Frame bindings vs Shift/Duke PT

Are you just getting into touring? Or have tried it and really liked it?

Shifts are far from perfect

Can't speak for the Duke PT but it sounds decent

CAST is best imo (especially if you are just touring occasionally)

No reason to consider either if you can get some Casts

I have shift, duke pt 16, and CAST

shift, superlight, very large BSL adjustability, kinda fragile, I use them on light skis, like pescado, BC120, bibby pro

duke pt 16,on heavier skis kinda a fattie, but also some skis I ski park and misc but wanna be able to use different boots, have it on revolt 121, fischer 102 FR etc 60mm!!! bsl adjustment best in class by a mile, you can borrow to all your friends.

CAST = heavy as fuck, indestrucable, 0 adjustability pretty much, your stuck at same shellsize +- mm , have inserts, so I can use it on all my skis, meaning park skis, and also blackops 98, 118 and misc. when weight is not an issue

I have to many bad memories from frame bindings to like them.

anders_aI have shift, duke pt 16, and CAST

shift, superlight, very large BSL adjustability, kinda fragile, I use them on light skis, like pescado, BC120, bibby pro

duke pt 16,on heavier skis kinda a fattie, but also some skis I ski park and misc but wanna be able to use different boots, have it on revolt 121, fischer 102 FR etc 60mm!!! bsl adjustment best in class by a mile, you can borrow to all your friends.

CAST = heavy as fuck, indestrucable, 0 adjustability pretty much, your stuck at same shellsize +- mm , have inserts, so I can use it on all my skis, meaning park skis, and also blackops 98, 118 and misc. when weight is not an issue

I have to many bad memories from frame bindings to like them.

^This is a pretty good summary.

But I think it depends on the skier more than anything. I'm a pretty light guy, and I have had 0 problems with the Shifts. The Shift is the only binding I'd consider on a ski I was planning to tour regularly (or far) on because the weight saving vs CAST or Duke PT is massive.

The way I see it is that the Shift competes more with the Kingpin and some of the more heavy duty pin bindings, and to me it's far superior. Meanwhile CAST/Duke PT/Daymaker more or less eliminate the reason for frame bindings to exist.

For touring often/far, I'd use shifts and I'm comfortable enough on them that I can hit jumps and butter around without worrying about reliability. I do still prefer regular bindings for resort use even if that's just a mental thing.

For mostly resort with occasional short tours, I'd honestly just use Daymakers. They have downsides for sure, they're fiddlier to change from tour to ski and they do mean you're touring with a huge stack height, even compared to frames, which is rough on traverses. But if it's not a regular thing they will get you there and the touring motion is way less of a hip killer than frames. They're also cheap and you can use them on all your skis.

For bigger people, or people charging really hard on their touring skis, I can see why the PT and CAST appeal. CAST still seems to be the preferred option but both have advantages and disadvantages. Personally, I would definitely not want the weight of either of these on a ski I ride regularly inbounds or tour lots of vert on. But plenty of people do it.

Twig^This is a pretty good summary.

But I think it depends on the skier more than anything. I'm a pretty light guy, and I have had 0 problems with the Shifts.

I was down to 244lbs this morning! ;)

GF has 0 issues with shifts, but she is light, put my buddy at 204lbs on same ski/shifts, instant toe drop... (same bsl exactly to 0.1mm on both of them)



the kingpin v-werks makes the shift look like a fatty as well. I only use CAST/duke for short stuff like hike from lift to other terrain.

If I actually wanna go up my "large frame" will grab the uberlight rise beyond 96 with 230 gram pins, or kingpin m-werks on light ski... like a blaze 106. But damn that down bit sucks with light gear vs heavy. my only issue with thoose is my knees... you know my left knee went poop? well its 90% now, my right knee? yeah well on crutches again this week :o



I put friends who are not that tech savy and IT HAS TO WORK attitude on m-werks kingpin 13's over the shift. I also put some of my superfit friends on fairly heavy, or quite heavy gear like PT 16 and atomic XTD 130 boots or dyn 130 cochise, beecause they are so damn fit they still RUN up faster than me, but they suuuuuck on the down part, so that ski, binding and boot weight helps them a lot on the down, so I dont have to wait for them. Also they figure out, ohh the down part can be fun? who knew.


Everything is a tradeoff. 5050 is a lie.

If theres any second hand ski shops Near you check them first. I got a relatively fresh pair of dukes for $250 and ive been using them for alpine and touring for about 4 years with no issues

anders_aEverything is a tradeoff. 5050 is a lie.

If I ever work in any ski shop this will be on the wall