UKC

My current (second hand) touring set up is reaching the end of it's working life so I've been having a snoop around my local gear shops at the new season ski kit.

I've narrowed down the skis to K2 Waybacks or BD Stigmas but I've been struggling to decide on bindings. I currently ski on last generation Freerides (which I've got on really well with and would be happy to replace with new Freerides) but one of the shops I was in stock Marker F10/12s which I'd never seen in the flesh before. They seem pretty good, nice and light but the only thing that puts me off them is the fact you have to step out the binding to switch between climb/ski mode and (?)rumours of slightly poorer performance on long climbs. Pros being weight and price saving. Are there any other big drawbacks/disadvantages I'm missing?

Has anyone skied on the Marker bindings and if so do you rate them? Anyone who's skied Fritschis and Markers who can give a good comparison? Have read lots of reviews but not really come across a good comparison of the two.

Finally is there anyone who's converted from Fritschis to Dynafiddles? I'd almost definitely decided I wouldn't be switching to Dynafit until holding both Freerides and Dynafit in either hand in the shop and fully appreciating the weight saving... Should I bite the bullet and move to the darkside?!

Iain

In reply to munri:

PS so far my skiing has been mainly single day tours in Scotland, nothing too daring although was beginning to get a taste for some steeper off piste stuff towards the end of the season last year. Hoping to get a set up that would work on and off piste in the Alps too...

Iain

In reply to munri:

I was going to get some markers last night but changed my mind at the last minute after someone drew my attention to reliability issues. I bought freerides instead. Have a search and make up your own mind.

In reply to munri:

I've used orig. Freerides, Dukes (pretty similar to F10/F12) and Dynafiddles.

For pure touring, I would not get anything else than a tech-binding (ei. Dynafit, Plum, AKT and a few others).

For mixed use (touring and resort), I would stick to the Diamirs. And for lift-served with some short touring, Duke/Baron.

I personally would not get the F10/12, as the weight advantage is not that great when compared to Baron. Plus, because of the pivot position on F10/12, if you fall forwards in touring mode... you can very easily break the binding (a lot of material on this in ze w3b... basically a desing error on Markers side). While this isn't the usual falling method, I would rather not risk it.

In reply to munri: I have been using fritschis for years ---- they're real solid. A guide friend has been on at me for years to get Dynafit and I succumbed last year!! I bought Mustagh Ata skis with ST bindings & brakes from www.barrabes.com in Spain on the web. You would not believe the difference!!!!!!!!! These are light and fantastic too. The skiis are a little unforgiving if you are too aggressive; amazing in powder !! The real benefit is also uphill ---- your toe is articulating nearer to the ski; meaning much less effort!!

In reply to munri: I used to have Fritchis, and swopped to Dynafiddle after watching my italian friends cruising kickturns where I was struggling like crazy. I now ski them in resorts as well, and although they are a bit of a fiddle to start with, you soon get used to them - you might be 20 seconds behind you mates - boo hoo! In terms or touring they are the dogs doughnuts... soooo much more robust than fritschis and light too. And as I said, with the weight being on the ski, kick turns are easy as the tail automatically drops.

In reply to munri:

I did about 15/20 day tours on F12's last season in Chamonix. Just did about the same on my light set up in NZ this summer.

I now have a light set-up Dynafit on K2 Sideshow's (90mm) for longer/tech days and firm snow
and a wider set-up with F12's (108mm) for shorter missions or bigger days when a wider ski works better.

Now that I've had a bit of time to get used to the Dynafit I'm leaning that way for sure, but I still can't get over the fact that if I wanna ski hard on a wide set up I'd feel happier on the F12's!

Having said all that the F12 is just a great binding and way more positive on the descent than the Fritschi

In reply to munri: It is simple, if you want to huck 30 foot cliffs then use dukes, anything else use dynafit/plum ect. Any one asking about touring bindings in the future should follow this advice, Fritschis and alike are all shite, people that use them just havnt tried anything else.

In reply to chrisfecher:

How are you finding this setup? I was thinking of getting something similar (with the new TLT Radicals) as a one quiver solution.

To the OP, I'm told by many people (whose opinions I trust) that it's not just about weight savings with Dynafit. Apparently they ski better too. And the new Radical models claim to go someway towards removing the fiddle factor. Unless you're attached to some boots without tech inserts I'd definitely consider a move to the "darkside".

In reply to munri:

As in all other factors in life, the Dark side is the way to go.

In reply to barney800:

I've had a ball on the 'Sideshow' Dynafit combo.

One of the best things about the Dynafit bindings in ski mode is the positive feel.
You're well connected to the ski, so you get none of that lateral slop when skiing.
It's just as positive with a Virus/F12 set-up though?

Nothing really beats them in climbing mode however, nice and solid for kick turning
(no flex) so more grip and control on steeper more exposed climbs or traverses,
which kind of answers your question, if thats what you want to do?

The new Dynafit bindings have these little lugs which help you position the toe, so
reducing the faf. I've tried the new binding and they are easier, so a step in the right direction!

As a quiver ski it might be worth going a tad wider to something like a Coomback
or Hardside, depends what you want to do on them I guess?

In reply to munri:

I've got the marker f11s and they're great but they do have a reputation for snapping at the hinge if over extended which is problematic at best!

I've got Dukes on my other skis and for lift served powder and short skins are perfect, really stiff on the descents and don't feel like touring bindings at all.

In reply to munri:

I've met quite a few people (myself included) who've moved from Fritschis to Dynafits.

I've never met anyone who's moved from Dynafits to Fritschis.

Like other people have said on this thread, it's not just about the weight saving. The Dynafits work so much better when you're skinning (because the articulation point is in a more natural position) and they are more rigid downhill.

I guess if I was only going to have one set of skis and I wanted to ski in resorts as well as tour I might stick with a Fritschi binding, and if I wanted more than 12 DIN I would go for the Dukes (but I'm not that sort of skier).

In reply to munri:

What do all the Dynafit fans make of the advice in this article about a fall on Dynafits being more likely to result in injury?

http://www.alpine-guides.com/skiing/advice/ski-touring-equipment-advice.htm

I saw a friend break her ankle in a slow twisting fall earlier this year, she was using Dynafits - I don't think she would have broken it if she'd been on Markers or Fritschis.

In reply to Oceanic:

No, she'd have torn her ACL instead. Slow twisting falls are a skier's nightmare regardless of the type of binding.

In reply to craigloon:

I don't understand what you're saying there.

In reply to Oceanic: Anterior Cruciate Ligament tears are a classic injury in slow twisting ski falls. I'm just saying that type of fall can be bad with any binding.

Dynafit bindings may or may not be worse because of the different release mechanism, but with any touring binding you need to ski more conservatively and not fall (or fall less).

In reply to craigloon:

get with the dynafit Iain. You know you want to...

In reply to frecro:

I already am! (Who's Iain?)

Just going back to Oceanic's link to the Alpine-Guides statement about Dynafits not having sideways release at the toe: Having thought about this a bit more, I actually don't think they've got this right. The Dynafit toespring does release laterally (ie sideways) in ski mode. It is in uphill mode that it is locked. If you lock the toe for the descent, all bets are off, but you would really only want to do that where releasing at all is not an option.

Oceanic, your friend who broke her ankle on a slow twisting fall in Dynafits must have been incredibly unlucky if it was in ski mode. Either that, or the release settings (at the heel) were incorrectly calibrated for her weight.

In reply to craigloon:

oh, sorry - that was in reply to the OP