Dynafit TLT7 Carbonio Ski Touring Boot Review

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A New Wave in Alpine Touring Boots the Dynafit Carbonio TLT7

The new things that the Dynafit TLT 7 Carbonio brings to the table are almost too many to list or to keep track of which is the biggest improvement.

Speed Nose
Master Step Tech Inserts
Beast Binding compatible with no additional attachment necessary
Ultra-lock 3.0 Buckle system
Under 1,000 grams
All Carbon Fiber and Grilamid

This boot is easier to get into and easier to get out of. It’s easier to step into your bindings and an easier boot to skin in thanks to the Speed Nose. It is a simple design in a lightweight package that you will be stoked to ski day-in, day-out, on longer tours and even as a great light-weight boot to get some uphill exercise at the resort.

Dynafit Carbonio Ski Tour Boot

	Scarpa F1 Evo	Dynafit TLT 7 Carbonio	Atomic Backland Carbon Light
Price	$699	$999.95	$1,100
Quiver Slot	Daily Driver, Endurance Touring	Daily Driver, Endurance Touring, Ski Mountaineering	Endurance Touring, Resort Skinning, Training
Fit	Wide Forefoot, Snug Heel Pocket	Slightly wider than TLT6	Low Volume, but entire boot is heat moldable.
Liner	Intuition Tongue	Dynafit Custom Light	Platinum Light, washable
Uphill	Strong	Strong	Strong
Downhill	Good	Good	Fair
Weight	1230 g	990 g (sz 27)	987 g (sz 27)
Forward Lean	20° & 22°	15° – 18°	15° & 17°
Cuff Articulation	62°	60°	74°
Flex	95	110	Soft Tongue 90 Stiff Tongue 100
Buckles	1	2	2
Powerstrap	Yes, Rigid	No	Yes, 30mm Nylon
Binding Type	Tech Fit	Tech Fit	Tech Fit
Shell Material	HPA Carbon Core & Pebax	Carbon Fiber, Grilamid	Grilamid, Carbon Reinforced Polymer, Pebax
Sole	Vibram UFO Evo	POMOCA	Skywalk

Fit

When first trying on the TLT 7 it was such a relief to immediately notice that the boot was definitely higher volume than all previous iterations of the TLT boots. The liner certainly felt to be more comfortable as well; not as stiff/rigid as past Dynafit liners which should make fitting and all day comfort much easier to find.

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Uphill Performance

The Speed Nose on this boot is certainly the first thing you notice; something looks off about it, but not necessarily wrong. I don’t know if this was brought about to make the boot lighter or tour better or maybe both. I do know that it would make sense that if you move the pivot point back on the boot to make it more similar to your natural pivot point that it should tour better. Realistically we are talking about millimeters here, a centimeter at most. But when out touring the touring motion did feel more fluid.

Downhill Performance

The downhill performance for this boot is very good considering it is a 2 buckle boot with no power strap. The flex felt very consistent throughout the flex range and just a bit softer than the advertised 110 flex. These were skied primarily on-piste at the resort and this is certainly not the sweet spot for these boots. In any backcountry scenario paired with a ski that is 1,200 g’s or less these boots will be fantastic.

Ski/Walk Mechanism

The ski/walk mechanism is where I think the best innovation is in this boot. It is an upgrade to the Ultra Lock 2.0 system that Dynafit has been using on most all previous boots. There are two throws within the upper buckle. The larger outside buckle is for ski walk mode and the smaller, inner buckle is connected, through an internal wire, to the instep buckle. It is really easy to throw them together or separately. Wire systems like this do not always take abuse well so I’d recommend getting a little grease on it and operating with TLC around it to get maximum life out of it. The reason I think it’s well worth it for Dynafit to use this system, however, is that getting into and out of the boot as well as ski walk mode are all controlled, by essentially one buckle. Any move towards simplicity like this is always a huge step in the right direction and this will give your feet a little more ease by having simple in/out and adjustability on the move.

Additional Info

These boots also come equipped with Dynafit’s new Master Step tech inserts. Dynafit advertises this as being 50% easier to step into bindings than their previous Quick Step-In tech inserts. The Master Steps have a longer guidance groove to make stepping into tech toes that much easier. It’s hard to believe that they could improve it by 50% but I will say there is at least a 50% ease of use for Quick Step-In inserts over all others and so any added improvement over even the Quick Step-In is fantastic.

Summary

The TLT 7 Carbonio is likely to continue to reign supreme as the go to choice for a ski mountaineering boot. It is lighter than the previous line of TLT boots, but also not quite as stiff. But as skis get lighter and lighter each year boots do not need to be the rock solid shells they once did. The Carbonio finds it’s sweet spot when paired with a midweight to lightweight ski for day in day out touring, longer days in the mountains and even for a lightweight boot to get some exercise skinning at the resort.

Recommended Binding:

Dynafit Speed Superlite 2.0

Recommended Ski:

Dynafit Carbonio 88 Touring Ski