Update, November 21, observations on fitup to different boots:
First, know that for the Ultimate Cuff Pivot (UCP) to work with a boot, the interior needs a flat indentation for the inside head of the cuff rivet, in the diameter (or larger) of the UCP T-nut. As observed, it appears most if not all Dynafit boots have this. So that’s the first step in evaluating. Diameter required would be 22.2 mm.

Beyond how the interior T-nut head seats, thicknesses of both cuff and lower shell need to be within a certain range.

The system as designed for TLT5/6 Performance models assumes a lower shell (shoe, scaffo) wall thickness at the rivet hole to be about 2.7 mm. That’s thin, and is such due to use of Grilamid and this being a boot designed to save weight. Carbon cuff thickness at the rivet hole on these boots is about 2.38 mm.

In my testing UCP appears to work with TLT Mountain, which has virtually same scaffo thickness but a thicker (Pebax) cuff at 2.9 mm. If I was installing UCP-TLT on my own or a boot fitting customer’s pair of TLT Mountain, I’d simply thin the Pebax cuff rivet area down about .4 mm by sanding the inside or perhaps hot seating/pressing the shoulder washer into the cuff a bit to make a land (which would actually be a quite nice way to do this).

I tried the system on a pair of Zzero Green Machines, with a 4.5 mm thick scaffo and 4.8 mm thick cuff. No workie. Both the shoulder washer as well as the T-nut need more depth for this application.

As for working with boots such as Vulcan, my guess is the UCP-TLT will work for that, but don’t force it. All, please remember tens of thousands of TLT5 boots are in play, along with a growing cadre of TLT6. Many of those boots receive incredibly huge amounts of use — a subset of those will be interested in Bill’s solution. Could be ten, or ten thousand. We’ll see what Bill has to say in a few months. If it’s 100,000 he’ll probably be answering that email from a well financed retirement in Belize, as next to snow skiing I heard snorkling is an option.

Original blog post:

The Tetons will eventually fall, seas will rise. Whatever. Until the day we recompress to singularity, the aftermarket WILL come through.

Enter B&D Ski Gear Ultimate Cuff Pivot for the Dynafit TLT Boot (for both the Performance carbon cuff model and the Mountain model, though the Mountain appears to be less needful of this mod).

Follow along oh ye owners of $1,000 boots with excessive cuff slop from one season of use. Or just do an upgrade for a stiffer shell and friction free pivot. For a small weight penalty, you can tighten up those cuffs, make them totally user serviceable — and reduce friction to the point of compensating for the extra mass of this mod. (Click all images to enlarge).

This how it looks after the install. Final step, tighten the screws, with Loctite of course. The tightening process is key, as the B&D Ultimate Cuff Pivot sandwiches the Grilamid of the TLT shoe. This sandwich is pure genius on the part of designer Bill Bollinger, yet too tight and you can damage the boot, too loose and the T-nut and washers may rotate and damage the boot. We recommend professional installation.

Parts for one corner of a boot from left to right: T-nut inserted from interior, requires moderate amount of force for press-fit. Shoulder washer ends up being compressed to sandwich the Grilamid shell in a beautifully solid way. Black Delrin shoulder bushing, is inserted into boot cuff pivot hole. Exterior Delrin plastic washer. Stainless exterior washer and socket head cap screw.

Louis Dawson

WildSnow.com publisher emeritus and founder 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. He published his memoir, Avalanche Dreams: A Memoir of Skiing, Climbing, and Life in 2024.

www.loudawson.com