Bindings?

KyroChi

KyroChi

New member
I need new bindings for my new skis and I don't know which to choose.

I ski 100+ days a year (on my park skis) and beat the living shit out of bindings, I currently have griffons and have had them for 3 years and they have held up really well with the exception of some toe wobble (which I am not happy about). Aside from that I have had a great experience with the Griffons. The brake pads are super easy to replace and I have only broken two brake assemblies (better than any other binding I have ever owned).

Will Jesters/Jester Pros reduce the toe wobble and does the metal body really make a difference in durability? I am looking to have these bindings on my next 2 - 3 pairs of skis as I seem to go through skis very quickly and I would like to not have to buy new bindings every time.

The other option is the Look/Rossi Pivot/FKS route. From what I gather the bindings are virtually indestructible but the brake assembly has a tendency to break and is a pain in the ass/very costly to replace. I like the ease of part exchange on the griffons and I am wondering if sacrificing ease of routine repair is worth the durability advantage, and if so how big of an advantage is it. The other problem I have seen/heard about the Pivot/FKS is the brakes do not retract inwards when the heel piece is pushed down and I am wondering how big of a deal this will be.

Thank you for your time!
 
Since you have been able to ski on the Griffons without any issues other than some toe-wobble, I assume that you aren't the heaviest of skiers, since you claim to beat the living shit out of them, yet without breaking them. Griffons are without a doubt good binders, but you get what you pay for; IE - the more money, the better/the more material /the better the construction. Marker tend to use a lot of plastic in comparison to Salomon and especially Rossignol/Look. I would, however, not question their durability for this reason, at least not the top bindings.

You need to question yourself if a higher DIN-value binding is justified in terms og cost and weight for you. Griffons are significantly lighter than the FKS/Pivot family due to the metal components in the ladder, whereas the difference between the Griffons and the Jesters aren't that big (100 grams per pair vs. almost half a kilo on the FKS 180). You will probably have a hard time telling the weight difference between the markers, but the FKS's will undoubtedly be noticably heavier - whether you like a heavy, beefy feeling binding og a light one is personal preference and durability-compromise, but in my opinion, I wouldn't want to throw on that much added weight, if I didn't tend to break bindings.

FKS has some switch-ejection brake-breaking issues, and are expensive and circumstantial to replace in comparison to other binders. Anyhow, any brands top-tier binders have really good durabilty, metal or not.

As for Toe-wobble, it isn't usually due to it being a cheaper binding (which the Griffons aren't either) you shouldn't expect that from any of the better bindings from the bigger brands.

All in all, you need to ask yourself, if you can justify riding a higher DIN in terms of what DIN you ride now, the weight of the binding and of course the durabilty.

But since you have been able to shred the Griffons, why not save the $ for a new pair of sticks or something else, instead of throwing it into a heavier, expensive binding, which you, perhaps do not even need?

If you insist on trying something new, there is always the Salomon STH14 or the FKS 14 that aren't too heavy, nor have a unsefully high DIN for lighter skiers.
 
Have you considered the STH2 WTR13/16 ?

I had griffons. The toe piece is really weak. Mine turned into jello, and I could bend the toe piece with my hand. They would release harshly, like I would feel my leg get jerked before the ski came off. But I never thought much of it cause Griffons were all I had skied on.

Then I got some STH2 WTR13s. Night and day difference that I didn't even know could exist in bindings. STH2s lock you in hard with no wobble/bending/disconnection, and on my second season they still feel like new. STH2s release like butter; I never feel my leg get jerked at all before they pop off. Plus they have never come off when I didn't want them to, can't say that about my Griffons. The brakes also tuck up and in so they are completely out of the way. I broke one of the brakes last season on a hard switch landing and there were a ton of online stores that stocked the Guardian brakes + was simple to replace.

Just my two cents about Griffons
 
I am fairly light (170lbs) and I ride a relatively low DIN (8) which is my biggest concern with the Jester/Jester Pro/Pivot 18. I hadn't really been considering the salomons because of a general lack of information but after a little bit of research they seem like great bindings. Thanks for your help guys
 
Well with a DIN of 8, the Jester Pro's and the FKS 180 would be overkill, by far. It could be justifiable, should be a destroyer of bindings, but seeing as that is not the case, there really are no benefits of buying those - you pay more, added weight for durability that you won't need.

As I and the others have mentioned, look into some lower DIN binders, approximately in the 14-area. Normal Jesters are the absolute furthest i would go, since you set it at 8 (2 over minimum on normal Jesters) - but my choice would fall upon STH's, FKS/Pivot 140's or some tyrolia's, if i wanted to mix it up and try something else than the Griffon - the choice, however, is yours. Just don't spend alot of unnecessary money on flashy gear that you won't be using the full potential of.

Good luck with the shopping!
 
If the guy skis 100 days a year he wants the most dual binding he can get IMO. Which I probably the pivot 18 or sth2 16. Sth2 16 gets the win over the pivot/fks because brakes are much easier and cheaper to replace (don't brake as much either) on the sth2s. And the 16's din goes down to 7.

pretty much nobody ever needs to be skiing at the upper range DINS of these bindings. The reason to buy a high DIN binding is they usually have more metal and better designs than the lower din bindings. As long as you are within the DIN range of a binding, there's no issues. an 8-18 DIN binding can be run at an 8 DIN without issue. Running at the highest end of a range isn't ideal (i.e. 12 DIN on a 4-12 binding) because over time the springs will soften prematurely
 
13328401:KyroChi said:
I am fairly light (170lbs) and I ride a relatively low DIN (8) which is my biggest concern with the Jester/Jester Pro/Pivot 18. I hadn't really been considering the salomons because of a general lack of information but after a little bit of research they seem like great bindings. Thanks for your help guys
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FKS 18s would be fine for you, riding them at 8 is fine practice.
 
You could look at the FKS 140's which still have a lot of the same components as the 180's but are cheaper and have a slightly lower din range.
 
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