Dynafit TLT Comfort or Classic?

I'm fairly positive that this is the correct use of the 4 mm adjustment shim, per the illustration in the TLT installation instructions. It does not ride over the boss below the pins.

<br><br>Welcome to the wonderful world of Dynafit, Larry! I don't think you'll regret it.<br><br>You've got the adjustment right. Coincidentally, Lou Dawson addresses this very issue today in his blog, www.wildsnow.com , complete with picture.

I don't know about the logic; it's true that it doesn't take much compression to make the binding contact the back of the boot, but under normal circumstances I worry more about inadvertant release while skiing at speed and hitting avy debris or crust (throwing your weight forward suddenly) or jump turning in heavy deep snow/crust (skis flex upward).

I've never had a problem with unwanted heel release from compression (don't ski bumps with them, and I normally ski very conservatively over icy runnels) though depending on the skier's weight and the stiffness of the ski it could be a factor . . .

Dr C, the correct setting for Comfort/Tri-Step heels is indeed 6mm (longer pins), for the regular TLT/Speed (low-tech in Europe) it is 4mm.

PS Don't forget to spray something under the toepiece arms to help shed snow (I use a silicone sewing spray), and be sure to lock the toe before skinning (four audible clicks from the lever is a good rule). Even if you're just skiing, locking the toes is a good test to see if the arms/points are engaged fully (then unlock them before you ski). Most initial user problems with Dynafits are related to one of these two scenarios (icing under toe arms or failure to lock the toe).

Last Saturday I broke the mounting plate on my TLT classic. New this year, about 35 days of use. Anyone else had this problem lately? Was skiing some steep lines on Table (Alaska Amber, some squirrel gulley named feature) when I noticed a crack. When I went to skin mode the piece broke in front of the lever.<br><br>Gregg

I e-mailed Lou Dawson today and asked about grinding the "bump" down a bit and perhaps setting the gap on TLT's to, say, 3mm - which would change the fulcrum and raise the DIN lateral release values a bit - here's his reply:<br><br>Hi Greg, I grind the bumps off nearly all our TLTs, and most have the longer heel pins swapped in from old Tri Steps. I usually stick with the 4 mm adjustment when I'm not using the longer pins, and grind the bump off so the ski can flex more without the gap closing up. That bump is the strangest thing, a total mystery, probably a legacy from an older design.<br> <br>'best, Lou

Tough luck Gregg on that toe plate breaking. AT least you were not out on an extended travese. I was with a new Dynafit user last weekend who broke a tristep plate when pulling up on his first full day. The plate had a molding line where the break occurred. Marmot's replacement did not. Sounds like a bad run of plastic for both models.<br>I have a pair of classics with 5+ years of heavy use and one of the toe pins is quite worn. Shows a flatter point than the others and results in a loose fit. Anyone replaced one of these? The old models showed a flat head screw fitting to replace but in last 7 or 8 years everything seems the swaged in type. Floated this on Couloir's chat and got no response. Two visits to Marmot yielded no help. Suggestions?<br>One of the best tips for new users is always to flip the ski back and forth when first entering the toepiece to clean the boot holes and to doublecheck you are in.

One of the best tips for new users is always to flip the ski back and forth when first entering the toepiece to clean the boot holes and to doublecheck you are in.

<br><br>I guess I do this without thinking about it, good tip.<br><br>My '98-'99 TLT's (lime green/dark purple) have removeable pins (and the pins have little grooves in them to facilitate snow evacuation from the boot sockets) but I don't know if LifeLink stocks replacements - you could e-mail them directly at  Life-Link@Life-Link.com, I've gotten small parts from them before. My newer bindings all have press-fit pins which are not replaceable.

Before I grind it off, I'd sure like to know just why it's there in the first place.  <br>

<br><br>I looked at the plastic housing very carefully - it's rock solid under the "bump" - if anything, concentrating the force on that small point would create more stress than the boot heel hitting a flatter spot. I ground off the bump on two pair of heels, not totally flat (hard to access the slightly concave area without hitting other parts of the plastic) but enough to give another couple of mm's of clearance. It was time for routine cleaning and lubing anyway!