Dynafit TLT Vertical Ski Bindings w/Comfort Brakes
April 22, 2009
(uh, brakes not shown in picture above. Sorry.)
It didn’t take many backcountry ski outings before I realized what I chump I was to not have Dynafit bindings. I got really sick of plodding and wheezing in my 8 pound Densomatic boots with bindings heavy enough to be made from the scraps of the Schwarzenegger-era Terminator, trailing at the back of the pack as my Dynafit-outfitted ski partners scampered blissfully to the tops of our target peaks, condescendingly patting me on the head as they shot past me on the uptrack, time and time again. There was just no way these guys were more fit than me, so there had to be something to those tiny bits of metal they were using as bindings. These bizarre contraptions look like they were pounded together in someone’s garage, but they are the ski binding of choice if you eschew the resort. They’re MY ski binding of choice even at the resort, but with 50+ backcountry days and 2 resort days each year, it doesn’t matter much what I do when I’m there (although the ski patrol may disagree).
Dynafit bindings work by clicking your boots into two spring-loaded prongs on the toe piece, which naturally require a special Dynafit compatible boot. Many manufacturers are making their boots compatible these days, so if you have a little metal divot on each side of your boot toe, you’re golden. If not, get some Dynafit-compatible boots, because you need these bindings, believe me. The skin track will be faster and more fun! You can take cruel enjoyment out of blowing past any poor Dynafitless struggler you can find. Of course, the day that someone in alpine boots laps you despite your Dynafits and lighter-than-air Dynafit-compatible boots, you will be humbled. But that hardly ever happens. Well, it happened once, and it still stings.
Anyway, because of the different click-in action and a few extra steps required to secure your boots to these bindings, it might be a frustrating first outing. As one of my partners put it: if you have trouble at first, it’s not the bindings, it’s you. With a little bit of practice, you’ll be in and out of these in no time. To get into tour mode, click into the toe piece and pull up on the little lever until you get a series of clicks. Then you’re locked in. You can raise and lower the heel riser by twisting the heel piece. When you first get them, chance are you’ll try to tour in ski mode and fall out of your bindings all the time, or twist the heel piece too far and end up locked in. All I can say about that is “Ha ha! Newbie.” For ski mode, you have to push down on the toe lever and completely release the toe clips – sounds cumbersome, but once you practice, it’s really quick – and then step back in WITHOUT pulling up on the lever. Click your heels in, and you are now in releasable ski mode. Easy!
Speaking of releasable, if you fall and your skis come off, which they should, you might want them to come to a rest relatively close to you. Anyone who has seen a ski rocketing down a mountain free of the cumbersome load of a skier will know what I mean. So suck it up and get some brakes for your Dynafits. I know, you won’t look as cool on a day to day basis, but think of how much MORE cool you look than that guy trying to use his one remaining ski as a scooter to chase his other ski down the mountain. And if you ever do go to a resort, you will be required to have brakes or retention devices on your skis, and Dynafit brakes are much more cool than those HORRID leash things they come with. Serious dork alert, those leashes. Not only do they look stupid, but if you need them to release, say, when you’re caught in an avalanche, you actually have to reach down and manually unhook them. If anyone thinks that is actually possible in the turbulence of an avalanche, I’d like them to show me. Not in a real avalanche of course, because digging for buried people sucks, but perhaps these folks would be willing to stand in the bed of my pickup as I drive down a potholed, washboarded logging road at 50 mph and demonstrate the ease of leash release. Also, “Comfort Brakes”, what the hell? I don’t understand the name at all. They’re not Dr. Scholls insoles, they’re just brakes. Unless the name refers to the comfort you feel while you are tumbling down the back side of a booter, feeling your skis torque off and thinking “it’s such a comfort that I have brakes to stop my skis from sliding down the slope without me.” Or something.
All that said, Dynafit brakes are not the most awesome things ever. I mean, they work as brakes, but they make the whole Dynafit experience kind of annoying. First you have to compress the spring to get your bindings in tour mode. Sigh. Then it’s just that much harder to swivel the heel piece if you need the riser. If you turn them the wrong way or turn them too far accidentally, click! You’ve deployed your brakes! Now you have to compress them again. Then, if you are dork enough to need to take your skis off to remove your climbing skins, you’ll have to manually deploy the brakes to get any use out of them whatsoever. Worst of all, the brakes will make the heel piece rotate if you’re in tour mode on uneven ground, which is surprising to say the least. HikehikehikeCLICK “ack!” *crash* has happened to me more than once. It’s annoying, but less annoying than losing a ski. I guess.
To sum up: Dynafit bindings good. Dynafit brakes meh. But you must have both, grasshopper. Unless you weigh a billion pounds and really do need a mega DIN, of course. In that case, I give you leave to use non-Dynafit bindings, but I’ll still pity you. Until you lap me on the skin track, of course.
Marker Baron Ski Binding
February 12, 2009
OK, so I’m not a resort skier. I don’t even own a pair of resort skis. Chairlifts are boring, groomers are lame, and any powder stashes get tracked up by the masses so fast it’s not even worth the price of a lift ticket. Downhill boots are uncomfortable and the bindings are heavy. Alpine touring is where it’s at; you get a better workout, don’t get cold on the lift or stunk out on the tram, and (if you’re doing it right) you don’t have to endure crowds of fratty snowboarders. Best of all you get untracked powder all over the place with just a little good old fashioned effort. So of course when I demoed some new powder skis this year, I requested that they have A/T bindings on them so that I could take them to the powder. They came with Marker Barons, which are billed as alpine touring bindings, and to that I say “bunk”. These are big, heavy alpine bindings. They are big, heavy alpine bindings that ski really well, are stable and powerful, and deliver some serious edge control; but as alpine touring bindings? No, no, and no. They are a giant hassle to switch from ski to tour mode and back again, and they’re so heavy I honestly can’t imagine trying to slog them around all day on a tour. I cringe and whine every time I have to carry skis with these bindings on them, because they are so heavy they mark up my delicate shoulder and make me puff with effort, which I usually don’t mind as long as there’s a 2000-foot powder run at the end of the effort. When the effort just gets me from the parking lot to the bottom of the chairlift, I get a little disgruntled. So, while these bindings ski really well, I just cannot cosign with the idea that they are A/T bindings.
And not just because of the weight. Alpine tour skiers usually ski in alpine touring boots. Alpine touring boots have slightly thicker soles than downhill boots because they have Vibram soles for grip. The Marker Baron binding is not designed to accommodate the thicker sole, and as a result they are really difficult to click into with A/T boots. Worse yet, the undue pressure on the heel of my A/T boots has damaged the rubber sole of my precious boots. Grrrrr, do NOT ever mess with my boots or you’ll find a bad review of yourself posted on the Geargals site. So here it is, Marker Barons, you messed with my boots and now you must pay. Go back to the resort where you belong.
