Dynafit markets the Radical Pro as an alpine touring boot catered to downhill-oriented backcountry skiers, or “freeride” as everyone loves to call it these days
My psyche for Dynafit boots continues with the introduction of the Hoji Pro Tour replacement: the Dynafit Radical Pro Boot. Rad fact – Dynafit made a Women’s specific version that is on par with the Men’s, the only differences are color and women specific fit adjustments. Although the Hoji Pro tour earned accolades, it came with some debatable design features, most notably the speed nose, a feature that Dynafit has removed on this boot. There’s no need to update your quiver, the Radical Pro comes with a traditional toe lip, allowing for more compatibility with all bindings and crampons.
Dynafit markets the Radical Pro as an alpine touring boot catered to downhill-oriented backcountry skiers, or “freeride” as everyone loves to call it these days. I eat the term up because it makes me feel cooler than I am.
I have skied on the Hoji Pro Tour for the past three years and have felt the disadvantage of the speed nose. Some challenges are my inability to kick steps in a firmer boot pack, feeling unstable while taking my skis off in icy places, and spending time, as well as money, to build the dream crampon to fit this Cinderella slipper.
All the boots side by side: Hoji Pro Tour, Radical Pro, Hoji Free.
The major change in the Radical Pro from the Hoji boot series is the boots’ tongue system. The Hoji tongue has a V shape, and is built out of plastic and textile, and can be flipped out when the buckles are not engaged. The Radical Pro deviates from this design as it features a hinged tongue that pulls forward and is secured with four screws right above the toe box. Dynafit claims that the Radical tongue brings better power transfer as one flexes into the tongue. The boot is also built so the cuff and the shell are separated to help reduce friction through each stride when skinning, possibly adding even more mobility to the rated 60 degree walking range. I am psyched to see how that plays out on longer tours!
Another small yet major difference that I am a bit bummed about is the power strap. The Radical Pro has a lighter velcro only power strap compared to the cam strap available on the Hoji. The velcro-only strap is a compromise to reduce weight; I may end up buying a cam strap and swapping it out in the future. Speaking of other small weight reductions, the buckles are slightly slimmer than those found on the Hoji Pro Tour, but work the same.
Radical Pro hinge tongue vs C shaped tongue in Free.
Radical Pro tongue pulled forward vs Free which is flipped out.
The Radical Pro has a 103.5mm last, wider than the Hoji Free (102mm) but the same as the Hoji Pro Tour. The Radical Pro also has a wider instep, allowing more room around the ankle, making the boot easier to put on. With the new tongue, I found that getting the liner out and back into the boot is a tad more difficult.
Radical Pro is rated stiffer at 120 flex compared to the Hoji Free and Pro Tour 110 flex (Hoji Free also comes in 130 flex, but that boot is not included in comparison at this time) . I haven’t had the chance to ski much in the PNW yet (La Nina, where are you??) but, testing these boots side by side in my living room, I find the Radical Pro is stiffer. More info to come once I can get these babies on some firm icy rain runnels, as I am sure our snowpack will gladly deliver early season.
Side by Side liner, Free on the left, Radical Pro on the right.
The liners in the new Radical Pro as well as Hoji Series are moldable Sidas liners, while the Radical Pro liner is lighter and thinner then ones that come in Free series. As I slid the boot on after heat molding it, I felt a bit more pressure in my arch in the Radical Pro model, but this may be because I haven’t broken them in.
My biggest gripe with the Pro Tour (I know the naming devices are confusing, but this is my old boot,) was the wear and tear on the liner and the shell. Both the Free and Radical Pro appear to have a more burly version of the shell, made with fiberglass-reinforced Grilamid so I am excited to see how they hold up against the PNW backcountry elements: alder, rocks and dirt.
Why do I keep coming back for more? The Hoji Free Lock system, hands down. I love it. The best ski-walk mechanism on the market, Hoji and team killed it.
I view the Radical Pro as a lighter boot compared to the Hoji Free, but one that should ski just as well. I haven’t had the chance to ski on the boot yet – but if I were to pick a one boot quiver for myself based on first look, it would be the Radical Pro since I spend a lot more time walking uphill than I do skiing downhill. If you find yourself needing a boot that you would use more downhill, the Hoji Free may be your pick!
Radical Pro Stats:
Weight: shell – 1176g, liner – 230g (size: 25)
Flex: 120
ROM: 60 degrees
Forward Lean: 11
Material: Grilamid
Sole: Pomoca
Buckles: 2 w/power strap
Binding Compatibility: tech/AT
13 comments
I carpet testing a Hoji Free the Sidas liner seemed to work for me
anything is better than the old Palau liners in Dynafits
Ditching the speed nose was a smart idea in a freeride boot
Agreed the Palau liners were dreadful; I need to replace some now. Does anyone know if the Sidas liners can expand? (The Palau liners can only compress in my experience.)
Regarding “how they hold up against the PNW backcountry elements: alder, rocks and dirt”, I bet the shells will last a while. The weak spot I’ve found with Dynafit’s boots are the soles: they are very thin and soft, especially right underneath the big honking toe inserts and tend to wear quickly. Ymmv
Thanks for the first look. Is the sole on the Radical Pro ISO 9523 compliant?
The word is this: Radical Pro and Radical are both ISO 9523 compliant.
Thanks fir the review. Should you call the Radical Pro tongue “hinged”? With its full one piece plastic and the four large toe box screws there is no hinge at toe like previous versions. Do you mean ‘hinge’ by the tongue midpoint different colored under layer portion? In my 2 weeks of carpet testing due to PNW rain ive found the top part of this under layer to be the pinch point that prevents further forward flex. Been thinking of cutting it down a bit to open flex up and reduce weight.
Regarding screws, any insight on why there are 4? Seems excessive and extra weight being screws and T-nuts. Specially since the toe buckle and instep ratchet buckle hold tongue so well there seems no reason why the toe of tongue would need to be held so well.
Furthermore, at the toe under the main tongue is the ‘waffled’ spacer in the shell gap. Is this to prevent crushing forefoot by toe buckle or act as a wedge to prevent the boot shell from flexing?
Ill also add that ive found entry exit extremely easy. So much that on exit the liner often comes out with foot. When the CR liner is in boot i find it amazingly form fitting with amazing support and heel hold compared to Backland Carbon, Transalp Pro (liner is thin and full of seems) or Quantum FactoryFree 130.
Not having a gator and large openings in rear at Achilles walk lever/Hoji area have you found snow compaction/infiltration to be an issue, as i assume it would be on all Hoji lever boots?
Hey Triple, appreciate all the questions!
Should you call the Radical Pro tongue “hinged”?
I was thinking hinged since you can still pull the tongue forward (and out) but I can see how that would be confusing, since the point where the tongue is connected to the boot doesn’t move in any way. May need to think of a better verb to describe that.
Regarding screws, any insight on why there are 4?
I was wondering the same, I do not have the answer yet, but will dig into this for the full review. Agreed that it does seem excessive, the only reason I can think of is the thinness of the plastic vs how much force it should be able to handle.
Is this to prevent crushing forefoot by toe buckle or act as a wedge to prevent the boot shell from flexing?
Great question, I did notice this but wasn’t quite sure why it was there. On the Pro Tour and Hoji Free, the gap under the liner is simply covered by a fabric like material, which mainly prevents snow from getting into your boot the way I see it. It seems in the Radical Pro they are moving away from using anything but plastic. I wonder is the “waffle” is there to make sure it’s not harder to get the liner (and foot) in/out. After a quick sink test (just buckle the front and pour water on top), the boot does seal well with that design so I bet this is a combination of a more durable way to keep snow out of the boot but not make it hard to get the liner in/out.
Not having a gator and large openings in rear at Achilles walk lever/Hoji area have you found snow compaction/infiltration to be an issue, as i assume it would be on all Hoji lever boots?
I have not had any issues with snow getting into my boot unless the pants I am wearing doesnt have a built in gator (and I mostly use pants that do, except for maybe in the spring)
Hi! What’s the weight difference between the Radical Pro and Hoji Free 110? I see 1406g (1176 for shell, 230 for liner) for the Radical Pro and from what I can tell in your Hoji Free 110 review that boot is 1484g (1214 shell, 270 liner). Did I get that right?
Yup, those are the measurements I got from the scale I use at home. Overall, Radical Pro is not a lot lighter (gram wise anyways) but it is a stiffer boot. I also admit that my measurements aren’t the most precise (I just weighted each boot again separately) but I’d say the difference is about 100g per boot between the two.
From this review, and so many others, it seems I’m the only person who:
1 – doesn’t think the lack of a tie welt effects kicking steps in a boot pack at all. I can’t tell the difference
2 – dies think that the more rearward position of the pin sockets effects stride efficiency a lot. The difference is immediately noticeable to me, in a good way of course. Further, when I switch from my speednose Pro Tours to my even-more-speednose’d TLT8s I can feel the difference there, even better stride with the sockets moved further aft.
For all the detractors who say the speednose is bad, mark me down as pro speednose. I’m really bummed they’ve dropped it from their big free ride boot
I agree! Re: your first point, I feel like if it’s hard enough that a toe welt would really help, you should be wearing crampons anyway. For the second point, I’ve spent enough time in tele vs. normal AT vs. speednose that I very much prefer the pivot as close to my toes as possible.
Thanks for the input Peter and Duncan!
1 – Not sure where you are located, but skiing in the northwest I consistently found situations where I missed the toe welt – maybe I ski a lot of breakable crust or spend too much time on well-packed boot packs 😀 Or possibly it is more in head, just knowing that the toe wilt is there gives me that sense of false security.
2 – This is definitely something I thought about, but haven’t compared side by side. Will keep this in mind for the final review. Appreciate you bringing this up!
I’ve put 6 days on the boot, and I gotta say it’s pretty phenomenal; I had been running a lighter weight walking boot (F1) with a hybrid walking boot (Mindbender 130). F1s for longer days, Mindbender for ski priority days. Two boot program is great, and those two suit both purposes very well.
Now, bear in mind, my foot shape is such that the Hoji Free is off the table. Combine that with all the fit horror stories, and I basically just steered clear. Never tried it on. I did however, put some time on the Hoji Pro Tour early in it’s time in the market. I was categorically underwhelmed by the skiing performance of the Hoji Pro Tour. I thought the speed nose, while accommodating a better stride, had downsides that far outweighed the upshot. I also found that toe-box awfully large; so large that even my wide-foot was swimming.
Radical Pro cuts a swath between the narrow frees and the wiiide Pro Tours fit wise.
Hoji Walk Mechanism creates by far the best walking experience I’ve had (feels smoother/more natural than my F1s). Don’t need to get into that.
But what I will say is, I’m shocked by how stiff these boots are. I spend most of my time in alpine priority hybrid boots, that are admittedly soft in comparison to most 130s, but wowee this thing is stout.
Secondly, the liner is a bit of a let-down. I understand the aim of shaving weight with the liner, but you pair this sidas thing with such a stiff boot, and you’ll be running into a problem after a year of heavy use. On top of that, after 6 days and 30ishk vert, the liners are already being torn up by the internal mech of the boots in the cuff. Pretty disappointing.
Overall, pretty psyched. I would love to see more of these downhill-oriented touring boots have a more customizable forward lean, as I know I’m not the only one wishing their touring boots could be kicked to that 15 degree mark. I know there’s a big split in that department, but I feel like the ability to make the a more aggressive forward stance would make this boot the ultimate boot.