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Thoughts on the Salomon "Z toe piece"?

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skithesprings
Posts: 9086 - Karma: 1,349
Well, i snagged a new pair of solly sth 14's on here for a hundred bucks to mount on my surface new lifes. After a little looking around it seems like everyone hates the z toe compared to the driver toe piece. I'm not going to mount these on my brand new skis if i'm going to be unhappy with them so i figured i would hit up NS and see what the people who have actually skied them think.

Oh, and if it helps, i'm using Full Tilts with moderately worn boot soles. i would really like to get another season out of them, but the soles are at about half way through their life, not terrible by any means though.

hers pics of the bindings if you're unsure as to what i'm talking about.

Click for larger image

they're not mounted yet btw...


Oct 25 2010 3:55PM
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Yung_Gnarley
Posts: 9092 - Karma: 3,022
worn soles can affect the binding's performance a ton.
Oct 25 2010 3:58PM
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Mr_pretzel
Posts: 4616 - Karma: 1,289
I really really hated the z toe. Broke on me after a few days.
Oct 25 2010 4:02PM
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skithesprings
Posts: 9086 - Karma: 1,349
obviously this is the case with any binding, but considering there's no negative effect in most of the bindings i have skied with my boots, i'm looking to see if the z toe is especially bad in this department, or just a sub par toepiece in general.

i have a hard time believing its as bad as some of the reviews say considering the issue is usually with forward pressure and not the actual binding or DIN. It would be great to hear an opinion from an actual shop tech on this matter.
Oct 25 2010 4:05PM
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K2skipunk
Posts: 2837 - Karma: 111

It's plastic. Plastic breaks.

There's your problem.

I wouldn't trust that binder to keep me in.

Oct 25 2010 4:39PM
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arandomname
Posts: 1989 - Karma: 18
What is your height, weight, and ability level?
Oct 25 2010 4:42PM
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skithesprings
Posts: 9086 - Karma: 1,349


I'm 6'2", 175 lbs, and need this to hold me in regularly for 20+ foot drops and cliffs and your typical pow day skiing. Any good 14 DIN binding would be more than enough for what i'm looking for i just didn't have the cash to drop on FKS 155's.

If these are really going to be that big of an issue then i have head mojo 18's that i can mount the new lifes up with. I would just then be stuck with a basically new useless pair of STH 14's and i would have to find another pair of bindings to put on my park skis which are also still unmounted (ace of spades)

heres my situation right now. i have 2 pairs of bindings and 2 pairs of unmounted skis. salomon STH 14's, head mojo 18's, surface new life's, Nordica ace of spades. I was thinking the STH14's on the new lifes because im going to be skiing them less and in pow day conditions, however they still need to hold me in on some gnarly shit. i was then going to put the mojo 18's on the Ace of Spades because ill be skiing those all the time and i want something durable and with a high retention for my every day park skiing. Should I do that, or switch my list? or should i just sell the sth14's and buy another pair of burlier bindings.


is the z toe really that bad?
Oct 25 2010 5:20PM
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BWalmer
Posts: 9141 - Karma: 12,883
The reason people hate on the Z compared to the Driver is because the driver IS better - that's not to say the Z toe is bad...it does have it's flaws (mostly, that it's plastic), I think you'll probably be fine with it, I have the Z-toe on my Phil Laroses, which I have used on the mountain and they're currently my beater/urban skis and I trust them so I wouldn't worry about it. Of course if you had the Driver toe you'd be better off, but it's not that big a deal - there are FAR worse bindings out there than the Z-Toe STH 14.
Oct 25 2010 5:29PM
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skithesprings
Posts: 9086 - Karma: 1,349
thanks for some reassurance. I know the driver is better (i had a pair a few years back) and i had a feeling most of the hate was from exactly what you explained it to be. Well, hopefully they hold up.
Oct 25 2010 5:36PM
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Balto
Posts: 25985 - Karma: 4,404
salomon should remove the z toe from the sth line up
Oct 25 2010 5:37PM
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wrenegade
Posts: 6631 - Karma: 41
For what it's worth, the Z toe on the sth14 is different than the z toe on the sth12. The sth14 version is better. However, the consensus still seems to be that the driver toe is preferred. That being said the driver toe is still plastic, only the older 916s/920s (or 900s 9-16, 14-20) and the new sth16 "steel" actually have metal toe pieces.
Oct 25 2010 6:35PM
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