The Dynafit Ridge Pro seems to meet expectations. With its Hoji lock system, BOA type adjustment, and high ROM and low friction, this could be a go-to performance boot for those seeking more oomph than a 1kg boot. Photo: Dynafit
We contacted two early adopters of the Dynafit Ridge Pro for their early season on-snow impressions. Yes, it is confirmed that the ROM and friction (lack thereof) are excellent.
Hey THR readers. I had a holy *&^t moment at a local shop the other day. I was there to cook some Tecnica Zero G Tour Pro Liners (‘24-’25 model). This isn’t a story about the ZGTP, but bear with me. The reason for the liner cook was I sized down from a 27.5 to a 26.5. The fit, for the most part, seems pretty ideal, except maybe 1.5mm is needed in the big toe zone for length. Anyhow, after three early season tours in the boot, the fit seems pretty dialed. However, while waiting for the liners to reach peak temperature, I tried on a 27.5 Dynafit Ridge Pro to see what all the fuss is about.
My less-than-first-look impression is that I could likely size down in the Ridge Pro. The instep volume was too voluminous, and I think I could have squeezed into a 26.5 for a more performance-oriented fit. To my feet, the stated 101mm last seemed a smidge wider than 101mm. I’ve been in a Dynafit Blacklight for sprig tours the past two seasons. That boot, too, has a last around 101mm. Where the Blacklight fits like a glove, the Ridge Pro, at least in the 27.5, would need some liberal volume reduction around most of my foot.
But I really came to test the highly touted ROM and low friction. Yes and Yes. The Ridge Pro seems to have every bit of the claimed 70-degree range of motion. The friction, or lack thereof, forward and back, was exceptional. But, this was a quick carpet test, after all.
I know of two ski tourers who opted for the Ridge Pro this year, and I reached out for their initial feedback. One Australian skier, Alex Rose-Innes, has been in the Ridge Pro for some New Zealand spring tours. The other ski tourist is Eric Dahl, an Anchorage denizen who used the boots this past weekend for a thorough test drive.
Dynafit Ridge Pro Impressions from Alex Rose-Innes
Five years ago, I took a Tecnica Zero G Tour Pro boot out of the box and was shocked: while it looked like a four-buckle alpine boot, the lack of heft suggested it would ski poorly. The boot seemed impossibly light.
After a few years of skiing the Zero Gs, the trade-offs of impossible beef have been made clear—the boots are frustratingly difficult to put on when cold, the liners are paper-thin, and the range of motion is disappointing. I’ll happily make these trade-offs for a boot that skis incredibly well and easily fits my weird foot/ankle combination with some aftermarket liners.
There wasn’t a similar lightbulb moment when I took a Dynafit Ridge Pro in size 26.5 out of the box for the first time. They look a bit like a 1-kilo boot but feel heavy and are also distressingly gaudy in the black and gold colorway. On the scales, the Ridge Pros are basically the same as my Zero G Pro Tour (stock liners). They fit me well out of the box, but you have to pay attention to the tongue/shell/liner overlap system, which one might generously describe as finicky.
However, after the first few laps around my living room, I wasn’t thinking about impossible beef in the same way as I was with the ZGTPs, but rather impossible ROM. The range of motion for a boot that Dynafit’s marketing material suggested would be freeride-adjacent was incredible. The sliding tongue mechanism works in a way that is hard to describe.
For my first tour, the ROM was a revelation. They toured like a 1-kilo boot but were reassuringly warm and solid. I had them paired with Blizzard Zero G 95 skis and ATK Haute Route Bindings. The snow was “variable,” Kiwi for anything from slush to breakable crust to almost-cured concrete.
I wasn’t sure if I was expecting ZGPT levels of security, but the Ridge Pros weren’t quite there. There’s nothing like the security of that fourth buckle for progressive flex. I can say that there wasn’t much difference between the Radical Pros and the Ridge Pros in ski performance in my limited experience. The Radical Pros fulfill a unique use case for me. They are the boots I’ll choose when I want a solid touring boot in less optimal conditions.
In my experience, the Hoji system is at its best in the Radical Pro—transitions are incredibly fast, and there is no faffing around in transitions getting the fit tension. While the ZGTPs ski better, the Radical Pro has slightly better ROM and is more user-friendly. The Ridge Pros are almost all the way towards the Radicals in ski performance and drop 300 grams per boot. But I’ll stress that you must get the system absolutely dialed to get the most out of them. Without the power strap being locked in tight, the forward lean can feel too mushy, much like the Salomon MTN Summit Pro which I’ve modified by adding an extra powerstrap.
As I mentioned earlier, the finicky nature of the tongue and shell interface requires attention, especially when putting the boots on. I skied one lap with one of the BOA wire guides underneath the sliding tongue. It’s quite possible that I’m a bit fat-fingered and that the 150+ day-a-year skier won’t have these problems, but the system doesn’t seem immediately intuitive to me at this early stage of testing.
Once I had the adjustments inch-perfect, I was really happy with the way they skied, and continuously blown away on the skin-track. I think that Dynafit and Hoji are onto a category-killing winner here. They weigh the same as my Salomons, which I can’t imagine using again. I’ll put them on the same pedestal as the Tecnica Zero G Peak Carbons, which made every other 1-kilo boot feel like a neoprene sock.
Eric Dahl’s Ridge Pro Impressions
Short version: skis like a Hoji Pro, and walks like an Atomic Backland Pro.
Pros
+Walks insane
+Less finicky top-of-run adjustments
+Skis really well for its weight class/walkability
Cons
-Fairly tight toebox height
-Stock liner is fairly lackluster
-BOA durability(?)
On to the less short version. The Ridge Pro, very early on, seems so close to being a unicorn boot. It skis/feels very similar to the old Dynafit Hoji Pro (not Free), but at a lower weight and significantly better walkability. If Dynafit rolls out some kind of Ridge Free boot in the next few years, it would be my absolute dream boot.
I purchased the Ridge Pro as my new “little boot,” upgrading from the Alien RS and Atomic Backland, which all lacked top-end performance and stiffness/support when used in bigger terrain with expedition weight packs. I was curious if there was a chance these boots could replace my Hoji Frees for mid-season use when skiing big objectives on big skis very aggressively. (See the pattern there?)
I don’t think they will replace the Hoji Frees in my quiver for the gnarliest days/lines, but I think they will make it out for probably 80% of my days on the big skis (189 Black Crows Draco Freebird). The Ridge Pro could be an aggressive boot for people from more skimo-oriented backgrounds or a very high-performing “good walker/little boot” for the freeride bros/gals. I would recommend the Ridge Pro to any larger/heavier skiers who have felt underwhelmed by many of the boots in the 1k-1.3k weight category.
I found the BOA/straps very intuitive and easy to transition at the top of runs. I disagree with the claim that the Hoji’s can be transitioned by only hitting the Hoji lock, and you go from good walk to performance skiing; I often had to readjust all the buckles+Hoji lock to go from decent walking to a performance tightness for the decent.
The Ridge Pro, in my short experience, seems to eliminate almost all that fiddling. Hit the Hoji lock and crank the BOA (although it’s not a BOA brand), and you will be good to go. I am a BOA skeptic (having broken every one I’ve owned multiple times), so I’m interested in its long-term durability.
Another upside is that it seems all the parts on the Ridge Pro are replaceable (a big plus for someone like me who breaks light gear all the time).
I have a wicked high arch/instep, and the Ridge Pro fits much better than my Hoji Frees and is similar to the Hoji Pro. The toebox height felt reasonable with the stock liner but very cramped with an Intuition Tour Pro instead (the toebox width wasn’t an issue).
Boots I’ve used in the past:
Dynafit Vulcan
Dynafit Hoji Free and Pro
Atomic Backland Pro
Scarpa Alien RS
Skis I’ll be using with the Ridge Pro:
Black Crows Orb 184
Black Crows Draco 189
My expected uses for the boot:
Main boot for my sub 100mm skis, big days, and expeditions. A quiver boot for my bigger skis when I’m not expecting to skis big lines aggressively (i.e., low angle pow, skiing with friends who aren’t comfortable with spines + speed)
