Dynafit Ridge Pro Boot
While many boot manufacturers proudly stamp "130" on the side of their touring boots, it is no secret that many of these fall short of their alpine brethren that sport a similar number. With the Ridge Pro boot, Dynafit talks the talk and skins the skin track by providing a boot with exceptional walking mannerisms and burly downhill performance. At the heart of the Ridge Pro is the Hoji Walk mechanism, developed by Eric Hjorleifson himself, which virtually eliminates any cuff play that is found in many of its competitors. When combined with the carbon-reinforced cuff, the Ridge Pro offers a stout descending platform that can easily drive many skis through variable conditions. As with all boots equipped with the Hoji Walk mechanism, the Ridge Pro is quick to transition, making you the envy of your friends with clunkier, four-buckle boots. Featuring a novel Floating Tongue design, the Ridge Pro boasts an excellent range of motion that makes big days feel less big and more fun. Finally, the Ridge Pro uses the tried and true Dynafit Twistfit closure system that conforms to a variety of insteps, allowing you to achieve your ideal fit. Whether the day calls for charging a single lap before work or doing a 10K day, the Ridge Pro is always up for the adventure.
- Hoji Walk Mechanism allows for quick transitions and virtually eliminates any cuff play.
- Floating Tongue provides a frictionless range of motion, allowing you to move easily on a big day out.
- Twistfit closure system provides a secure and customizable fit atop the foot.
- Vibram sole offers secure traction on slippery surfaces.
- Perhaps the best ratio of uphill and downhill performance we have seen to date.
Specifications | |
Weight |
1350g [27.5] |
Weight (pair) | 2700g [27.5] |
|
2 w/Twistfit |
Boot Sole |
277mm [25/25.5] 287mm [26/26.5] 297mm [27/27.5] 307mm [28/28.5] 317mm [29/29.5] 327mm [30/30.5] |
Binding |
Tech |
Cuff |
70° |
Forward |
12°, 15° |
Specs Verified | Yes |
Design | |
|
Grilamid, carbon-fibers |
|
Dynafitter 5 |
|
Vibram |
Skimo Co Says | |
Usage | Everywhere |
Notes | Hoji lock system eliminates cuff play for confident descending |
Bottom Line | Sets a new benchmark for touring boots |
Compare to other Touring Boots |
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Questions & Reviews
Fit: Volume-wise, it's also between the blacklight and rad pro. It's a mid-volume boot in my estimation; less than the rad pro and a touch narrower than the Scarpa beef boots, but certainly wider than the blacklight or F1. You can control instep volume a touch with the floating tongue, but not width.
Up: Great low-friction ROM. It's not a slipper, but it walks better than the Radical Pro / Hoji and WAY better than the Quattro / Maestrale / Zero-G / etc. It's a great all-around touring boot in this respect.
Down: It is plenty still, but more of a linear stiffness than the radical pro, which is much more progressive feeling. It skis quite well (way, way better than my blacklights or the F1, etc.) and I've used it with skis from 100mm waist to 124mm waist (all 179-184cm in length) in good to not-so-good snow, and it drives all those skis just fine.
Overall: A great boot that sits in the do-it-all catagory. Light enough for long missions, tours well, and can drive skis well. It's not the lightest, best touring boot, and it's not the best skiing boot...but it's a pretty darn good boot.
Curious though, forward lean states 12 & 15 degrees. How does one adjust that? Would like to try it with different forward leans.
The only way to change the forward lean is with a spoiler inserted in the back of the liner. The Hoji Lock is an amazing design and is what gives the Ridge Pro its exceptional downhill performance - however, one consequence of the Hoji Lock design is that the angle of the cuff cannot really be adjusted.
Ho upright or not are the cuffs laterally? In the absence of "cant" adjustment in modern AT boots, this is an important point for bow legged myself. I can barely make ZGTPs work with thick shims on the medial side if the liner. Fischer Transalp is tilted out much more, but has poor heel hold for me.
Unsure of exact numbers, but comparing the canting angle visually between the Tecnica Pro Tour, Fischer Transalp, and the Ridge, the Transalp has the most - the Ridge and the Pro Tour are both more upright, and appear pretty similar.
We ordered more for next season, so they may be arriving somewhere between August and October. If you would like me to set you up on a notification list for those sizes, email us at help@skimo.co and confirm with size you'd like to be notified about. We're happy to answer any questions about fit as well!
Lenny
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.
How does it compare to Hoji Pro? Hade problems with instep pressure and to stiff when skiing mellow terrain, not progressive enogh so sold them.
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.
It can be punched, but not a lot - it is a carbon-infused grilamid which is pretty resistant to punching. It would be fairly difficult to get length out of it, and many boot fitters wouldn't want to attempt it. You should be able to get some mid-foot width, but not a ton.
Unfortunately, we don't have a 28 at the moment to check, and Dynafit does not appear to have published it. But we will be sure to publish verified specs once we receive a full size run of these boots!
If the TLT 5 was a great fit for you, I think the Ridge would be too wide. The floating tongue does do a good job of reducing vertical volume over the foot, but it will not change the width so your foot will still be able to slop side to side. Having a narrower foot, I don't think I could make the Ridge work, having tried it on - although I wish I could because it is a sweet boot.
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.
It is a third piece, it has a proper tongue in addition to the two flaps on the sides. So it is more of a cabrio/tongue-style boot like the Radical Pro. And the rear part of the cuff looks a lot like the Radical Pro internally, with the Hoji Lock mechanism. However, the tongue "floats" on a track that allows it to slide back and forth as you walk, as well as position it exactly where you want it to take up or increase volume in the forefoot. So it is a pretty unique system that promises a lot of advantages!
Hoji does say that "the TLT 5 and 6 were the examples for the last on the ridge" and that "the last volumes are based on the TLT series"
It is an all new model, pre release, delays are can be expected.
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