TLT5 Performance: PNW reviews requested

www.mountaingear.com/pages/product/produ...e/MG/item/223172/N/0

Damn you Jonathan. Trigger pulled.

I'm the TLT5 Mtn, which has a softer cuff than the TLT5P.  I whacked off the rear spoiler to accomodate my large calf.  I also put an Eliminator closed cell foam pad on the tongue to lessen the forward lean.  I will be doing a Lou-esque FL mod (but removable) to reduce the forward lean a couple degrees.  Jim Mates punched the forefoot width a couple mm's.

Even with the spoiler removed and using no booster strap, the Mtn skis considerably stiffer on all axes than my prior touring boot, a Scarpa F3.  (I prefer soft comfy touring boots, so my experience may have no relevance to a back seat tailgunner).  The lateral stiffness is like a DH boot.  The fore-aft progressive flex is, well, different, and took a couple days of lift-served skiing to get the hang of it, but I now dig it.  The removal of the spoiler brought me great comfort and did not affect performance for me, but YMMV and there would be no reason to whack off the spoiler unless one has freakishly large calves like me.  FWIW, I've skied my Mtns on 181 grunge AP's (like current Coomback) and 173 Icelantic Shamans (but don't let the length fool ya -- a 173 Shaman is plenty of ski for a 240 lb. guy), and I'll be skiing them on 185 Trabs Stelvio XL's this spring.  Note that all my Dynafit binding ramp delta are roughly that of the Speed/TLT Classic, i.e., I've shimmed the toe on Comforts and FT's to replicate the Speed delta.

Walk mode is great, fore-aft range in walk mode is like a leather Asolo Snowfield tele boot.  The heel pocket fits me perfectly. My only gripe is the lack of a more upright position for long traverses, i.e., that the boot is either in uphill mode (with downhill control equivalent to a floppy Nordic XC boot) or locked into downhill mode with a relatively aggressive forward lean.  My mod plans will somewhat address that.  I've tried two DIY solutions re this issue, both of which worked, but which are not susceptible to being described in text.  Maybe I'll post some pics here or on TGR.

I'll be modifying my pants like GregL did.  Thanks for the idea, Greg : )

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Walk mode is great, ... My only gripe is the lack of a more upright position for long traverses, i.e., that the boot is either in uphill mode (with downhill control equivalent to a floppy Nordic XC boot) or locked into downhill mode with a relatively aggressive forward lean.  My mod plans will somewhat address that.  I

FWIW, Federico said they are working on a mod so you could keep the upper buckled and not lock in the lean; not sure what he was referring to; but another Dynafit guy talked about a modified aluminum bar that can be flipped to choose between slight lean and aggressive lean. One TLT user referred to using a piece of high density foam to keep the buckle from engaging the lean.

What I found very easy to do is to buckle the upper and cinch the strap before skiing down, then when traversing of having to do a short climb, just release the buckle; also no problem skiing more gentle slopes with the upper buckle not buckled, as long as the lower buckle is reasonably tight. But I think I might very well try the hi-d foam bit out.

Sounds like the guy with the Al bar is doing something similar to one of my DIY solutions, which I hope to refine a bit. I used on old credit card. Your strap solution won't work for me because I whacked off the spoiler and I usually don't use a booster strap.

Inaugural outing today. Very happy. Definitely an adjustment on the down after 2 years of nothing but Factors, but the more I trusted them, the better they skied. Excellent power and precision for such a light boot. Stiffer than my stock MegaRides for sure. Walk mode is obviously insane.