dynafit TLT5 vs vulcan - sizing/fit

[jeffro83]

Hey all, I've got an older set of TLT5M's that I bought very used on here a couple years ago. They fit me quite well, and I'm pretty happy with them as my dedicated touring boot. The stock liners suck, but they work for now, and for the amount of touring I actually do in a season.

I'm considering getting a set of Vulcans to use as my daily driver/slackcountry boot, since I've heard so much goodness about them over the years.

My TLT5's are a 27. Can I assume the Vulcans in the same size would work? Shells are pretty similar in size? I've also read that the stock Vulcan liners are complete poop, so I might try to find another aftermarket liner to throw in (any suggestions there?...).

I'm going to assume this boot will probably be used as a 70/30 split in terms of resort/touring riding. Have been contemplating getting a set of these silly cheap Beast 14 bindings on steep and cheap to set up a new resort/slackcountry setup. The new Shift bindings seem pretty awesome, but $175 for new Beasts is also pretty awesome...


Any pointers on the subject matter?..

[PNWbrit]

Yep. TLT5 and Vulcan felt the same to me.

[riff]

I wear the same mondo in both


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[GeezerSteve]

Length and forefoot width @ same BSL is similar. The difference: Vulcan/Mercury is tall over the instep, quite different than TLT5.

[jeffro83]

thanks for the info, folks.

Length and forefoot width @ same BSL is similar. The difference: Vulcan/Mercury is tall over the instep, quite different than TLT5.

does this mean my flat feet are going to be a problem in these boots?...

[auvgeek]

A big difference for me is that you can actually punch at the 5th met head (6th toe) of the Vulcan, where the bellows of the TLT5 wouldn't let you create much width. Meant I was able to size down a size and get a really good, tight fit but punch enough width for my fat feet.

If you want to take up volume over the instep, you can do that with bontex shims or a tongue liner like the Intuition Pro Tour.

I'd look into other boots for slackcountry and daily driving, though. The Vulcan is amazing, but probably doesn't ski quite as well as some of the newer crossover boots: Atomix Hawx XTD, Lange XT Free, Tecnica Zero G, Fischer Ranger, Dalbello Lupo (Factory or C), etc.

[XXX-er]

I thot TLT5 was narrow in the toe box and TLT6 was wider or SFT ?

I don't really know much about the TLT series

I do know the vulcan liner sucks dead goats

[swissiphic]

Can't comment on fit tlt5 vs vulcan but here's a few obs about my experience with the carbon cuff 2016/17 version of Vulcan.

I have flat feet, 110mm wide forefeet, extremely pronated, thin vertically, low instep, skinny ankles and lower volume lower leg/calf.

Stock liner doesn't suck as bad as people say aside from being cold. Fit is pretty good actually but could be due to the shell being almost perfectly 'just right' after strategic punching so the foot is held nicely.

Having said that here are the mods I did to make the boots a bit mo betta.

Extensive lateral punching from metatarsel heads back to mid foot for more forefoot width.

Replace stock liner with Intuition high volume Luxury liners baked hot and compressed quite a bit... to give more warmth and suck up just a bit more volume for a snug overall fit.

Bontex shim under liner as liners packed out to maintain fit tension over instep/ankles/lower leg.

Increase forward lean with a spoiler top/rear cuff.

A few mm's of heel wedge to increase bootboard ramp angle/tweak heel pocket for a full lock.

I ski them without tongues and still find them just a hair too stiff in forward flex. Awesome laterally and adequate in rear support.

Attach one flex stop on medial side of boot for solid boot/ski power transmission while leaving the lateral side free for just a hair more subtleness of boot flex for evenly weighted turns biased to outside edge pressure.

The stock cam lock style power strap slips/loosens under skiing pressure. Eliminated the issue by bonding a patch of course grit emery cloth to the cam. Lasted 80 days of skiing and still going strong.

Boots aren't the most progressive in stock form but after tweaking the stance angles, the increase forward lean and ramp angle help my lower legs engage the flex more effectively and results in a pleasing feel.

When skiing truly deep and consistent snow, i prefer really soft forward flexing boots with a large flex range of motion that don't collapse at the end of the flex cycle. Vulcans are a just a bit too stiff in these conditions. Presently experimenting with a more elaborate custom mod to make the forward flex pretty much infinitely tunable. If it works out, it'll allow dialing in whatever forward flex stiffness a guy would want with in field adjustability for on slope changes in response to desired performance.

[GeezerSteve]

I thot TLT5 was narrow in the toe box and TLT6 was wider

Depends which TLT6. IME gen1 green TLT6 was a wee bit wider. gen2 blue TLT6 is significantly wider

[NorCalNomad]

Any word on TLT6 vs Vulcan instep height? My TLT6's destroy my instep

[gregL]

Any word on TLT6 vs Vulcan instep height? My TLT6's destroy my instep

Green TLT6 P was fine on my instep; Vulcan instep was much lower and I ended up making an ultra thin footbed for it (toebox was very tall, however, I glued 1/4" foam over the liner toes). Some of that was due to the liner tongue and the bulky seam right down the middle, I believe the newest versions had a different design.

[gregL]

Depends which TLT6. IME gen1 green TLT6 was a wee bit wider. gen2 blue TLT6 is significantly wider

Same experience here. TLT5 was the narrowest/lowest volume, original TLT6 was supposed to be the same last but was slightly more relaxed (green in the TLT6P), 2nd gen (black and orange in the TLT6P) was significantly wider and higher volume and I was able to drop a size.

[NorCalNomad]

Green TLT6 P was fine on my instep; Vulcan instep was much lower and I ended up making an ultra thin footbed for it (toebox was very tall, however, I glued 1/4" foam over the liner toes). Some of that was due to the liner tongue and the bulky seam right down the middle, I believe the newest versions had a different design.

Thanks but I actually have the green tlt6p's tried smashing the foam in liners over my instep, finally time for some boot mods.

Was hoping the Vulcan's would be a good replacement for my old Titan's

[GeezerSteve]

Thanks but I actually have the green tlt6p's tried smashing the foam in liners over my instep, finally time for some boot mods.

Was hoping the Vulcan's would be a good replacement for my old Titan's

I suggest you try on a Vulcan. FWIW, green TLT6Ms w/CL (thin) liners fit me, as do blue/yellow TLT6 w/CR (thicker) liner, both without shell mod. I made the original Vulcan/Merc shell work, but it never fit me as well as either TLT6.

Where and how the tallness/shallowness of the Vulcan/Merc hit one's foot may well depend on foot shape. Greg's and my respective experiences re illustrative. The instep seemed tall to me, but that's likely because my foot is not very tall immediately forward of my ankle. Maybe Greg's foot is more wedge-shaped (looking from side) than my foot. (I agree with Greg that Vulcan toe box is tall.)

Using a wrap liner in the original Vulcan/Merc significantly changes things.

[NorCalNomad]

Yeah that's my problem, I have pretty high instep (close to 28cm measuring this way) but brannock in at a 26-26.5 for length. So usually just go for a 27 to split the difference. Otherwise my foot isn't that problematic.

[gregL]

Thanks but I actually have the green tlt6p's tried smashing the foam in liners over my instep, finally time for some boot mods.

Was hoping the Vulcan's would be a good replacement for my old Titan's

There's no bootboard to grind, unfortunately, but I would try baking the shells (just like a Salomon Custom Shell boot, 10 minutes in the oven) and padding your instep with 1/4" foam to put pressure on the area while they cool (around 15 minutes). Stand on a hard flat surface and don't walk around so you don't warp the soles. Might do the trick, it's worked for several customers.

Like Auvgeek says, there are plenty of lighter, better skiing (than your Titans) tech boots out there now that I'd check out before I went looking for Vulcans.

[NorCalNomad]

There's no bootboard to grind, unfortunately, but I would try baking the shells (just like a Salomon Custom Shell boot, 10 minutes in the oven) and padding your instep with 1/4" foam to put pressure on the area while they cool (around 15 minutes). Stand on a hard flat surface and don't walk around so you don't warp the soles. Might do the trick, it's worked for several customers.

Like Auvgeek says, there are plenty of lighter, better skiing (than your Titans) tech boots out there now that I'd check out before I went looking for Vulcans.

Any particular guide or temp/time you'd recommend for the molding?

Oh yeah I'm fully aware there are better boots than the Titan out there. But other financial needs are currently taking precedence, so just gathering info mostly.

[XXX-er]

I suggest you try on a Vulcan. FWIW, green TLT6Ms w/CL (thin) liners fit me, as do blue/yellow TLT6 w/CR (thicker) liner, both without shell mod. I made the original Vulcan/Merc shell work, but it never fit me as well as either TLT6.

Where and how the tallness/shallowness of the Vulcan/Merc hit one's foot may well depend on foot shape. Greg's and my respective experiences re illustrative. The instep seemed tall to me, but that's likely because my foot is not very tall immediately forward of my ankle. Maybe Greg's foot is more wedge-shaped (looking from side) than my foot. (I agree with Greg that Vulcan toe box is tall.)

Using a wrap liner in the original Vulcan/Merc significantly changes things.

yeah i have bought the merc and vulcan on-line (thro in a liner that does not suck dead goats) and go touring, they just fit my foot which is why I am such a fanboy, yeah they flex like hitting a brick wall but i can deal with that

as for instep the stock Vulcan liner has 3mm of foam & naugahyde in that stupid fucking patch on top of the foot i know cuz I cut it off and measured with calipers. You can cut it off and try the liner like that but then the tongue kind of flops around in there like a limp cock so i made/sewed in some lace loops to keep things straight

[summit]

I normally wear 26/26.5 in most boots (25.5/26.0 in Scarpa)
TLT5p I needed 27.5 and it fit about like a glove with less than my normal 6th toe blow (went with Intution liners)
Vulcans I am 26.5 with more than my normal 6th toe blow (went with Intuitions)

[gregL]

Any particular guide or temp/time you'd recommend for the molding?

I used the standard ski shop convection oven made by K-Tech and used by Salomon, Atomic, K2, Head, etc. (all the same oven in different colors). It runs about 235-240 F.

[gregL]

PS 10 minutes with a preheated oven

[jeffro83]

thanks, all, for the active conversation on this topic...

i just tried on the latest/last iteration of the vulcan in the only size that's available regionally - 26.5. i feel like it could work for sure. would probably take a minimal amount of boot work to make a top notch boot for me, but to be fair, i've never actually spent any cash on boot mods in the past...so maybe it's time to finally do that to actually get a good fitting boot for once. and to be honest, out of the box, they definitely felt stiffer than my first gen beat up cochise boots that i've been living in like a hobo for the past bunch of seasons.

also tried on a k2 pinnacle pro, maestrale RS, and the new hoji pro tour, in varying sizes, as not a lot of stuff is in stock around here yet. i'm probably giving a bit too much bias already since i love the idea of the vulcan on paper, but that was probably my most favourable out-of-the-the-box fit so far for a potential replacement boot.