Dynafit HOJI unicorn boot -

[summit]

The disappointing thing is that some boot companies (Dalbello, Atomic, Salomon) are realizing that - ie "shells can always be punched out to accommodate wider feet, but you can’t make em narrower." Not only does Dynafit not realize that; with this boot they took a step back to a shell that is shaped like the cavernous old Titan and ZZeus

I've heard you can get a Fischer Vacuum shop to help if you heat full shell on material that will get soft enough at temps lower than the "fucks up the vacuum system plastic" temp

[sfotex]

Can't wait for that slot to ice up... Might as well just get Petzl Leopard FL crampons if you want something light.

I hope they move the front points forward in the production units, they look like they're barely clearing the front of the toe in that photo.

[homebrewd]

And heaver than a HAWX 130 XTD

I’m pretty sold on the hawx for a one boot quiver at this point. Need to get my hands on them.


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[Lindahl]

My buddies in terrace running the tlt 5 and 6 have a mod to permanently attach tongue to boot with no penalty in walking ROM and reinstates stiffness for downhill mode. I'll get some pics to ya when i get back home, if yer interested. Was never a priority for me since i don't run the tongue and found the mercs/vulcan ski fine without.

Please do.

[Spyderjon]

.....It won't work with Beast, Kingpin or Tecton. I'll check to see if this thingamajig lets it work with those three. https://www.evo.com/ski-binding-part...t-heel-adapter.......

The Hoji boot has the internally fixed Masterfit insert in the heel that came out with the Khion so the boot is Beast compatible - the horizontal section across the top is wider to span/activate the ramped metal prongs on the Beast heel.

The old style horseshoe Beast Power Insert and the Kingpin heel adaptor will not fit the Hoji boot.

[LeeLau]

The Hoji boot has the internally fixed Masterfit insert in the heel that came out with the Khion so the boot is Beast compatible - the horizontal section across the top is wider to span/activate the ramped metal prongs on the Beast heel.

The old style horseshoe Beast Power Insert and the Kingpin heel adaptor will not fit the Hoji boot.

Good. The proto I saw didn't which was a wtf moment

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[MultiVerse]

My buddies in terrace running the tlt 5 and 6 have a mod to permanently attach tongue to boot with no penalty in walking ROM and reinstates stiffness for downhill mode. I'll get some pics to ya when i get back home, if yer interested. Was never a priority for me since i don't run the tongue and found the mercs/vulcan ski fine without.

I would like to see pics too.


Also, does anyone know if Atomic/Salomon Mtn Tech binding are compatible with the TLT7/Hoji Speed Nose? The reason I ask is the step in plate on the Atomic/Salomon binding looks like it might require a toe welt in tour mode for full range of motion.

[smooth operator]

listening to the Blister gear:30 interview with hoji about the boot now. My main takeaway:
- this boot is aimed at the 'general' skitouring crowd, not the freeride, charging crowd. Think maestrale competitor rather than cochise competitor.
- the boot features hoji(/fritz) inventions, but it is not THE boot that hoji filmed the last 2 years on. That would be a vulcan with similar modifications. (closure and ankle buckle).
- more comfort fit than performance fit. (see pt. 1 ).
- There might be a more charger oriented version of the boot in the future.

[galibier_numero_un]

Hats off to Hoji for following his passion, and to Lee for documenting this. It'll be interesting to see the comments of the "retail paying beta testers" when the product gets into the field.

Oh yeah ... for all of you beta testers who are sensitive to mount points, adjust your templates and jigs to work off the front pin location and not the toe of the boot.

The boot's weight puts it in competition with the new generation of beef boots, which sets the bar extremely high for the Hoji.

Dynafit made some strange decisions, like the aforementioned toe and crampon attachment. This has "Dynafit" (not Hoji) written all over it. I don't get why manufacturers think they're doing themselves or their customers favors when they create an architecture that limits the number of people who can use their product. This doesn't even take the potential icing problem into consideration.

I can visualize the conversations between Hoji, Fritz and Dynafit on this one. Sometimes, a solution mandates that you make a shift like this, but other times it screams of pure marketing, and I think they shot themselves in the foot with this one.

Same thing with respect to heel compatibility. Do they really want to lose sales to owners of Kingpins and Tectons? Customers resent strong-arm tactics like this.

Quick transitions? I ain't no rando racer and another 20 seconds at the top isn't going to ruin the quality of my tour. I will say, that I'm really fiddly with my buckle tightness however, and if I can dial it in and not have to reset it when doing laps, this could be a plus (but in no way a deal breaker).

A minor nit: the diagonal strap/buckle doesn't seem as well placed as that on the Maestrale.

Three big questions for me are:

1. How much of a breakthrough is the boot (in terms of both the up and the down)?
2. Does the spine section result in the advertised, more progressive flex? I realize that many love the flex profile of the Vulcan.
3. How robust is the boot and what are the points of failure in terms of field fixes (will a Voile strap get you out of trouble in a tour)?

The Delrin bushings are a nice touch.

The last width and the fact that someone buying this class of boot has a knowledge of (and access to) quality boot fitters is puzzling. Maybe this is a Euro vs. North America thing. I don't know.

Me? I have an intellectual interest in disruptive products like the Hoji, but on balance, I prefer to vote with my dollars for evolutionary products like the current generation of the Maestrale, etc.

One could argue that the Hoji is a Vulcan-III, I suppose. From a pure marketing perspective, Dynafit seems to love name changes (i.e. Khion --> Beast), whereas Scarpa tends to convey product stability (multiple iterations of the Maestrale).

... Thom

[Adrgha]

The Hoji boot has the internally fixed Masterfit insert in the heel that came out with the Khion so the boot is Beast compatible - the horizontal section across the top is wider to span/activate the ramped metal prongs on the Beast heel.

The old style horseshoe Beast Power Insert and the Kingpin heel adaptor will not fit the Hoji boot.

Any chance of Kingpin compatiblity then?

[I've seen black diamonds!]

Heel looks similar to an F1 which works with Kingpins.

[LeeLau]

Heel looks similar to an F1 which works with Kingpins.

The proto versions I shot pictures of in the Biglines article looks like the photo Dynafit supplied for that same article of production. The proto does NOT work with Kingpins or Tectons.

Note that the F1 has a longer heel then pics of the new Hoji boot. Anyone stupid (daring?) enough to buy a first gen touring product should personally assure themselves that the new Hoji works with Kingpins/Tectons.

Having said that I'll ask that question of Dynafit and keep accumulating questions

[neck beard]

Dynafit made some strange decisions, like the aforementioned toe and crampon attachment. This has "Dynafit" (not Hoji) written all over it. I don't get why manufacturers think they're doing themselves or their customers favors when they create an architecture that limits the number of people who can use their product. This doesn't even take the potential icing problem into consideration.

Who ever designed it has never used crampons in a serious manner when ski touring. And by serious, I don't even mean mountaineering. I simply mean using crampons for long, steep and exposed sidehills (torsional rigidity) on early morning refreeze when ski crampons wont penetrate. Or climbing directly (kicking hard steps) up a 40 degree slope in similar spring conditions before a corn harvest.

Are the new Dynafit specific crampons steel or alu? What if I want to use different points on different tours? What if I dont want to buy a new set of crampons just because I bought these boots? What if I want to sell them and can't because very few people will own this new boot?

I see a lot of people with a lot of different gear. The biggest gear hassles ALWAYS come from dentists on holidays with brand new Beast bindings. Or those stupid pivoting Radical toes. Next it will be these crampons.

In terms of the crampon, they have designed a powder boot, not a ski mountaineering boot.

And I like having a toe welt on my ski boots because they kick into hard snow nicely and give some bite (when not using crampons). The toe welt also transfers some of the toe kick impact energy into the sole of the boot, rather than directly onto your bruised toes with every forward kick. These shark-nose toes don't bite as well when kicking steps on firm snow, and they don't protect your toes either.

[galibier_numero_un]

^^^ Beautifully stated. ^^^ Thanks for continuing to inject sanity into these discussions. Your experience is far more extensive than mine. My engineering sense (and approach toward practicality in the field) leads me to the same conclusions.

It's obvious that Dynafit still considers themselves to be THE industry leader, and by adopting new standards they'll either differentiate themselves in a good way, or that other manufacturers will feel compelled to follow. With respect to the crampons, I strongly suspect that neither will be the case.

They also assume that consumers (at least the dentists) will follow, and from your experiences, it seems that they will, although customer butt hurt doesn't sound like a recipe for repeat sales.

... Thom

[Cocximus]

Meh. Just about everyone makes more exciting boots without going full retard by removing toe welts. They can go all weird with their race boots, maybe that market wants that, but for this boot it makes no sense. I wonder if Hoji will bolt on toe welts

I really hate that dynafits are the only boots that fit me, but now they are going to bucket sizing.

[Skidog]

The crampon really seems more like something Arc'teryx would do.

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[jacob_dbu]

The crampon really seems more like something Arc'teryx would do.

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Haha isn't that the truth.

[Andyski]

These boots are a massive regression from the Vulcan, first made many years ago, except transitions are easier.

As the great and wise Derrick Coleman once said: whoop de damn doo.

[Andyski]

These boots are a massive regression from the Vulcan, first made many years ago, except transitions are easier.

As the great and wise Derrick Coleman once said: whoop de damn doo.

Amer is going to eat their fucking lunch, which is a bummer because I’d been a huge fan of Dynafit.

[Norseman]

These boots are a massive regression from the Vulcan, first made many years ago, except transitions are easier.
.

Yep, seems so.

I had a sliver of hope for these and had some fun checking out pictures of the new features, but will be skiing my Vulcans for the foreseeable future.

[TAFKALVS]

These boots are a massive regression from the Vulcan, first made many years ago, except transitions are easier.

As the great and wise Derrick Coleman once said: whoop de damn doo.

Agreed. They should have just taken the Vulcan, gave it a good liner and dropped the price.

Or kept it at $1000 and added the cool lock lever in addition to a better liner.

If this boot was a Vulcan 2.0 I'd probably buy it. But instead it's just a complex tlt7.

[neck beard]

But instead it's just a complex tlt7.

That is all Dynafit are good for these days.

They were onto something with the Mercury and Vulcan line. And then they lost the plot.

[steveski]

Worst part of all this is having to worry about the life span of my mercuries while shopping for a backup pair.

[Adrgha]

The proto versions I shot pictures of in the Biglines article looks like the photo Dynafit supplied for that same article of production. The proto does NOT work with Kingpins or Tectons.

Note that the F1 has a longer heel then pics of the new Hoji boot. Anyone stupid (daring?) enough to buy a first gen touring product should personally assure themselves that the new Hoji works with Kingpins/Tectons.

Having said that I'll ask that question of Dynafit and keep accumulating questions

Thanks. That's pretty ridiculous to write off an entire market segment of people with Kingpins and now Tectons. The Kingpin is, at least over here, very popular.

[Andyski]

Agreed. They should have just taken the Vulcan, gave it a good liner and dropped the price.

Or kept it at $1000 and added the cool lock lever in addition to a better liner.

If this boot was a Vulcan 2.0 I'd probably buy it. But instead it's just a complex tlt7.

Exactly right