Dynafit Radical Review

September 11, 2014
Dynafit Radical
Dynafit-radical-graphic
Style:
Dynafit Radical Dynafit-radical-graphic Style:
GEAR INSTITUTE RATINGS
92
Fit / Comfort
9
Weight
7
Power
7
Walk-ability
10
Versatility
9
Value
10

The Good

  • Touring mode
  • Excellent Cuff ROM
  • Progressive Flex
  • Motion-Lock Power Strap
  • 4-buckles
  • Light for a mid-weight boot

The Bad

  • Heavy for lightweight boot
  • Mid-stiff flex
THE VERDICT

The Dynafit Radical is a classic four-buckle boot so it's easy to get a good grip on your foot and transfer all the power of your leg to the turn, or hold it in place so it doesn't slop around when touring. The sole has sticky rubber lugs and of course it comes standard with Dynafit's improved toe inserts that make clicking into pintech bindings faster and more reliable. Combined with a progressive downhill flex, roomy fit and excellent cuff range of motion the only reason it won't make your feet smile is if it's too big.

FULL REVIEW

The Dynafit Radical is a 4-buckle boot with a generous fit, not-too-stiff progressive flex that is easy to custom fit with superb touring mobility.

In recent years Dynafit has earned a reputation for producing low volume, high priced boots through their TLT line. Such is the price of trimming weight. Unfortunately those with higher volume feet couldn’t experience the touring freedom they offered. That changes this year with Dynafit’s new Radical boot. It isn’t Dynafit’s lightest, or stiffest boot, but it surely is their roomiest.

Sizing
Dynafit’s Radical Man (and Woman) marks a return to a generous last with a width of 104mm in the forefoot and a slightly more instep height for higher volume feet. The tongued liner is heat moldable so many foot shapes can be accommodated with custom molding. If that’s insufficient, the PU shell is a material boot fitters are familiar and comfortable with if your foot demands the shell be heat molded too.

Downhill Chops
Using polyurethane for the shell does increase the weight of the boot, knocking it out of the lightweight category, but its downhill performance may be worth those extra ounces. Lightweight boots either lack the ability to drive big skis, or they’re overly stiff. A flex that gets progressively stiffer as you drive forward is generally preferred and that’s exactly what polyurethane does instinctively, yielding one of the more friendly flexing boots in the entire Dynafit line, able to adapt to multiple snow conditions with ease.

Uphill Efficiency
While the extra ounces may weigh you down after a day of big vertical, for typical day tours the weight is easy to accept thanks to a huge range of motion in the cuff. With 25 degrees of rear cuff motion with your foot in the boot it still beats nearly every other brand or model on the market except its brothers and sisters in the Dynafit family. Though it may not set the record for total range of motion, the cuff buckles and patented Motion-Lock power strap are much easier and faster to switch from locked to tour mode than the fiddly, single buckle lock and release system of the TLT series.

Tightening the buckles and power strap is SOP for alpine boots. To open up the cuff for walking you just yank on the Motion-Lock finger loop and the power strap opens up. From there, flip open the cuff buckles, or if it’s a long climb, reset the buckle wires in the touring teeth that slide smoothly and reliably, unlike some other brands.

 


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