If you're in the market for a Ski Mountaineering tool, the Dynafit Speedfit 84 should absolutely be on your radar. 

Ski mountaineering demands gear you can trust. When you’re scratching down the side of a 45-degree couloir or towering above a jagged rock band with only a thin edge of metal holding you to the mountainside, you need to be confident that your gear choices are among the good decisions of that day. Another quick jump turn and you scrape down ten more feet of a gnarly line, tips and tails scratching rock on either side of you. These are ski turns that could only be enjoyed on a light and fast ski mountaineering setup.

 

Paired with a Superlite 2.0 and Alien RS boot, Aidan is light and fast for the Corn Season

 

For the past few years, I have been on the search for a ski that fulfills my needs for spring mountaineering. After testing a few different styles and shapes, I knew I was looked for a niche ski with a specific set of features to safely get me up and down steep Colorado Couloirs. My search culminated in the Dynafit’s Speedfit 84 special for ski mountaineering. Here is why I love this ski:

 

The ski is light: Coming in at 1,350 grams (size 176cm) and paired with a 175-gram Dynafit Superlight 2.0 binding, boot packs are a breeze and the miles fly behind you on the skin track.

 

Sidewall construction: While many lightweight racing skis offer a cap sidewall construction to save on weight, this ski offers a full sidewall edge with a lower height and more width along the entire length of the ski. This feature is important because it makes the ski stiffer and increases edge pressure. What that translates to is precision edge control. Keep your edges sharp, and the thin edges excel in steep, alpine descents.

 

Core construction: With Dynafit’s 3D carbon construction, and combination wood and fiberglass core, this ski offers good vibration-damping allowing the ski to cut through chunder and irregular surfaces. Another subtle benefit to the Dynafit 3D construction is that Dynafit intentionally reduced the amount of material in front of and behind the mount zone. With this design, the mass is distributed along the ski in a way that spreads the weight more evenly to the tips of the ski that makes it easier to have controlled, effortless, and intentional jump-turns when skiing a consequential line.

 

Dynafit Speedfit84 ripping skins

Light and Fast all Winter (and Spring) Long

 

Rocker and Effective Edge: A couloir ski needs to have an effective edge along the full length of the ski. The combination of tip rocker and effective edge in this ski allows it to stick to steep slopes while making turns. A unique feature of Dynafit is the amount of thought behind the design for each different size. The men’s version of the Speedfit 84 comes in 158cm, 167cm, 176cm, and 183cm sizes. The women’s version in 149cm, 158cm, 167cm sizes. For all of these ski lengths, the rocker construction at the tip and tail and the sidecut are adapted, a unique feature in the ski touring market. This keeps the effective edge length equally proportional to each size, allowing the Speedfit 84 to function independent of the size.

The Final Word: Dynafit’s Speedfit 84 is not a rando-race ski, and it’s not an all mountain ski either. Instead, it’s marketed as an on-piste touring ski that is lightweight and can handle ripping corduroy on groomed slopes. However, Dynafit created a ski that can handle itself in more situations than simply a pre-work fitness lap at the resort. I bought this ski in anticipation of a spring ski-mountaineering corn cycle but ended up using it more than any other ski in my quiver. A ski that can tackle a long day in the mountains and hold an edge in steep and potentially bulletproof couloirs. Despite the name, this is a versatile touring ski that is also light enough to carry on your back.


- Aidan Goldie can be found on Instagram as @aidan.goldie