Review of the Dynafit Zzero4 and Zzero3 carbon tou

www.doglotion.com/touring-boot-review-dynafit - click here for more.


Summary

If you are a big and/or aggressive skier that drives big skis, get the Zzero4 carbon boot. If you are looking at getting a "quiver" of boots and want a big boot for slackcountry or yo-yo laps, get the Zzero4 carbon boot. If you are a light, finesse skier that wants one boot to do it all then perhaps either look at getting the Zzero4 in full Pebax and skip the carbon version (the Pebax version is supposed to be less stiff then the Carbon version) or get the Zzero 3 buckle. I found the Zzero4 buckle carbon to be a considerable leap in stiffness over the baseline boot - a Garmont Mega Ride. The Zzero3 buckle carbon is comparable in stiffness to the Garmont Mega Ride.

If you get these boots, be prepared to concentrate on skiing well and be prepared to drive skis hard. Neither suit lazy skiers or sloppy technique all that well.



Pros:

* Fantistically light and stiff
* Decent tourability given the stiffness
* Striking colours; easily spotted by friends and celebrity-seekers
* Will comfortably drive even big skis

Cons:

* Will not be cheap
* Power comes on rapidly. Full commitment required to ski these boots
* Stiffness does not make for fun hikes
* Not everyone will like the Euro-tastic bright green and bright yellow colours

Thanks for the review Lee. I am looking to replace my Mega-rides with something and I need Dynafit inserts. I have been looking at the Spirit 4's. The only thing about those zzero4's is they look to be low on cuff height. They look much shorter (in the side by side picture) than the Mega-rides. I'm afraid I would feel like I would snap my distal tibia with forward pressure! This feeling has been the case for me with the Mega-ride as well. I feel they are too low, and have rigged a power strap up high on the liner to give me a sense of a higher cuff....Anyway, thanks again. Did you have any thoughts on this as you skied them?

Toby,

I will also be reviewing the Scarpa Spirit 4. This seemed to make the most sense given the intense curiousity about both the Scarpa and Dynafit 4 buckle offerings from the backcountry touring crowd. I believe I mentioned that in the Dynafit writeup. Can you wait possibly a month before buying as I should have the article out by then?

To whet your curiousity in the meantime, the MegaRide and the Spirit 4 are about the same height. The Dynafit is marginally shorter but by an insignificant amount. The tongue on the Dynafit is stiff - at least as stiff as the black stiff Scarpa touring tongue that comes with the Scarpa Tornado and that will also come with the Spirit 4.

How big are you? I honestly felt like the Dynafit, the Spirit 4 and a modified Mega Ride were more then enough boot for my skiing needs but as with everything your mileage may vary.

Also read this very useful thread - www.tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.p...=1278100#post1278100

Finally take a look at this sneak pic to see how marginal the differences are in height between the boot - equivalent rear heights - the Dynafit is shorter by less then 2 cms in the front top cuff

Thanks Lee, I am in no real hurry to buy, so I'll see what you have to say about the Spirit 4. The cuff height is a real factor for me, the higher the better. I am not a big guy, 5'10", 175# in my birthday suit but I still prefer a high cuff. I like feeling the forward pressure high on my tibia, (maybe more now because I broke it lower down in the past), but I think I have always felt this way. Does anyone make a knee high?!! Thanks again, maybe you could check my Spearhead length thread before it gets buried and let me know what you think...

The tongues for the Spirit 4 are way too stiff for a dedicated touring boot, I still remember the bruises on my shins from touring in them. I swapped them out with my Spirit 3 tongues. Just my two cents. Otherwise they are great, more control than the S3 for sure. Have not tried the Dynafit boots. They look good.