Dynafit Toe Plates and Ski Crampons: An Easy Fix!

Well, there have been several threads here recently complaining about Dynafit binding issues, problems, and frustrations (see e.g. this and this ). I had used Fritschi bindings happily since 1996, but I finally caved in to the devil's lure of light weight and switched to primarily using the Dynafit Comfort binding about 3 years ago, in Feb 2005 (I still use Fritschis on two other pairs of skis). I have about 90 days on the Dynafits over that time, mostly big ski mountaineering trips with only a handful of yo-yo backcountry skiing days, plus a few lift-served groomer days.

In addition to the ongoing hassle of cleaning snow/ice/rocks/dirt/mud/etc out of the boot fittings, I've had a number of equipment failures, mainly with pieces of the binding shattering off during normal operation: the "volcano" heel lifters have broken/exploded a couple of times, and several small pieces of plastic have chipped off of both toe levers (where one presses a ski pole to open the toepiece). But the worst problem has been the poorly designed and flimsy ski crampon attachment slot in the toepiece. Accidentally stepping on your other ski (or on firm ice or rocks) is likely to shatter one end of the crampon slot and potentially send a ski crampon skittering away down an icy slope. After breaking and replacing those toe plates a couple of times, I've had to skin uphill very gingerly and carefully when using ski crampons to avoid further damage and breakage. While skinning up or across a steep icy frozen slope, it's not fun at all to worry about your bindings breaking and your ski crampons falling off. This was NEVER an issue for me in 9 years on Fritschis, including dozens of spring and summer trips using ski crampons.

Thankfully, Dynafit redesigned the toe plates when they introduced the new Vertical ST binding last season (2006-7), and the same toe plate is fully compatible with all Comfort bindings. The new toe plates include much more plastic behind the crampon slot, and most importantly, they have two prongs of metal reinforcement within the slot.


[size=small]Dynafit toe plates: from left to right, the redesigned Comfort/ST toe plates (top side and underside), an original Comfort toe plate with shattered ski crampon slot (top side), and an unbroken Comfort toe plate (underside).[/size]

I asked locally at Marmot, Feathered Friends, and Pro Ski Seattle if they had any new toe plates in stock, but no one did. I decided to just call Salewa (the US distributor for Dynafit) in Boulder, CO, at 303-444-0446. When I told them about my breakage problem and that the bindings were 3 years old, they said they could not do anything under warranty. But the cost of a pair of new toe plates is only $15, so I immediately gave them my credit card number and they shipped them right out (they did charge $5 for UPS). The invoice lists the item as "Front base plate TLT C/ST/Rent".

The new toe plates weigh about 42 grams (1.5 oz) each, versus about 24 grams (0.9 oz) for the old flimsy plates. But weight freaks wouldn't be using ski crampons (nor Comfort bindings), so the small weight penalty should be a non-issue for anyone who cares about the crampon slot.

I had already replaced the broken toe plates once before (with old-style plates, prior to the redesign), and the procedure is simple:

1. Unscrew the 5 screws holding each old toepiece to the skis, and remove the old toe plates.
2. Scrape off any old epoxy stuck on the top sheet of the skis. This is critically important to ensure that the new plates sit flat. I simply used a Swiss Army knife, and the pieces of old epoxy popped off the top sheet without any scrapes or damage (which would be hidden under the toepiece, anyway).
3. Thoroughly mix a small batch of 2-part one-hour epoxy (1 teaspoon / 5 mL is plenty) on an index card, using a toothpick.
4. Use the toothpick to shove a drop of epoxy down into each screw hole, only on one ski.
5. Install the new toe plate with the old toepiece on it, carefully making sure each screw goes easily down the old threads in each screw hole. Tighten screws by hand (no power tools!) until the toe plate sits completely flat on the ski, and the screws are difficult to tighten further. If you have strong arms/wrists, make sure not to accidentally overtighten and strip the threads in the hole.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 on the other ski. If the mixed batch of epoxy is starting to harden, it is best to mix a second batch just to make sure it flows properly into the screw holes.

An easy 20-30 minute job to replace both toe plates, and the old skis are all set with their new metal-reinforced crampon slots:


[size=small]Toepieces mounted on skis: the redesigned Comfort/ST toe plate (left) and the original Comfort toe plate (right). Note the chipped/broken plastic on both toe levers.[/size]

In an unrelated story, I just bought a new pair of K2 Mt Baker Superlights with Dynafit Vertical FT bindings (both on sale at 40% off ). I really like the redesigned heel elevator and toe piece lever on the FT (identical to the ST), they are far superior to both the Comfort and the regular TLT (aka TLT Classic or TLT Speed). The new angular heel elevator shape is much easier to rotate than the old cylindrical "volcano", and the new longer toe lever is easy to pull up by hand. No more need to use a ski pole held horizontally in two hands to yank up on the too-short lever of the Comfort or TLT. The Vertical FT includes a metal-reinforced crampon slot.


[size=small]Toepiece portion of Dynafit Vertical FT mounted on ski.[/size]

if anyone is using older ski crampons, you'll need to do Lowell's hacksaw trimming trick to make your 'pons compatible with the new baseplates.

instructions here:
www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboardi...dex.php?topic=5552.0

Luckily, my "old" Dynafit ski crampons are not as old as Lowell's, so they fit the new toe plates fine without modification.

Unfortunately, those crampons are too narrow to fit my new Baker Superlights (88 mm waist vs 70 mm on the other skis, Volkl Mtn NJ). So I do have to buy a new set of wide crampons anyway if I ever want to use the Superlights in ski-crampon-type conditions. But mainly, I'm planning to use that as a winter conditions powder rig.

Thanks for this Amar,

When I first bought my Dynafit ski crampons, which were almost a half inch wider than the waste of the ski, it occurred to me that when traversing, a huge torque is place on the slot in the toe piece. The points of the crampon were about a quarter of an inch from the side of the ski, and all the side load is taken directly by that little plastic slot.

I made some half inch wide Nylatron wear strips that were attached vertically with small screws to the aft points (the longest) and trimmed until the fit was just right as the crampon swung up and down. Nylatron can be shaped with a sharp block plane, so this was fairly easy. This has worked very well for me for about 3 years. All I had to do to use the crampons with my wider Trabs is unscrew the rub strips. It's easy to put them back on should I want to use the Atomics.

Larry

Good point about the baseplate upgrade, Amar. Jonathan Shefftz www.nerandorace.com does a retro upgrade on the old baseplates by filling the concavities with JB Weld, but I think the metal clips are a big improvement for little extra weight.

I doubt that any of this would have been an issue with TLT Speed/Classics with the solid baseplate. They have their own set of quirks, but isn't that the sort of thing BC skiers love to deal with?

New FT's? Sounds like those old Comforts were just a "gateway" binding!

FWIW, I've seen some of the Vertical heel lifters shear off, even in the hands (poles) of people well acquainted with the torque limitations of the Comfort. When they go, they take off part of the plastic top plate (the only thing holding the heel pins down) potentially creating a more serious problem. Salewa has been great about supplying replacement plates in a hurry, though.