At the risk of fanboy accusations due to previous post being Dynafit as well, I needed to get this Dynafit post up sooner than later as reader service. So here you go.
Last winter Dynafit alluded to some kind of “certification” system for tech inserts. They implemented a program that uses a red plastic “seal” clipped to the toe inserts of other manufacturers boots that use Dynafit sourced inserts. So far, that’s only Scarpa (with rumors of one other who’ll use Dynafit made inserts.) At any rate, with regards to all the tech insert trash I’ve seen over past decades, kudos to Dynafit and Scarpa for doing something to help the consumer know they’re getting what they pay for. Only disappointment to this is that the Seal will only go with inserts _made_ by Dynafit. If another manufacturer makes good, functional inserts, they won’t be able to get the seal. Thus, it’ll still be up to shop employees and expert consumers to know how to evaluate tech fitting performance. But overall, I regard this as a positive. Check it out:
The boots (in this case Scarpa Freedom) come with a red plastic clip attached to the front tech inserts. The top of the clip says 'Dynafit Certified Insert.' The word 'SEAL' is printed on the front.
Clip 'seal' removed. Should be obvious to folks who know tech bindings, but one has to wonder how many boot buyers will be seen using frame bindings with this clip still in the boot toe? And, WildSnow kudos to the first person to find one in a skin track.
(And YES Virginia, the Scarpa Freedom boots are, meow. More on them later.)
WildSnow.com publisher emeritus and founder Lou (Louis Dawson) has a 50+ years career in climbing, backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering. He was the first person in history to ski down all 54 Colorado 14,000-foot peaks, has authored numerous books about about backcountry skiing, and has skied from the summit of Denali in Alaska, North America’s highest mountain.
