Here at Newschoolers, we love the Pivot/FKS. It’s a binding we know, love, and trust. I remember the chatter around the first hybrid touring/alpine bindings, the amazement and the hiccups, the love and the hate. Then we heard about CAST. Pivots downhill and pins uphill? It seemed too good to be true, but it wasn’t. They existed, they worked, and they had some issues, but no hybrid binding is without them.
CAST quickly proliferated the scene, every second set of beaten up or brand new Pivots I see in the wild around Revelstoke have those telltale brake locks sitting there too. It’s no surprise, Revy is a Mecca of big sends, backcountry missions and putting your gear through hell. Off the back of the early success of the CAST Freetour upgrade the Teton-based cottage industry innovated and redesigned the CAST Freetour upgrade to make it even better than before. There was a limited run of the CAST 2.0 midway through last season and they flew off the shelves. We were lucky enough to get our hands on them and wanted to show you the differences, upgrades and the PURPLE (coincidentally my favorite color).
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I think most of us know what CAST is about by now, we know if it fits into our needs and our quiver. The question is, what’s new and should I upgrade if I’ve already got the CAST 1.0? Because, spoiler alter: if you were planning on buying them already they’ve only gotten better. Here’s why:
First, the AFD, if you change boots, want to share your skis or run Grip Walk and Alpine for some reason, the new FD accommodates that rather than having to commit. For me, that’s fairly useful. There are alternate AFDs available for full rockered soles.
The main upgrade seen on the 2.0 is the new baseplate. The new design utlises simpler push button, spring-loaded locking mechanism where the old bsaeplate used a four pillar system and a lever. This simplified design has made mounting the baseplates so so much easier, my tech pals made sure to emphasise this after they mounted my set, thanks Jordan! The style change has also reduced one of the main sticking points many had with this system, quite how much they iced up. Now, all touring bindings ice up some more than others. This simplified and streamlined design for the baseplate has reduced the areas of potential ice build up and transitions are all the easier because of it.
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The new set up is, on the whole, way less 'finicky' than the old one, easier to mount and feels more sturdy and well... refined. They were always good, they just got better!
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