Earlier this season I got to use a pair of TLT5 Mountains and they fit like a glove, but I felt like they flexed so much they became a bit unpredictable when the snow was less than ideal. Basically I learned that Dynafit boots, right out of the box, fit my foot better than BD boots which have had their stock liners heat molded.

Right now I covet the Mercuries but wonder if there is a cheaper solution. Would getting higher quality liners (intuition liners) fix my fit issues with the BD boots? How much of a fit depends on the shell and the buckle mechanisms? I know the Mercuries would be sweet, but could anyone compare the (cheaper) ONEs to the BD Slants or Quadrants in terms of stiffness

I did all the earlyup mods xcept the hokey cable bail…( just drilled another hole to make the buckle “longer” to accommodate the krypton tongue ridges ) and really like them, xcept for the fiddly time putting the tongue in, and actually i don’t mind it as much as my ski buddies…..

http://www.earlyups.com/featured/gear-dynafit-mercury-review/

Personally, i faked the bump stop removal by taping in some plastic wedges so the cuff ‘glides’ over the stop as a test….the flex did become more progressive at the cost of the shell ‘collapsing’ at inopportune times. Conditions such as really deep, stiff coastal punchy pow, windslab, breakable rain crust over logs, strastugi in whiteout, reconsituted avy debris. I much prefer the bump stops intact with and without tongues and have adapted my technique to remain nice and upright with constant pressure on the tongues to drive the ski consistently in all conditions. I would suspect that removing the bump stops and adding the dalbello krypton tongue would be a good way to go as well based on buddy’s review.