At and alpine bindings

A

AspanuWP

Member
Sup ns,

i want to buy bindings for my jjs 2.0, im 6' and have 152 lbs. I want to use them for BC freestyle and pow. Will alpine bindings perform much better than at? And if its worth to give up touring ability over better performance of alpine bindings?
 
There's a pretty big range in terms of how well the different AT bindings ski, depending on how much the binding is geared towards long multi-day tours vs. quick sidecountry or daytrips. Having AT specific boots or not can also make a big difference. I have skied on some demo k2 sidestashes with demo AT boots and demo Fritschi Freerides, and it was the most scared I have ever been skiing...the whole setup was super sloppy and so loose you had very little control. That being said, one of my main resort skis has MFD Alltime plates with 4FRNT Deadbolt bindings and they are rock solid and ski great. I also have another pair of skis that I have owned for years with Marker Barons and I feel like they ski as well with the Barons as they would with a regular binding, and I have skied them in bounds a lot.

I usually use Salomon Ghost boots, but I do own a pair of AT specific Garmont Radium boots that I was told was one of the best skiing AT boots available at the time I got them. You can ski well in them but they are a shorter height and are noticeably sloppier and a little sketchier than my Ghosts. I only really go on shorter tours though, and I've decided that the extra weight of the Ghosts and beefier bindings was far worth hiking up because it made the ski down vastly better.

I haven't had any experience with Dynafits but I have heard a lot of great things. I've always been a bit sketched out by just the little pins holding you in though, and the cost has kept me from trying them. The new Guardian bindings looks pretty sweet too.

Unless you are actually doing multi-day tours or are planning on going all the time, I would advise you to stay away from Dynafits, Fritschis, Marker Tours, etc...all the really serious AT bindings, and get something like the Guardian, Duke/Baron, or and MFD Alltime setup. These will ride as well in bounds as a regular binding, better on the way down than something like a Fritschi, and you really won't notice much of a difference on the way up unless you're going up for a really really long time. Also the beefier bindings will hold up fine to switch landings, where as the lighter weight/hardcore AT ones might be sketchy.
 
13637022:AspanuWP said:
Atomic overloads
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Awesome, thanks for the support! Well, this is a pure in-bounds alpine boot meaning that it follows the alpine sole norm (flat, no rocker, no rubber), no tech inserts, and no ski/walk mode. So, if you buy an alpine touring binding (like a Tracker or Marker Duke), you will not be getting all of the benefit out of that binding mainly because of the lack of a ski/walk mode on that boot. The boot will fit into the binding and it will ski very well, but the way up will most likely not be comfortable as you could get a lot of blisters/chaffing because your foot will be moving and lifting inside the boot in order to walk/tour up the hill.

If getting into the backcountry is a real interest of yours and you like the fit of the Overload, you should check out a boot like the Waymaker Carbon. It is the same exact fit as the Overload, but with a ski/walk mechanism (35° of cuff mobility) and swappable norm soles (touring grip pads or normal alpine grip pads). Going that route would give you the same fit but all of the mobility & touring capability you are looking for.
 
13637053:onenerdykid said:
Awesome, thanks for the support! Well, this is a pure in-bounds alpine boot meaning that it follows the alpine sole norm (flat, no rocker, no rubber), no tech inserts, and no ski/walk mode. So, if you buy an alpine touring binding (like a Tracker or Marker Duke), you will not be getting all of the benefit out of that binding mainly because of the lack of a ski/walk mode on that boot. The boot will fit into the binding and it will ski very well, but the way up will most likely not be comfortable as you could get a lot of blisters/chaffing because your foot will be moving and lifting inside the boot in order to walk/tour up the hill.

If getting into the backcountry is a real interest of yours and you like the fit of the Overload, you should check out a boot like the Waymaker Carbon. It is the same exact fit as the Overload, but with a ski/walk mechanism (35° of cuff mobility) and swappable norm soles (touring grip pads or normal alpine grip pads). Going that route would give you the same fit but all of the mobility & touring capability you are looking for.
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I was thinking about frame bindings, forgot to add that, want to hit some jumps, cliffs on them and dont know if they perform as good as alpine bindings
 
13636952:ReetsAdeets said:
get something like the Guardian, Duke/Baron, or and MFD Alltime setup. These will ride as well in bounds as a regular binding, better on the way down than something like a Fritschi, and you really won't notice much of a difference on the way up unless you're going up for a really really long time. Also the beefier bindings will hold up fine to switch landings, where as the lighter weight/hardcore AT ones might be sketchy.
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Gonna have to take back that part about MFD's holding up fine to switch landings...mine broke yesterday landing a switch 3. The lever piece moves to be a riser and that holds the rear of the plate to the rear piece mounted to the ski broke off on side, and the plate actually bent out sideways on the same side a good couple centimeters. I bought them used and they held up great for 3 years though...
 
i toured in race boots for a long time, so do the CAST guys. if you get dukes or similar thy'll ski fine and youll have the option to hike if you want too.
 
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