Are ATK Freeraider 15s worth the hype

flavourtown

flavourtown

Member
Started touring this year and quickly realized the Atomic Tracker 16s I got off marketplace were in fact a stupid purchase especially given the fact that my boots have tech inserts. The weight is a real pain as well as the pivot point being so far forward makes kick turns awkward as well. They are on 190 2014 SFBs which I am a big fan of. Looking around at new bindings it seems like Freeraider Evos seem like a pretty amazing binding, they are like a quarter of the weight of the Trackers, have toe release and quality build. The price is the only sticking point and they are difficult to find used. I wouldn't be riding any resort on the setup so not really looking at 50-50 genre of bindings as it seems like weight wise kingpins or shifts wouldn't be a huge improvement on the frames.

My question is if this price is worth it when compared to other pins like Ions or one of the higher din dynafits in terms of feel and release when going fast and jumping off of stuff? Also curious about improvements in durability as it seems like Ions are always blowing up when they are paired with going hard in the paint
 
14594173:IsaacNW82 said:
Would you consider Marker Alpinist 12's? I've had a pair I got a crazy deal on for about a year and I'm super happy with them so far. Blister had both the alpinist and the raider 12 in a binding shootout a few years back: https://blisterreview.com/gear-reviews/lightweight-touring-binding-shootout/2

They're 270g and I've had no problems sending some smaller to medium sized cliffs, even spun a few 3's on em
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Took a look at a blister review and they seem like another solid option, I'll keep my eye on them forsure, sub 400g would be super nice on the up.

How have you found the release to be with just lateral being adjustable, any pre-ejects or any times where they should've ejected?
 
14594180:flavourtown said:
Took a look at a blister review and they seem like another solid option, I'll keep my eye on them forsure, sub 400g would be super nice on the up.

How have you found the release to be with just lateral being adjustable, any pre-ejects or any times where they should've ejected?
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I haven't had any pre-ejects on them. I also haven't yet taken the type of fall on them that I would want them to pop off during either, so jury's out on that one. Its worth mentioning that I have heavy burly 50/50 bindings on my resort skis so I don't tend to fall too much on the light setup anyways, if I want to push myself I'll go out on the burlier setup.

To be clear though I still ski them hard, I just try to keep it to features/lines/tricks I feel I have pretty dialed, if that makes sense
 
Yeah they’re worth it. On top of skiing well they’re extremely simple to use. Check out the moment voyagers they’re even better than the freeraiders.
 
14594228:elm. said:
Yeah they’re worth it. On top of skiing well they’re extremely simple to use. Check out the moment voyagers they’re even better than the freeraiders.
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The voyagers are re-branded ATKs.

OP, I just upgraded from Tracker 16s to Freeraider 15s this season and absolutely no regrets. Great binding. Super light, solid while skiing and the ski flexes more naturally than with a frame binding.
 
14594297:skiP.E.I. said:
The voyagers are re-branded ATKs.

OP, I just upgraded from Tracker 16s to Freeraider 15s this season and absolutely no regrets. Great binding. Super light, solid while skiing and the ski flexes more naturally than with a frame binding.
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Did you get em with the freeride spacer? Curious if its something thats worth getting with them
 
14594746:flavourtown said:
Did you get em with the freeride spacer? Curious if its something thats worth getting with them
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Yes, get the freeride spacer. I haven't used them without the spacers, but I can't imagine you would have as much lateral stability without them.
 
14594297:skiP.E.I. said:
The voyagers are re-branded ATKs.

OP, I just upgraded from Tracker 16s to Freeraider 15s this season and absolutely no regrets. Great binding. Super light, solid while skiing and the ski flexes more naturally than with a frame binding.
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They’re not just rebranded. There are physical differences between the two toes. For sure with the new evo version.

Great write up
https://www.powder.com/gear-guide/review-moment-voyager-xv-evo-binding-
 
14594746:flavourtown said:
Did you get em with the freeride spacer? Curious if its something thats worth getting with them
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That’s one of the main benefits of the moment version. The free ride spacer is machine into the toe already. It’s the only version to do this. The atk you have to use try shim kits.

the moment version will ski closer to a pivot style delta out of the box.
 
14594787:PartyBullshiit said:
That’s one of the main benefits of the moment version. The free ride spacer is machine into the toe already. It’s the only version to do this. The atk you have to use try shim kits.

the moment version will ski closer to a pivot style delta out of the box.
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That's cool about the Voyagers, I didn't realize there was any difference. The kit that came with my binding was super easy to use.
 
14595035:skiP.E.I. said:
That's cool about the Voyagers, I didn't realize there was any difference. The kit that came with my binding was super easy to use.
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Ya nothing wrong with the shim kit. Different strokes for different folks.

moment just wanted the voyager to ski closer to a pivot delta use out of the box, so they had the free spacer machined into the toe itself.

they also say moment so that’s worth a couple cool points as well. Lol
 
Yes they are- if you can afford. If you are on a budget, g3 Zed 12s with the freeride spacer have worked super well for me, and i guarantee i weigh more than you. Cant beat simplicity.
 
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