Member of the Month

theabortionator
April, 2025

Online

Welcome to the Newschoolers forums! You may read the forums as a guest, however you must be a registered member to post. Register to become a member today!

Best pow binders.

profile picture
Quinnn
Posts: 30 - Karma: 16
Hey i recently got some pow skis and i was told to get rossignol fks's from other skiers but then i talked to this one dude at a ski shop and he said that he has had many people come in with their binders ripped out since the size of mounting is so small on them, he recommended to wait for next years marker bindings since they are going to have a wider mounting area. i just wanted to know what is some other ideas for bindings?
13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
84west
Posts: 646 - Karma: 1,254
the advice he gave you was solid, with a pow binding, the wider the screw pattern the better, the 4frnt/tyrolia touring binging and Salomon guardian both come out next year, and both have a wider screw pattern, however if you aren't looking for a touring binding, there aren't a whole lot of options with a wider screw pattern. Whatever you get, make sure to have your shop epoxy the screws in, this will prevent most pullouts due to the longer lever arm effect, but in the end if you ski a ton of groomers on a fat ski, a pullout is almost inevitable.
13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
Bloc_chain
Posts: 26051 - Karma: 4,433
salomon sth driver (12/14/16)

take your pick
13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
3mania
Posts: 2643 - Karma: 10,753
i've skied more pow days than you've been on earth, most of them on FKS's and i've never pulled one out of the ski.
13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
84west
Posts: 646 - Karma: 1,254
the problem isn't on pow days, its when you are skiing hardpack on a pow ski, that's when these pull outs happen for the most part
13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
minihef
Posts: 826 - Karma: 925

I've spent a shitload of days skiing hardpack on pow skis (between 115 - 123 waists) and never had pull outs on FKS or Markers. In fact I can't think of anyone I know who charges on fat skis in resort and have had pull outs. If they're mounted properly this really shouldn't be your primary concern.

In terms of the better binding I would definitely recommend FKS over Marker unless you need a touring option. The only advantage to Markers is the Duke being a solid touring binding for short tours. Otherwise I find the retention on FKS way better than Marker especially on drops.

Having switched from FKS to Dukes I regularly find myself longing for the reliabilty of my FKS in keeping my skis on when I want them to stay on. I am intrigued by the Salomon/Atomic touring binding coming out but kind of skeptical as i've had nightmares with Salomon bindings in the past.

13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
chiefbroseph
Posts: 720 - Karma: 527
just like many, I've hopped on the marker hipe train but dukes are a fucking bad ass binding! super durable, good power transfer and weigh a lot but not as bad as a gardian. you could always get an fks with an all time AT plate for skins. steeszosaurus has the same set up and he loves them! the price is pretty steep but it might be the best pow/backcountry set up you could have.
13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
250r
Posts: 2276 - Karma: 1,013
yea i got the same set up. It was cheaper for me than buying dukes since i already had p18s, but yea theyre not cheap. Not light either, but other than that their awesome. Nice and low stand height, and wider mounting points than any alpine binding probably. Theyre probably stronger than p18s on their own, no way your rippen those things off of your skis
13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
Session
Posts: 5408 - Karma: 22,541
There are nos such thing as pow bindings. Most pull outs are due to either anshit mount job or shit ski's. The guy at your shop is a fucking gaper.
13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
Karma_Police
Posts: 2655 - Karma: 1,628
Dynafit race bindings...


13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
LC.
Posts: 5952 - Karma: 2,423
This. Get your bindings mounted elsewhere, the guy has just told you that he repeatedly does a bad job of mounting.
13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
backwardsrider
Posts: 543 - Karma: 70
ive only had fks pull out of skis with shitty, soft cores (k2s).
13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
LivinOuttaBounZ
Posts: 949 - Karma: 382
!
13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
Squaw6
Posts: 469 - Karma: 50
Do you want to be able to tour? If a lot: Marker Dukes. If just a little: Marker Barons.
13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
=nick=
Posts: 10471 - Karma: 2,182
You're retarded? Same touring function and binding, different DIN. If you want to tour, Duke/Baron or Tour, if not, Jesters all the way
13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
I_Am_Mod
Posts: 13214 - Karma: 3,753
having had 3 pull-outs so far on marker m14, rossi px and marker jesters, every single one of them i'm 90% sure it was due to bad mounting ...

from now on i either do it myself or by 2 other persons, a buddy of mine or his father cause i know they know their shit and they will also be honest to me about anything that might have gone went wrong during mounting ...
13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
philskier
Posts: 207 - Karma: 624
You would prod be ok just mounting those FKS.  Over time they may rip out but if you want to use FKS with a wider footprint you can consider getting some MFD Touring plates.  They have a super wide drill pattern and its the only way you can tour with FKS bindings.
Here is a Pic:
http://runmfd.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/MFD-Rossi-FKS-180-binding.png
13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
Pipe_Munky
Posts: 10888 - Karma: 2,185
next year's duke has a much wider base giving it better power transfer. the screw pattern is 10mm wider than before giving you much less chance of a pull out
13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
.RYAN66
Posts: 5381 - Karma: 225
He never said anything about touring so why recommend a touring binding? I have look pivot 18's on my jj's and no complaints.
13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
Caucasian_Asian
Posts: 2447 - Karma: 1,665
This^^^




Get whichever binding you're most comfortable with. 
I ski Sollies and Dukes.  That's what I'm comfortable on.  But I've skied Tyrolias and Rossi/Look as well.  And they're both good.  I just prefer Salomon bindings.
13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
nagelthebagel
Posts: 205 - Karma: 36
I Heard FKS aren't the best in pow because once you unclip it's appently harder to clip in again than other bindings. I have griffons on my hellbents and didn't have a single problem with then since getting them at the beginning of the season and I have charged plenty of groomers like no tomorrow with them.
13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
pghjibber
Posts: 1298 - Karma: 329
that advice is spot on. avoid fks for pow skis.

get either the tyrolia peak 15/18, salomon sth driver, or atomic ffg (they have some of the widest screw pattern on the market)

if you want marker, wait for the 12/13 bindings to come out as they redesigned the screw pattern to be 10mm wider due to so many pullout issues on wider skis
13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
Andi_G
Posts: 3100 - Karma: 15,256
that binding setup is sexy
13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
Smilemon
Posts: 421 - Karma: 43
This is the setup I'm gonna go with on my night trains.
Click for larger image
It's the older FKS 155 on an alltime plate. I have to bend the brakes out still, and I need to replace the front pivot screws in the MFD plate, but this review helped my decision a lot.
http://blistergearreview.com/gear-reviews/mfd-alltime-alpine-touring-binding



I was torn between MFD/FKS or Dukes, but in the end I bought the heavier, burlier setup. I'm not a heavy guy (135 lbs), so I doubt I'll rip a binding out, but I'm gonna make sure to mount it all real well. The FKS looked like the better binding for doing drops & shit.

If your bindings rip out, you can resort to putting in inserts, or a t-bar system (or whatever its called). I doubt you will experience trouble though. Any binding (save my old marker 11s), when mounted by someone who knows what the fuck they are doing, should stay on your ski.
13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
minihef
Posts: 826 - Karma: 925
Not true. I found my FKS easier to clip into in pow than my Dukes.
13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
Simmo
Posts: 512 - Karma: 28

This applies only when the shop is out of FKS and trying to sell you something else instead.

Or when someone has tried to buy FKS but settled for a cheaper alternative

13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
.RYAN66
Posts: 5381 - Karma: 225
hahhaha yes so true.


never really had any issue getting into my pivots.


but the real question is, why are you not in your bindings on a pow day anyway?
13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
ikindalikeskiing
Posts: 1381 - Karma: 142
Threads for later
13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
Smilemon
Posts: 421 - Karma: 43
Is there any reason that they wouldn't work together? If you compensated for the stack height differences and the DIN settings on both were accurate... You could probably get MFD to make a plate with the right mounting holes too.

I'd love to hear a good (not easily fixed) reason why this wouldn't work. You could take the 920 toe and the fks 18 heel..
13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
LC.
Posts: 5952 - Karma: 2,423
A friend of mine skied S900 toes with P14 heels for a few years for this reason. Check the toe and heel heights so you still get a usable ramp (between 4 and 9mm in my opinion, but it's a preference).
13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
Smilemon
Posts: 421 - Karma: 43
Awesome. Any pics/reviews on how this sorta setup works?
13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
LC.
Posts: 5952 - Karma: 2,423
I'm not sure what you mean. He skied them normally, they worked normally... until I skied them once and ripped a toepiece out, but that's probably unrelated. I think they were S900 12-DIN toes with an old P14 or Axial 14 heel, the old "pivots", not turntables. Just check toe and heel heights and aim for about 4-10mm difference (add or remove shims if it's way off).

You'll probably have to mount them yourself, have a hookup with a shop or find a good shop that has waivers to sign off this kind of mount.
13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
Smilemon
Posts: 421 - Karma: 43
I guess my concern would be that the different toe piece might put different amounts of stress on the turntable, and you would get release issues. I just wanted pics cause I think it would look funny. If I saw someone reppin that setup on the mountain, I would have to ask them a few questions.
I don't have any plans to do this myself, but I'm gonna keep it tucked up in my noggin for the future. 
13 years ago
0 0
All times are Eastern (-4); Currently it's 8:38PM