We’ve had a steady rhythm of clinics lately, the latest from Dynafit, a backcountry company that’s been part of the Larry’s story for years.
The boot that caught my attention this week wasn’t the flashiest or the stiffest. It was the TLT X — a 1030-gram ski mountaineering boot that costs $499. In today’s market, that number almost sounds like a typo. Dynafit priced it that way on purpose, a statement that lightweight doesn’t have to mean unreachable. It’s a reminder that gear, at its best, is about function and freedom, not flex ratings and dollar signs.
And here’s the fun part — I own it.
Today, Shawn and I decided to give those boots a proper mountain test in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. The snow was awful, windboard over refrozen sastrugi, the kind of surface that makes you question your life choices — but that’s not really the point. The air was cold, the light sharp, and the snowfields above timberline had that early-season feel: a whisper that winter’s coming.
We didn’t ski well, but we skied honestly. A few turns, a few laughs, the usual boot-adjusting at 12,000 feet. And somewhere between the patches of ice and wind-scoured tundra, I remembered why we love this stuff. It’s not about perfection. It’s about motion, curiosity, and those small, funny victories that happen far from groomers and crowds.
So here’s to cheap boots and rich experiences, to the mountain miles that teach us more than magazine reviews ever could.
