Dynafit TLT6 MOD Thread

[barrows]

Here are the mods for my TLT6s. First off is the forward lean plate mod, everyone should do this as it allows the boot to flex forward while keeping the forward lean and nice firm highjack support. On the TLT6 the forward lean plate is removable, which makes the mod easy to do. This picture shows the aluminum forward lean plate inside the boot.

tlt6.01 by barrowsworm, on Flickr

And here is the plate removed, showing one plate before the mod, and one plate after the mod. the hole is filed upwards with a square file.

tlt6.02 by barrowsworm, on Flickr

I also like to cut down the cuff of the boot, just a little, on the medial side, and just a tiny bit on the lateral side. Cutting down the cuff is a personal preference, I just do enough to soften the medial flex of the boot very slightly, start slowly, removing a little material at first and testing. And make sure to make all cuts smooth and clean. Here is the medial side, note the tab I left at the from of the cuff as this gives an indication of how much I cut it down.
tlt6.03 by barrowsworm, on Flickr

And here is the lateral side of the cuff, I really did not remove much material here, just about 3-4 mm or so, even a little bit makes a difference though.
tlt6.04 by barrowsworm, on Flickr

I also remove the power strap, and I do not use either of the additional tongues.
Note that in the US, the TLT6 is only available with the “CR” liner. The CR liner is stiffer and heavier than the other liner option Dynafit has, known as the “CL” liner. Dynafit TLT6s with the CL liner are available in Europe, but not in the US (and probably not in Canada either?). Because I want the boot to be lighter and softer, I ordered some “CL” liners from Europe for my TLT6s. Here are the weights for a single liner, size 28:

Dynafit CR liner: 276 grams
Dynafit CL liner: 174 grams

So the CL liner saves over 100 grams per foot! Anyone who wants some brand new CR liners (28) they are for sale, new and un-molded.

[lictor4]

Hmmm I wonder if those liners would fill up size 29 TLT5 shells….

[JimmyC]

Thanks Barrows.

[HansGLudwig]

Barrows this is fantastic. Thank you for putting this up. So much easier than searching through your zillions of posts about boot mods.
Cheers!

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[WhitePine]

Great post Barrows. It looks like you’ve pushed the limit on how much forward lean you can have. You filed it so thin that I’m sure you’ll develop fatigue cracks pretty quickly if you stress the boot at the max forward lean angle. Are you worried about that?

When you reassemble it did you leave the upper screw out?

[barrows]

I would not be so “sure” about that 😉
I really do not think there is ever much upwards stress on the lean plate. The plate is also reinforced by being situated in a molded recess in the rear spoiler (see pic 1). When you max out the forward flex of the boot, the lean adjuster is not the only thing dealing with the load. The load is shared by the boot tongue and cuff, and the structure of the foot and ankle (one of the reasons I like having a stop is so the ankle joint is protected from over flexion, something which sometimes scares me in some soft boots).
I do not use the upper screw, there is no room for it, and no need for it.
I have a bunch of days on the boots so far, and there have been no issues.

[cometogether]

that aluminum block plate came in late model tlt5 and came unscrewed the same way to make adjustment easier.

Barrows- did you have to remove plastic underneath the tab as well?

can you elaborate more on the liner change? Is this liner going to be even more cold than the standard tlt5 liner? can you supply your source? how do you think this liner would fit a tlt5?

thanks man and great seeing you out and about! :thatrocks:

[barrows]

Eric:

Well, it is hard to say exactly…

The CL liner is much lighter than the CR liner, as noted. It is also noticeably softer in flex.

Warmth, well, I do not know. I have not used any other liner in the TLT6. According to Dynafit, the TLT6 is designed to offer a bit more warmth than the 5, and I believe this, as the 6 has a slight bit more volume in the shell, and there is an insulated boot board in the bottom of the shell in the 6. I am sure one could get the CL liner to mold up nicely in the TLT5, it is very similar, if not the same as, the TF liner sold in the US with the TLT5 Performance (carbon cuff version). I bought my CL liners from Snowinn in Europe. Google will find them for you.

edit: yes, you must remove some plastic under the lean plate to match the lean plate mod.

I would guess that the TLT6 with the CL liner, is about the same in warmth as my TLT5s are with the (thicker.heavier) Intuition liner. I have not used the CR liner at all, so I do not know if it would be warmer, but suspect that it might be from looking at it.
In any case, I would not consider the TLT5/6 a “warm” boot in general. I am fine in either down to low single digit temps in Colorado. If I were to go on another expedition to interior AK (St Elias, or AK Range), where I would want to be prepared for -20 degrees F, I would add an insulated super gaiter, but that is pretty much standard fare for really cold temps.

[dishwasher-dave]

Curious what tools you used to cut down the shell? The finished cuts look very clean. Nice work.

[barrows]

I made the cuts using a dremel with a cutting tool. Then smoothed things out with sandpaper.

[jvosburgh]

Great write up Barrows! Ill be surely sending people here to see this rather than spending and hour over email or phone to explain how its done.

One thing I’ll add though is that the alluminium piece can be installed either way up. The way Barrows shows it is in the most forward lean option. By flipping it over (and doing the mod) you can have less forward lean. I personally start with it as Barrows has it (most forward lean option), I do the mod which allows for the forward flex, then I start widdling it down also to dial in the exact amount of forward lean (highback). I prefer riding my front foot with less forward lean than the back. Again, this is a preference thing but I used to rock it like that on softboots…many moons ago.

[WhitePine]

Can you buy an extra set of those aluminum pieces? I might go to a boot fitter and so it would be nice to be able to use the boots for both splitboarding and resort skiing (groomer days only 😀 )

[barrows]

@jvosburgh wrote:

Great write up Barrows! Ill be surely sending people here to see this rather than spending and hour over email or phone to explain how its done.

One thing I’ll add though is that the alluminium piece can be installed either way up. The way Barrows shows it is in the most forward lean option. By flipping it over (and doing the mod) you can have less forward lean. I personally start with it as Barrows has it (most forward lean option), I do the mod which allows for the forward flex, then I start widdling it down also to dial in the exact amount of forward lean (highback). I prefer riding my front foot with less forward lean than the back. Again, this is a preference thing but I used to rock it like that on softboots…many moons ago.

Excellent point Joey, that was exactly my thinking as well. The lesser lean position was not enough for me, so I started with the more lean position, knowing I could easily reduce it. As it turns out, for me, with the (thin behind the calf muscle) CL liner, the max lean position seems about right, with a thicker liner, like Intuition, I would probably file down to reduce the lean slightly. Oh yeah, I ride with a little bit of heel lift on my rear foot (in the Phantom bindings) so this results in a little more forward lean on my rear foot as well.
Note that these small differences are personal, and everyone should experiment to find what works best for their own riding style, do not be afraid to try different things, and if you find some other mods you like on the TLT6, please add to this thread.

BTW, sorry I did not make it up there with John this season, I hope to do so next and hope to spend some time in your zone.

[cometogether]

yo Jvos! I think we need you to contribute to the air with style post….. :rock:

[FloImSchnee]

Barrows, thanks for all the valuable information!

When testriding TLT5s, I noticed that medial flex is too stiff for me. Therefore I’ll have to cut down the cuff.

You chose to cut down the cuff on upper side rather than on lower.
Why would you do it this way, and not on the lower, e.g. like shown here?

(took a screenshot of your picture)

Thanks!

[barrows]

Flo: My boots are flexing just great as they are right now, I do not need more flex (also note I am on the “experimental” Phantom Pho binding, which offers a little more lateral and medial flex).
Certainly you can cut the bottom of the cuff as you have illustrated, and it will certainly allow for additional flex, both medially and torsionally. If you choose to cut the bottom, be careful about it as you do not want to go too far: if you go too far you will expose space between the cuff and the lower boot shell, which may bind and could also allow snow to get into the shell more easily.
If I was designing a boot cuff from scratch, I would have it come out as your illustration notes though. If you do choose to cut there, please let us know how it goes. I suspect a little will go a long way to making the cuff more flexible.

[FloImSchnee]

Thanks barrows!

In your experience: what tool works best for cutting?

[barrows]

I use a dremel with the cutting tool: it looks kind of like a drill bit, but it is not. Then I follow up with a sanding barrel on the dremel, and then smooth things out by hand sanding.
One needs to make sure all cuts are smooth, and that any edges have smooth radii. Sharp cut edges are potential spots where the plastic might start tearing.

[FloImSchnee]

Thanks, will use that!

[WhitePine]

It looks like most of the pictures in this thread are of the TLT6 Mountain CR. Anyone used these for the Performance CR with the carbon cuff?
Thoughts?