Looking for a Dynafit rig for my little lady

**~mikey b** · 10-05-2014, 10:40 PM

Cross posted from Gear Swap cuz I don't really know what I should be looking for...

Krystal Kartwright has an ongoing back issue. Not sure if she can tele turn. I've suggested she try a lightweight Dynafit setup.

She's tiny. Size 23 boots. 5' (and a half an inch she says but that's bullshit) 110#. My buddy's 11 year old daughter is bigger than her.

She's currently on 150ish K2 Phat Luv with G3 ascent and 150ish Line Pandora with Axl. BD Stiletto boots. Strong skier. Skis a lot at the resort, side country and back country.

Looking for a daily driver for all of the above. 100mm underfoot and 150cm long or thereabouts. Could remount her skis with inserts so boots and binders are probably higher priority.

Skis I can figure out. I don't know shit about tech boots and bindings.

Suggestions?

**Ocean** · 10-06-2014, 04:40 AM

The answer will probably depend on how much time she will spend touring, as opposed to using lifts / doing short skins above lifts.

If the answer is mainly touring then Dynafit Speed / Dynafit Radical 2.0 / Plums may be the best bet.

If the answer is mainly lifts, then one of the newer bindings - Dynafit Beast or Fritschi Vipec (maybe?) could be best, or possibly a frame binding like the Marker Tour or similar.

Edit: Almost forgot, no more advice until you post naked pics of shorty.

**XXX-er** · 10-06-2014, 08:16 AM

If she is that small the binding needs to have a low enough din (like) setting

**Quadzilla** · 10-06-2014, 08:27 AM

My wife is also a pretty strong skier, both BC and resort. I think if you ask her what she would do she would say: Take the Fat Luvs and mount some maybe Solly 810's and then find some used Alpine boots, stuff those Stilletto liners in them and have a cheap but pretty strong all around resort setup. As far as BC: probably some Scarpa Geas and Speed Radicals mounted on K2 Waybacks. That way she has a similar ski setup as her resort rig.

Bottomline, on a recreational level tech bindings and tech AT boots pretty much suck skiing on resort groomed snow as compare to Alpine rig. So make it easy for her.

**~mikey b** · 10-06-2014, 08:53 AM

That's the idea. Easy....

Thanks

**gregL** · 10-06-2014, 09:47 AM

Yeah, the one ski tech quiver is a myth as far as I'm concerned, even with the newer more "elastic" offerings. Though they might have adequate retention (probably true for your wife) they transmit too much shock (pins holding the toes) for most strong skiers to use daily in the resort unless they only ski on pow days. Put alpine bindings on one ski, and Dynafits on whatever skis she wants to tour on.

If the Black Diamonds really fit her, try on Scarpa Gea or Gea RS (similar fit, RS is stiffer). If she just likes the toebox width but actually has a narrower midfoot/heel, try Dynafit Neo or Women's Mercury. If she wants a ski brake, it's the Radical ST, if not it's the Speed Radical. If she likes the tech boots well enough, you can get a binding like a Marker Lord SP or Salomon/Atomic Warden (available soon) that will go high enough to fit the ISO 9523 sole and still release consistently.

**hoarhey** · 10-07-2014, 10:00 AM

for boots, may be consider some Dynafit Geas, the women's version of the Titan.
Older model so you could get it cheap.

Don't know if you'd want to deal with changing sole blocks, but one can change from AT to DIN alpine on this boot.

**gregL** · 10-07-2014, 03:22 PM

Originally Posted by hoarhey

for boots, may be consider some Dynafit Geas, the women's version of the Titan.
Older model so you could get it cheap.

It's the Gaia, not Gea. Decent boot but heavy relative to today's offerings.

**hoarhey** · 10-07-2014, 03:59 PM

right, thanks for the correction.
My wife has them and uses them as an in area boot, and yes, they are relatively heavy...

**bigdude2468** · 10-07-2014, 04:41 PM

Originally Posted by hoarhey

right, thanks for the correction.
My wife has them and uses them as an in area boot, and yes, they are relatively heavy...

My tiny wife uses those boots, likes them a lot. 4'11 , 100lbs and Fritschi FR, two year old BD Starlets. She climbs like crazy OB and uses this set up in bounds on powder days. Has another ski for groomers.

**Jethro** · 10-07-2014, 07:42 PM

Originally Posted by XXX-er

If she is that small the binding needs to have a low enough din (like) setting

Second this. My wife is little and her ST bindings was set at the lowest setting. She blew a knee skiing nice powder on a mellow to moderate slope when she got in the backseat for a second. I don't think any Dynafit binding at any setting would have helped though. Still, I need to get her some of the lighter springs from B&D

**digitaldeath** · 10-07-2014, 07:43 PM

Hands don't ski dog

**jesski** · 10-07-2014, 08:45 PM

I have little feet and I am using the dynafit zzero (not super high performance but the toebox is better and heel pocket smugger, for me.) What really made them work out okay was putting a size small full-tilt tongue and a booster strap on them.

You can also take out the pin in the back, if you're so inclined, and either flip it over or punch a new hole so that your "ski mode" becomes a more upright stance. I'm guessing one could create this modified setup for ~$250 or so including the price of said aftermarket parts.

Of course, the pricey part of my rig is the intuition luxury liner, one size up, stuffed inside to take up space.... But you could get those on group-buy...

Good luck! Alpine boots for small(ish) feet are tough... Touring boots can be even tougher!

**~mikey b** · 10-18-2014, 10:37 AM

Thanks for the advice folks. I scored a good deal on some barely used 153cm Nordica Nemesis with Marker Squire demo clamps. Seems like a good daily driver for her.

Boots next. I've got some Intuition liners she's never used. Looking for something with tech plates. Also still looking for tech bindings.

**~mikey b** · 10-23-2014, 01:59 PM

Whadday'all think about going with Fritschi Scout? And just not worrying about tech system.

**abraham** · 10-23-2014, 02:20 PM

I have some demo dynafits from a few years ago. 10 din and I think I misplaced the clip for the brakes. Not sure what a fair price is for them, I'll check what I paid and send a pm later

**XXX-er** · 10-23-2014, 02:20 PM

Note the front hinged section of the scout is plastique which is why they are lighter than an FR+, why not just go with an FR+ specialy if you can find a used small, but in any case find the boot with tech fittings period

the thing IS there are 2 kinds of BC skiers those who are on tech bindings and those who will be

**plugboots** · 10-23-2014, 02:25 PM

the thing IS there are 2 kinds of BC skiers those who are on tech bindings and those who will be

This. If you don't go tech now, you'll just be buying twice.

**XXX-er** · 10-23-2014, 02:52 PM

Yup I went FR+ cuz at the time cuz it was a lot of money to go tech and I didn't know what I didn't know which was that I would rise to the challenge of BC skiing, alpine skiing any kind of skiing and general gear whoredom, fast foreward to the 3 sets of dyna fits, couple pair of AT boots couple pair of Alpine boots, 223DH, ect ect ... I bought like 6 or 8 times

Remember the guy who always said "if you don't do it now you will just be older when you do"

**Quadzilla** · 10-24-2014, 08:13 AM

Originally Posted by telemike

Whadday'all think about going with Fritschi Scout? And just not worrying about tech system.

When my wife dropped out of tele skiing her first BC setup was some BD Mystics and Fritschi Eagles. So a similar binding to the scout. She skied that for a couple of seasons and liked it a lot. She used that setup resort skiing with her Alpine boots and had some Scarpas for the BC.

But, as others have said she did move on to Dynafits as she became a better BC skier and our time in the BC increased, cutting the weight and efficiency of climbing became the issue.

Anyway, the Fritschis did ski well and easy to use, she would say that if your SO was only a seldom BC skier and OB resorts with climbs back to the area, then those would work great. If her steady diet became BC mostly then go Tech.

**Ocean** · 10-24-2014, 08:16 AM

Originally Posted by telemike

Whadday'all think about going with Fritschi Scout? And just not worrying about tech system.

If you walk into the ski room of any Austrian or Swiss hut, Fritschi frame bindings will out number any other binding.

Tech bindings are increasing in popularity, but I've yet to see an Austrian or Swiss hut ski raum where tech bindings are not outnumbered by frame bindings.

I'm not saying that Fritschi frame bindings are better, but the above does prove that you can happily tour on Fritschi frame bindings.

**XXX-er** · 10-24-2014, 11:02 AM

Originally Posted by Quadzilla

When my wife dropped out of tele skiing her first BC setup was some BD Mystics and Fritschi Eagles. So a similar binding to the scout. ..

ALL the Fritschi frame bindings are similar, while I havent heard anything bad or good about the Scout again it has a plastic hinge while all the old daimir, FR+, eagle have a metal toe hinge and I believe where the binding mounts to the ski is where the metal frame often cracks at the mount holes ?

Any how the tech binding is obviuosly a superior binding for touring to the fritschi but of course ignorance is bliss

all the tyrolians I have seen at Burnie hut on the friday turnarounds have had dynafit everything skis/boots/clothing/ packs ... I didn't check their underwear

**~mikey b** · 10-24-2014, 11:53 AM

Thanks all. This is helpful. Carry on...

**Andeh** · 10-24-2014, 02:29 PM

My ex-GF switched to AT from tele last year after having foot/knee issues related to tele. At the time, I helped research a bunch, and since she was a strong skier and was going to be skiing in the resort periodically, we went with a pair of Scarpa Gea RS (nice and burly, but still light with decent walk) and Radical ST bindings remounted on her K2 Gotbacks (I think... whatever women's version of Coomback is). Don't fuck around with frame bindings. If you're not comfortable with using Radicals at the resort, maybe try inserts and an alpine binding. Or as suggested above, remount her current skis for alpine with cheap alpine boots, then make a new AT setup. If you go that route, I'd use Speed Radicals instead of ST, as the brakes on the ST are functionally worthless, she doesn't need high DIN, and the Speed is lighter.

Voile's new V6 comes as short as 163cm (and is 99 underfoot). Looks like Black Diamond and K2 don't make anything backcountry under 163.

I'd completely ignore what the Euro's are using. The majority of them just don't seem to get it... they bitch about "fat" (anything over 90mm) skis being too heavy & too hard to skin with, but then use fucking Fritschis with clunker boots.