'm going to ski and then just flip up the rear lever and open the ankle buckle to start touring. On the radical I can actually leave the second buckle strap locked on the uphill as it sits lower just above the instep. On the Radical the buckle strap is higher up which I think gives it a little more "oomph" since there is no upper buckle, just a power strap. This means that yes, transitions are a two step instead of single step maneuver, but you're still eliminating any "fiddling" with power straps, buckle catches, etc. Just snap, snap, and you're skiing. I was able to leave the boa cinched snug the whole time up and down, and usually just snug it up a little more at some point once my foot starts sweating and the liner loosens up a bit.

So there you have it. I really think this could be the gold standard right now in the 1250g weight class. I picked up the Atomic Backland XTD (1350g shell and liner in 26.5) at the beginning of the season wanting something lighter than my Radical Pro but skiing stronger than my F1, and it fit the bill, but I'm wondering if this Ridge even skis stronger than the Backland.

These boots look really exciting. What does the cuff anatomy look like? Is it still just 2 pieces of overlapping plastic or is the floating tongue part of a 3rd piece of plastic that you can push against on the downhill like burlier boots (Dynafit Radical)? Love the innovation here regardless.

The lower boot construction looks suspiciously TLT6 like (or I could be seeing what I want to see). Any chance fit is similar?

Any idea on when preorders will ship?

Is the shell heat moldable or at least able to be punched?

Is there anything different between the half sizes? i.e 28/28.5?

Hello, what will be the weight fir the size 28 ? Lenght?
Thank you

Do you guys know what the BSL is for a 26/26.5?

Trying to decide between this and the radical pro... my assumption is the Ridge will climb better, but the Radical will ski better? (better to me means stiffer and feels closer to an alpine boot)? Is that accurate?

Can you verify the weight of a 26.5 or 27.5? The radical pro upon release made a claim of 1380 grams in a 26.5 only to come in over 100 grams heavier.

Very interested in these boots and will probably drop by once they're in stock. Is the fit similar to that of the Radical Pro? I ask because that's probably been the best fitting boot I've ever had - like I walked 13 miles in them in a day with no issue kind of good fit.

What boots would you say this is comparable to so far given your testing? Is it more of a Backland XTD/Skorpius or something like an F1?

Similar to fit, what's it feel like?

Have you guys actually been able to try these on? Do you know what the fit is like? Hopefully lower volume than the radicals? Will you be getting 25s as well?