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Touring Bindings

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freeskier2590
Posts: 192 - Karma: 10
Just curious how many of you guys have touring bindings for your skis (Free-heel but lockable). How do they work for regular skiing and all?

Peace
Mar 6 2007 9:30AM
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waynewong
Posts: 1359 - Karma: 23
Naxo NX01 on a pair of 179 Seth V's - bomber set up, I have used them in bounds and they hold up just fine...

hold out for the new marker system - gonna change the whole game, shit is insane, the best rando/near country binding ever made...


Mar 6 2007 11:25AM
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=FLO=
Posts: 1969 - Karma: 39
I would go with Naxo's, Fritchi's are crap. I use alpine trekkers, kind of heavy but they work really good
Mar 6 2007 11:41AM
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ski_cartel
Posts: 6598 - Karma: 18
I dont have a touring set up right now but im a fan of Fritchi's. There light weight, easy to operate by hand or with the end of your pole and they hold up rather well. Right now i just use my apline treckers(steel insert that go's into your binding to mimic a touring binding) with my jp's.
Mar 6 2007 11:45AM
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user098123
Posts: 6072 - Karma: 18
what exactly are touring bindings? what do they do?
Mar 6 2007 11:50AM
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montanaskier
Posts: 383 - Karma: 13
'change the whole game'? -- could you elaborate

have you tested them or maybe have second hand knowledge from testers? i'm a little hesitant for a first generation binding even though i took a chance with the naxo 01 and they've done me right for years. definitely curious...
Mar 6 2007 12:15PM
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king.tubby
Posts: 2865 - Karma: 122
they are like an alpine binding, but the heel can release, thus allowing you to "tour" and, with skins, ski uphill. at which point you lock the heel back down and rip the hill you just climbed. i don't have a set up but id like to
Mar 6 2007 1:35PM
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PacificRimJob
Posts: 24725 - Karma: 29,944
I'd love to snap the nxo1's on a pair of Rossi BC WRX's... that would be the freakin ish for a setup...
Mar 6 2007 1:39PM
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user098123
Posts: 6072 - Karma: 18
hmm still dont quite get it...is it kinda like a cross-country kinda thing or what? im confused haha
Mar 6 2007 1:48PM
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PacificRimJob
Posts: 24725 - Karma: 29,944
Imagine a regular binding, that can unhitch and go telemark steeze... and then go back to regular with just a snap and a flick...

Yeah.. its pretty bad to the bone.
Mar 6 2007 1:51PM
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user098123
Posts: 6072 - Karma: 18
damn thats tight, what was with the whole skiing uphill thing?
Mar 6 2007 1:59PM
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king.tubby
Posts: 2865 - Karma: 122
with the free heel, you can "tour," ie earn your turns, ski up and then ski down.
Mar 6 2007 2:10PM
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Tucks
Posts: 2120 - Karma: 161
Marker is making a sick pair for next year
Mar 6 2007 3:39PM
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iggyskier
Posts: 10447 - Karma: 10,018
right now, get the Nx21s.  If you can wait, get the new marker duke coming out next year.

it is going to be sick
Mar 6 2007 3:51PM
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crunkasfuck
Posts: 752 - Karma: 352
ya this guy knows whats up! the naxo are good!
Mar 6 2007 3:58PM
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waynewong
Posts: 1359 - Karma: 23
Naxos are good - BUT do not have enough heel lift for steeper ascents -


Mar 7 2007 12:12PM
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Aenigma
Posts: 11256 - Karma: 424
I have a set of NX21's and have been happy with them so far.  The pivot  is super smooth, but the drawback is that the lifters on the heel don't go quite as high as Fritschis do.  I have taken mine off 25' cliffs with no issues and haven't had a pre-release to date, but I do prefer alpine bindings for in-bounds skiing because touring bindings are so damn tall.
Mar 7 2007 12:23PM
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Beans13
Posts: 441 - Karma: 12
Ive got Fritschis, and i havent had a problem yet , but i got them this year. Ive heard naxos are better, but the freerides work slich, theyve never unhinged unexpectedly, yet, even on cliffs or jumps, Ive skied them hard
Mar 7 2007 1:01PM
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Aenigma
Posts: 11256 - Karma: 424
The Freeride + and NX21 are definitely compareable bindings, they both have their pros and cons.  I wouldn't say either is better than the other overall.  The Fritschis are lighter and they have a higher lift setting on the heel while the Naxos are a bit burlier and have a nicer pivot (in my opinion).  I chose Naxos because I didn't want to break them,  but I'm sure I would have been happy with the FR+ too;  the main reason I picked Naxos was I could get them $65 cheaper at the time.
Mar 7 2007 1:09PM
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french_fry
Posts: 4698 - Karma: 53
I'm considering putting NX21's on my gotamas and ride them on the lift-served alpine as well, but I'm wondering if I should just get another pair of skis or not... I've skied on fritschis once but didn't get a very accurate test of how much pressure they could take, so I need feedback. I'm not so worried about the DIN, rather the heelpiece coming up when not wanted...
And the Dukes will have a DIN up to 16!
Mar 7 2007 1:42PM
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Aenigma
Posts: 11256 - Karma: 424

Touring bindings are ok for occasional in-bounds stuff, or if you're a mellow guy you can use them all the time.  Don't ever land switch or jump off a 25'+ cliff and you'll be ok.  I just don't like the height and the little bit of slop that they have so I use dedicated alpine setups when I'm skiing the areas.

Mar 7 2007 3:44PM
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AKFREERIDE
Posts: 1718 - Karma: 11
buy tele bindings and have your problems be solved.
Mar 7 2007 5:29PM
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VTPE
Posts: 83 - Karma: 10
hold out until next year. marker has a binding coming out called the duke. 16 din, unlocking heel, a touring binding your can hammer on. i rode them at a trade show on next year's volkl mantras. so much fun.
Mar 7 2007 5:43PM
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Aenigma
Posts: 11256 - Karma: 424
I'd be wary about buying a first year binding from Marker that is literaly called shit.  From the looks of it they won't be all that great for touring either, unless your idea of a tour is 30 minutes out the backcountry gate at your local mountain.
Mar 7 2007 5:47PM
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tSki
Posts: 956 - Karma: 171
why would you say they wont be great for touring
Mar 7 2007 6:57PM
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PacificRimJob
Posts: 24725 - Karma: 29,944
Personally, I dont like marker bindings anyway...

but who said that a first year product was always bad?
Mar 7 2007 7:08PM
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Aenigma
Posts: 11256 - Karma: 424
Because they're really heavy and it looks like the heel lifters in the back will be a total pain in the ass without much adjustability. 
Mar 7 2007 7:21PM
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french_fry
Posts: 4698 - Karma: 53
cross posted from TGR:

"Shamless sponsor plug born from guilt over this thread:
The new Marker Duke is the only binding I'll ever ski from now on for alpine or touring. Rock solid torsion, touring option, din to 16, no upward frontal release. The most solid binding I've ever stepped into.
Shane"
Shane McConkey by the way. Not that it tells much about the touring abilities, but it sounds like you could be right Enigma88, maybe it's so burly it can stand aggressive alpine skiing but too heavy for long tours...
Mar 7 2007 8:08PM
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Aenigma
Posts: 11256 - Karma: 424
It won't necessarily be too heavy for long tours, it's just a matter of how much weight you want to haul around.  My touring setup weighs 16 lbs and I know 100000% of the Dynafit guys would refuse to touch it, however, I have done 5,500 vert days on it with no complaints.  My main concern is buying a first year model from a company with a questionable reputation, and my other one is that this is more of a resort binding with a touring option rather than a burly AT binding like the FR+ or NX21.  I'll let other people test them first, then if all the rumors are true you'll probably see me riding a pair as well.
Mar 7 2007 8:36PM
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VTPE
Posts: 83 - Karma: 10
marker knows what they're doing with bindings. you dont.
Mar 7 2007 8:51PM
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tjski
Posts: 5859 - Karma: 44
while we are on the subject, how easy is it to hike with skins with no alpine touring bindings? easier than carrying your skis i assume.
Mar 7 2007 8:54PM
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SpreadHeadLINC
Posts: 8 - Karma: 10
try it out. no fun. you can't really walk, you just shuffle up hill. i tried it hahah
Mar 7 2007 10:04PM
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STACKS
Posts: 1938 - Karma: 42
i think there pretty stupid
Mar 8 2007 12:51PM
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tjski
Posts: 5859 - Karma: 44
well ya, but you can still just shuffle straight up a hill and not worry about sinking knee deep in the snow while hiking.
Mar 8 2007 1:00PM
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Aenigma
Posts: 11256 - Karma: 424
You'd do a lot better bootpacking than attemting to skin without AT bindings.  For that matter, you could get a decent set of snowshoes for the price of skins and be much better off.
Mar 8 2007 1:32PM
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=FLO=
Posts: 1969 - Karma: 39

Thanks for your contribution.

The Duke looks pretty solid, i'm going to pick one up for next season and ditch the trekkers, hopefully the duke will be burly enough for all riding, i'm guessing that it will sell like mad and other binding companies will follow.
Mar 8 2007 3:28PM
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iggyskier
Posts: 10447 - Karma: 10,018
maybe they have learned.  but for the past 20 years they have been one of the shittiest binding makers in the world.  Why do you think their race stock bindings have a din up to 30 when most other comanies stop between 16-20?  They prerelease like a motherfucker. 

the duke will hopefully change that.

and skinning up hill with normal alpine bindings....really? did someone really just ask that?
Mar 8 2007 5:24PM
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waynewong
Posts: 1359 - Karma: 23
^The feedback on the duke has been sick...the wide footprint and rigid flex should help solve the problems of boot-wiggle that we get with our freeride/Naxo setups.

My naxo's have a big wiggle at high speed - they hold down fine but it comes down to a trust thing...and if your not confident on your binding retention, that first critical turn or crux move into some gnar couloir is that much harder.

I personally started using randonee boots (garmot adrenalines) for hiking and they fucking rock, so much better than my technica's for climbing...and the downhill performance is just fine...the vibram sole is sick for scree fields...and when I miss my car and end up two-miles down the road...the hike back is so much more comfy than in my tradiitonal ski boots....


I will be getting the dukes...would like to throw them on a pair of combas or hellbents

Mar 8 2007 5:32PM
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=FLO=
Posts: 1969 - Karma: 39
Ya i am going to put a duke on a Hellbent or an ARG, yo wayne, have you ever skinned on rockered skis? Seems like it may make things difficult on steep terrain, you may be hiking on like 90 cm of surface area. Anyone hiked on rockers?
Mar 8 2007 6:14PM
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SwitchMahFuckah
Posts: 783 - Karma: 15
God i would love to have a set of frishki's on some pfd's. that would be like my dream set up.
Mar 8 2007 6:36PM
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waynewong
Posts: 1359 - Karma: 23
yes i have - well sort of , if u call spats rockered, which they aint

but i have a pair of pontoons - and can traverse, side step and skate with relative ease

i have skied the hellbents with regular bindings and they KILL it...i do not see a prob with using them for nearcounty hikes...2000-vert 3 hour type peaks - i will stick to a more tradition ski if mountaneering or bagging an overnighter (like whitney)

your concern bout contact area is valid- i would not use them in firm snow - but i am lucky enough to have a big quiver



Mar 8 2007 8:49PM
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iggyskier
Posts: 10447 - Karma: 10,018
yeah, so far everything Ive heard about the dukes has been good.  I was going to possibly pick up some Nx21s for the spring....but decided I will just wait for the duke.  It is going to be sick
Mar 8 2007 10:41PM
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McGill-X
Posts: 561 - Karma: 53
yea so the deal with these bindings is the DIN is weaker than regular bindings and so u gotta crank by 2 compared to your normal bindings...also theyre not very good for hucking...but other than that their chill
Mar 8 2007 11:45PM
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