My Dynafit TLT8 ski boots have seen six seasons of fairly heavy use. Being a solidly touring-oriented boot, they were already about half a size larger than my actual foot size, and so by season six, downhill performance was “very compromised”. With the liner now well packed out, think feet flopping around in them, even with some custom foot beds in them. The footbeds were also in the process of deconstructing…
When I made some passing comments to friends that I’d like some more downhill-oriented boots, but still loved the overall uphill performance of TLT8’s, a few people around me suggested I might like ZipFit liners as a replacement liner, in lieu of completely replacing the boots.
I had a look into ZipFit, and while I liked the promises they made about skiing performance, I wasn’t so excited about the price – a shade over 85,000yen here in Japan. The weight, just under 600g per liner – twice the weight of the stock Dynafit liners – was also something that gave me pause.
It didn’t help that the only place in Hokkaido to get the ZipFit liners was at Boot Solutions in Niseko. I live in Sapporo, a 2.5hr drive away.
This season (2025/2026) however, it really was time to do something about my floppy TLT8 touring boots. So I booked in a sitting with Boot Solutions in Hirafu, Niseko, and made the trek over there from Sapporo, ready to sell a kidney to pay for ZipFits and some new footbeds.
Like always, it was dumping snow most of the way to Niseko. Just getting out of Sapporo was an adventure in itelf – we’d seen record-breaking snowfall in the preceeding 48 hours.
This was the first time to visit Boot Solutions’ new store in Hirafu. It’s much larger than the previous store, with a much larger workshop in the back.
First-season-in-Niseko staff member Dom was my fitter today. He’s from the UK.
“I’ve skied in the UK, Europe, and New Zealand, but Niseko is off the hook,” he gushed.
Dom’s current challenge is to learn how to telemark ski. “It’s super fun,” he said. “You’re skiing slower, but it feels like you’re skiing faster.”
Dom got stuck in first with the footbeds.
“I’ve never seen footbeds in such bad shape,” he said, looking at my forlorn old footbeds.
In about 30 minutes, he had the new ones shaped up.
Next, it was on to the ZipFit liners. Dom confirmed that most people will put the liners on and then put their feet into their boots. However, the Dynafit TLT8’s were not having it. The waterproof gusset at the front end of the foot opening of the boot shell was preventing the liner from going in.
We figured out soon after that since the Dynafit TLT8’s open up so much at the front, I could still sinch up the laces even if the liners were in the boots to start with.
What a night-and-day difference it was to have my feet in the ZipFit liners in the old boot shells. Masses of support, and a very snug fit. Importantly, however, all the snugness was around my heels and midfoot. My toes were super free to wiggle around. Really quite amazing.
We didn’t do any fine-tuning with the fit of the liners. I decided I’d just ski them as is for a while, and see if anything needed to be adjusted after a few tours in them. It certainly didn’t feel like there were any serious pressure points.
The one slightly surprising thing about the liners was just how bulky they are. That is, with the liners in the Dynafit TLT8’s, all the ratchet straps are only about two or three clicks in, even when everything is open. This is a big difference to the stock liners, where the straps would be at least six or seven clicks in.
Another unsurprising surprise was just how heavy the boots felt with the liners in them. They’re only 300g heavier compared to having the stock liners in, but it’s certainly noticeable in the hand. Whether that weight will be noticable on the uphill is to be determined.
As of January 2026, the ZipFit GFT touring liners at Boot Solutions in Hirafu are 85,000yen. Custom insoles are 28,000yen. Considering the liners at least will out-live most shells I’ll use for the next ten years, I assume it’ll be worth it!
*Boot Solutions gave me a small discount on the liners, since I’d be writing up a blog post. “Only 20%, I’m sorry,” said Dom. “The margins are thin on these!”
1 thought on “Getting ZipFit ski boot liners in Hokkaido”
Yeeeeeeha! So good to hear about the snowfall—life will be good with one kidney 🤞🥳🌟