As I’m sure many readers have already seen elsewhere, Dynafit, in cahoots with Eric “Hoji” Hjorlefsen, made a splash this winter with an innovative entry into the 2+ buckle boot category. Ever the tinkerer, Hoji managed to integrate some clever and unique bits into a trimmed down iteration of the Hoji/Radical silhouette.
We recently got our hands on the new Ridge boot and have been putting it through the paces with some spring Teton ski tours. An in depth review is on tap for next winter, but in the meantime I wanted to do a photographic run through of the Ridge and its unique layout.
The Twistfit closure (Boa-like) does an excellent job of locking down the heel, and paired with the sliding tongue provides a uniquely good fit across the instep and ankle area.
The limit of rearward mobility—pretty impressive. The tongue is soft, and slides, for average resistance over the ROM for the 2+ buckle category.
The forward ROM is a bit less impressive, given the presence of the tongue this makes sense. The lack of degrees of freedom isn’t too noticeable when touring, but the forward resistance is more akin to the Zero G than the Backland XTD.
With the Hoji Lock in ski mode, the lighter grey “bridle” locks into the lower shell for what appears to be a lasting, wiggle-free interface.
With the Hoji lock open, the back half of the shell deconstructs into a few parts that move together with little friction, especially in the rearward direction.
More slidey-bits in the upper tongue area. This connects the upper and lower black (stiffer) parts of the tongue, and seems to assist in walking performance. The gold plastic on the tongue is softer and more pliable.
This shows the maximum extent of the tongue’s rearward “slide”. Useful for aggressive schussing or a very low instep perhaps.
The tongue slider all closed up in its furthest forward position, high(er) instep/steep skintrack friendly.
Attachment for the power strap—note the cable into the back of the boot, part of the genius of the Hoji lock. Word is a Hoji Free cam buckle is retrofit-able here if you want to skip the velcro.
This tab quickly and fully loosens the twistfit closure. Useful for removing the boots, but for ski-walk transitions, a quick “pop” of the knob and it spins open to a comfortable snugness.
Ridge Pro Liner, don’t mind the indentation, I think that was from an overly hasty footbed removal. The stock liner is pretty “meh” without much of a defined heel cup to keep things locked down.
A few points that make the Ridge interesting
- The Hoji lock mechanism allows for transitioning without lifting one’s pant cuff, in addition to providing an impressively solid connection between the upper and lower cuffs. I am confident that this mechanism won’t develop play at the same rate as many of its competitors.
- Three piece construction with a soft, sliding tongue has an impressive range of motion and freedom – akin to other boots in the 2+ buckle category like the Atomic Backland XTD or Fischer Transalp Pro.
- I’m not sure what the stated forward lean number is, but the Ridge feels much more forward/aggressive than I am used to with my go to Tecnicas. Combined with a very stiff and supportive forward flex, aggressive skiers that haven’t gotten along with other lightweight boots may be impressed.
- The buckle configuration is unique, with a low ratchet strap on the instep/upper cuff and a single velcro powerstrap. It seems to achieve really good pressure/contact over the top of the foot and shin, which I reckon results in more consistency in ski performance over a variety of fits. Space and gaps in this area are bound to feel sloppy and change the flex characteristics of a given boot, which perhaps accounts for some of the different perceptions of ski performance in different boots by different skiers.
I look forward to spending more time in the Ridge boots, they seem to be a good match for my foot shape and a great entry into the 2+ buckle category. While I’m not sure I would describe them as ground breaking, they occupy a nice space between better walking but slightly softer/less damp boots like the Backland XTD and the top downhill performer with poor ROM/high friction Zero G Tour Pro.
Eager to see this go head to head next year with the new zero g pro tour!
What are your first impressions of the Ridge compared to the XTD and the older Zero G Pro Tour and what are the trade offs? Do you feel like it can drive wider >100mm waisted skis with no compromise? I had someone put the Ridge on the weight scale at the shop and it came in at 1368g in a size 27, which is more that the advertised specs indicate. For the internal length, it was shorter than The Zero G and other boots that I’ve used where my toes had little room to stretch out. I anticipated more friction leaning forward in walk mode with the floating tongue but at least on a carpet test it felt like it was all I need, much better than the Zero G.
Hey Ethan, good questions. I’ll preface my answer by saying that I only have a few days on the Ridge so I’m still figuring things out. I would put the walking rom/friction solidly between the backland xtd and old zero g, with the xtd being barely perceptibly different than the zero g peak as far as friction and rom. So like you found, the ridge is pretty darn good. The downhill performance of a new boot is on par with the zero g, in my initial perception. It isn’t perhaps overall as stiff as a brand new set of zero gs, but the suspension and dampness felt better to me. I think the real win (we will see how this plays out) is the hope that the cuffs won’t develop play in the same way that so many of these boots (tecnica, backland xtd, etc) seem to.
I’ve been skiing these modded with the hoji cam strap, scarpa boosters and intuition tour wraps all spring and am super stoked on both the ski performance and walk performance.
To me they are stiffer with the modifications(but a bit harsher) than the ZGPT, but they walk so much better it’s not even a fair comparison. The difference is as big as when going from something like the Lange XT3s to ZGPTs, this becomes another step up on the walkability ladder while still having all the downhill performance needed to ski big skis hard.
I would recommend a small heel lift for those coming from ZGPTs as the delta is quite flat stock, they ski a lot better for me after adding the shim.