Lou Dawson's Backcountry Skiing Blog & Website -- Legacy Pages

Dynafit TLT Backcountry Binding
Anti Icing Mod

by Louis Dawson

Ice buildup under the toe wings of the Dynafit TLT backcountry ski binding can make it difficult to attach the binding to your boot. More, it can make it difficult to exit the binding. The plastic plate under the Dynafit toe unit is molded in such a way as to form a deep pocket that exacerbates the problem. The thick area of the molding is designed to hold the Dynafit ski crampons.

If you don't use the Dynafit backcountry ski mountaineering crampons, you can grind off the plastic down to the level of the metal plate, thus eliminating most of the "ice lake" effect. A good tool for this job is a disk or drum sander with something around #30 abrasive. Go easy to avoid over-heating the plastic. Misting with a bit of water can help as well.

TLT binding to left shows factory molding that forms a deep pocket under the green plastic part of the toe wings. Binding to right is modified by grinding down to level of metal screw plate. In our experience, this mod makes a huge difference in reducing ice build. Click image to enlarge.

A disk grinder with 30 grit works well. Watch those fingers!

After this mod, you can increase the "anti ice" effect by rubbing alpine wax in the area under the toe wings. After all this you'll still occasionally have an ice buildup. Clean such with a non-scratching device such as a popcicle stick -- scratching and gouging the area under the toe wings will cause ice to adhere more easily.

Note: This mod yields a massive backcountry skiing weight savings of 6 grams per binding. Also, this mod is for the TLT model. The Comfort model doesn't need it.