Thread: Vertical ST vs. Vertical ST Rental unit

I'm building a set up for my 11 yr old daughter. I'm going to go with DynaFits, and I was thinking about buying the ST Rental unit. It has a greater range of adjustment, which I think would be good as her boot size changes.

But, the toe is fixed, and the heel moves. I'm thinking as she grows, she'll end up skiing farther and farther back.

Any other difference between the "normal" ST and the Rental version?

You're spot on. The only difference between the "rental" binding and the standard ST is the heel unit's adjustment range.

But buy them. 2 or 3 years down the road you might (and I emphasize "might") want to re-mount the bindings, but this is not a problem.

Just mount a little farther forward to start with, this should be allright if the skis a little long anyway.

Thanks dudes. The rental units are only $10 more, so I'll get them. There is a negative connotation to the word "rental" so I won't tell my daughter! "Rental mentals..."

My 11 year old daughter wears a 3 or 4 size shoe. What boots did you get?

Another option is to get the B&D tele-->Dyna conversion plate, which will allow you to move the toe fixture forward (and the heel rearward) as her foot grows, and thus keep her boot center somewhere near factory ski center for a few years.

This might be a place to consider the Onyx.
- Greater adjustment range
- Easier in/out (helpful for the younger ones)
- I doubt your 11-year-old daughter will abuse the Onyx too much
- Closeout prices = cheap.

Seriously, what boots did you get?

Originally Posted by plugboots

My 11 year old daughter wears a 3 or 4 size shoe. What boots did you get?

My son has what were the smallest dynafit compatable boots I could find- Scarpa Magic 22.5. He was a size 4.5 shoe last year and they were still a bit roomy. (It's a womens boot but I didn't tell him). I did a shell fit on him again this fall and he's still got another season before he'll be close to outgrowing them.

FYI he absolutely feakin loves the dynafits compared to his old set up of alpine boots and diamirs. Nothing but smiles on the up.

You may find that the rental heel works for you, but for me it seems that usually my kids are outgrowing their skis as fast or faster than they are changing boot.

If anyone has links to smaller dyanfit compatable boots, please post them up.

Setting asides the details of the original inquiry, the OP definitely deserves some sort of Father of the Year Award for outfitting his 11-year-old daughter with a Dynafit setup. (A mere decade or so to go until I can join his esteemed ranks!)

So back to the details:

Why lug around the extra weight of the rental track for years in order to avoid a remount once a year? And as Mofro noted, won't upsizing to bigger skis often accompany upsizing to bigger boots?

Originally Posted by skimaxpower

This might be a place to consider the Onyx.
- Greater adjustment range
- Easier in/out (helpful for the younger ones)
- I doubt your 11-year-old daughter will abuse the Onyx too much
- Closeout prices = cheap.

At 33mm for the Onyx/Ruby vs 26mm for the Vertical (and Comfort), not much of an advantage for adjustment range, plus that weight penalty of over a pound must be more noticeable for an 11-year-old girl. And pressing down on the toe piece lever in coordination with stepping in seems like it would be even harder for her? (Definitely tempting though for only $200 at Backcountry.com, although kind of weird to see it still sitting there at that price especially with the Ruby now accompanying it at $490?)

Originally Posted by Mofro261

I did a shell fit on him again this fall and he's still got another season before he'll be close to outgrowing them.

Can I call dibs on those in about, oh, a decade or so from now when my daughter's feet are big enough?

Last year my daughter had a pair of 157cm G3 Vivas with Onyx mounted. She's not huge (this fall she's 4'11" and 90lbs) but had no trouble driving that ski, on or off piste. But...

The overall weight of the combo, 5kg plus skins, really wore her out on the skin up. She's a tough cookie, but we could have had more fun if she had a lighter set-up. So, this year, I'm finding a lighter ski and switching to Vertical ST's.

For boots, last year, we rented each time we went bc skiing. She's just got enough foot to wear some of the ladies small boots, about size 23.0-23.5, depending on boot/liner. This year, I'm tempted to get her her own boots.

A 2400g ski pair with 1100g of DynaFits will be 3300g, a big weight saving. Now, as for needing new skis as her feet grow, the skis we're looking at are 152-160cm, which she should be able to ski for quite a few years. But, her BSL has been ~270, and mine are only 300, so the standard DynaFit might do for at least one upsize in shell, so I think they might do the trick. I was thinking the rental unit might offer a bit more flexibility.

Originally Posted by Jonathan S.

Setting asides the details of the original inquiry, the OP definitely deserves some sort of Father of the Year Award for outfitting his 11-year-old daughter with a Dynafit setup. (A mere decade or so to go until I can join his esteemed ranks!)

Well, we don't have video games, etc. and outdoor sports are super important, so I don't mind getting the good stuff when it comes to being out.

Originally Posted by Jonathan S.

At 33mm for the Onyx/Ruby vs 26mm for the Vertical (and Comfort), not much of an advantage for adjustment range, plus that weight penalty of over a pound must be more noticeable for an 11-year-old girl. And pressing down on the toe piece lever in coordination with stepping in seems like it would be even harder for her? (Definitely tempting though for only $200 at Backcountry.com, although kind of weird to see it still sitting there at that price especially with the Ruby now accompanying it at $490?)

She did REALLY struggle with the toe of the Onyx. I had to help her every time. We did some experimenting where she stepped into my DynaFits, and she was a quick study with them. (better than I was at first...)

Originally Posted by Jonathan S.

Can I call dibs on those in about, oh, a decade or so from now when my daughter's feet are big enough?

In a decade we'll have 500g boots, 1kg skis and 200g bindings that are have a variable rocker that skis 50 degree couloirs and bottomless pow AND rail the groomers when need be...

...right?

Magics for $250:
http://www.wildernessexchangeunlimit...=2524&LinkID=1

Somewhat of an update:

The new Scarpa Gea boots are ridiculously light and fit her well, so that's her boot. Dynafit compatible and OE fittings, so no worries there. Man, have her feet grown! A 24.0 is the size. I wear a 26.0!

DynaFit ST's are the binding.

Skis? Cripes. With the large investment, I'm trying to find a ski that she can ski now and will still be great for at least a few years. Light = good. But, I think an early rise tip ski would be nice.

The Black Diamond Starlet is interesting. Super light with a slight early rise tip, 100uf, so lots of surface area for powder, and at <2500g per pair, amazingly light for that size of ski. 156cm is, in theory, a bit big for her, but she skied her 157cm Vivas last year, and skied them well.

143cm Icelantic Scout or 151cm Icelantic Pilgrim? The tails are sufficiently soft for a <100 lb. girl yet I saw a 140 lb. adult having a blast touring on the Scouts. You can get undrilled Pilgrims for around $300 if you shop around.

I agree with Jonathan. The standard ST rear moves 2.5 cm. Mount them as far back as you can, so that with current boots the binding is almost at the extreme forward end of its range. You'll be able to go up 2 mondo sizes (2 cm) without moving the bindings, and when you do, for the third mondo size up, you'll be mounting 3 full cm back from the first mount.

Thats assuming you don't get new skis at that point anyway...

Originally Posted by Patches

I agree with Jonathan. The standard ST rear moves 2.5 cm. Mount them as far back as you can, so that with current boots the binding is almost at the extreme forward end of its range. You'll be able to go up 2 mondo sizes (2 cm) without moving the bindings....

Hell, her feet grew a TON this year (she grew 4" too!) and she's in a 24.0 now. I'm wearing a 26.0! I doubt she'll be wearing a boot bigger than 26.0, so if I mount them right, they might fit, well, forever.

(Perhaps until she has a job and can buy her own skis... )