Griffons or fks's

A lot of my friend ride both and half seem to be die hard marker fans and the others for fks's. Which do you guys think is the better binding. I just got new skis and am leaning towards fks's for them
 
I personally won't buy markers again. If you land switch awkwardly, there's a really good chance your brakes are going to snap from the plastic binding. Happened to me and my buddies. I personally LOVE the fks and pivots because if you land switch awkwardly (which happens), the brake just bends. Thats because its ALL METAL, NOT PLASTIC. Takes 5 seconds on the hill to bend it back after you fall, aside from taking markers into the shop and getting replacement parts. METAL>PLASTIC
 
Both are solid, but both have their drawbacks.

I love fks but if you manage to SNAP a brake, it's a pain in the butt to swap them, or around 80$ to get a new baseplate. Other than that the fks rule. With the turntable heel I've had the smoothest releases ever after coming off two other marker bindings.
 
Yea, i also have been riding griffons for a long time, and when i do end up breaking a brake, its a cheap quick fix that you can do with some simple tools. Do the fks's really only bend
 
I've never ridden the fks but I do own a pair of the fks 180s waiting to mount them on a pow ski and they seem super solid but you can't compare the 180s to the griffin.

I do however ride the griffins and have no complaints, okay they're plastic but its solid plastic. I've never had any issues with durability or pre-realises, they feel super solid when I click in and are really responsive when riding

FYI im 6'4 103kg
 
13381627:Dobber said:
I've used Griffons for awhile. Can somebody tell me why they like fks better?

13381652:LittleGe0 said:
Yea, i also have been riding griffons for a long time, and when i do end up breaking a brake, its a cheap quick fix that you can do with some simple tools. Do the fks's really only bend

Ive only had bends so far even with some pretty gnarly switch releases. As to why I prefer them, I managed to demolish multiple pairs of markers (shattering the plastic heel, not a part you can just replace). Havent managed to do that in over 170 days of park on the FKSs once
 
I picked up the fks 140's a week ago, have a couple days on them. I can't really say anything bad about them at all, love how they seem to naturally let your skis flex more than with other bindings. They seem really solid in all areas so I'd reccomend them. Marker makes solid bindings as well, but if any marker bindings I'd reccommend the jesters.
 
13381926:.complex said:
Marker makes solid bindings as well, but if any marker bindings I'd reccommend the jesters.

Jesters over Griffins for sure. A lot of the bad experiences with Marker bindings are related to Griffins, Squires, and Free Tens not holding up when stomping big jumps. Jesters are way more solid. Can't comment on FKS, but they sound really solid too.
 
the FKS has the highest elasticity length on the market. the elasticity of a ski binding is the amount your binding will let your boot move into the heel or toe piece before letting it release. this doesnt mean you have an increased risk of a ski not coming off in a crash, it means that your chances or prereleasing are greatly reduced.
 
13381582:TheJoshHenshaw said:
I personally won't buy markers again. If you land switch awkwardly, there's a really good chance your brakes are going to snap from the plastic binding. Happened to me and my buddies. I personally LOVE the fks and pivots because if you land switch awkwardly (which happens), the brake just bends. Thats because its ALL METAL, NOT PLASTIC. Takes 5 seconds on the hill to bend it back after you fall, aside from taking markers into the shop and getting replacement parts. METAL>PLASTIC

while true in part on metal vs plastic/breaking points, fks brakes do break. No brake out there is meant to eject switch, and an fks brake is a hell of a lot more complicated/expensive to fix than a market/tyrolia/px/etc brake. When you do break yours you'll see what i mean and how hard/expensive it is comparatively to get replacement parts taking it to a shop.
 
13382383:veng_m said:
the FKS has the highest elasticity length on the market.

Not anymore. The axial 3 now has higher elasticity than the fks but they are only really available in a 12 din right now. They make a 15 but they only go on race plates.

The fks is still kickass binding. There is a reason why the pivot/nevada has looked pretty damn familiar looking for 40+years.
 
coming in hot...

so i actually did some research a while back on elasticity. (before the axial 3 came out or whatever the name of it is) but the sth2 have more elasticity (just slightly )than the fks. but shhh dont tell anyone, i love my fks
 
13382904:last_tango said:
Not anymore. The axial 3 now has higher elasticity than the fks but they are only really available in a 12 din right now. They make a 15 but they only go on race plates.

The fks is still kickass binding. There is a reason why the pivot/nevada has looked pretty damn familiar looking for 40+years.

whoa that's very cool. I didn't know that.

I like fks's cause of the low profile mounting points though, the less parts touching the ski, the more feel of the ski you get
 
13382924:nutz. said:
whoa that's very cool. I didn't know that.

I like fks's cause of the low profile mounting points though, the less parts touching the ski, the more feel of the ski you get

this too. i love how the fks heel actually wraps around your boot heel. all other bindings just have that plastic edge and it chips off the heel of the boot whereas the fks doesnt. does this just happen to me? or does everyone experience this
 
another thing to consider is the shape of the heel piece. certain grabs or gnarly backseat landings can cause penetration at times, griffons hurt
 
FKS’s will last you a lot longer but the brakes are a pain to replace. I would also look at something like the Attack 13-16 or the Salomon STH2
 
I've been riding my Griffons for one season now and I've had no problem with pre-release or any breaking problems. On the other hand my friend rides some fks and he snapped the brake pad thing that your boot pushes down off on a little hand drag cork 5 over a spine and it wasn't a hard fall. He's had multiple problems with them breaking over the season and he said he isn't buying them again.
 
dont believe that FKS are far superior in durablility terms, because I trashed mmy FKS's and they have maybe a season under them total. Ive broken 5 half moon pieces, which arent a huge problem, but its a pain when you swap them and the next day you break another one. ALso chipped a large chunk off the plastic baseplate on 2 pairs and cracked the metal stomp pad. On markers I dont see any of these problems with my friend who skis 2X harder than me and is much better.
 
13387709:parkplayground said:
dont believe that FKS are far superior in durablility terms, because I trashed mmy FKS's and they have maybe a season under them total. Ive broken 5 half moon pieces, which arent a huge problem, but its a pain when you swap them and the next day you break another one. ALso chipped a large chunk off the plastic baseplate on 2 pairs and cracked the metal stomp pad. On markers I dont see any of these problems with my friend who skis 2X harder than me and is much better.

holy cow, how hard are you on your stuff? hahahahha but one thing i do for my fks is wrap pretty hefty layer of tape on the metal O that comes in contact with the plastic baseplate so its not as likely to crack with that little extra padding when stomping down.. like dis but slightly more tape.. lol just kind of thought of it on my own

View attachment 762620
 
13387826:shin-bang said:
holy cow, how hard are you on your stuff? hahahahha but one thing i do for my fks is wrap pretty hefty layer of tape on the metal O that comes in contact with the plastic baseplate so its not as likely to crack with that little extra padding when stomping down.. like dis but slightly more tape.. lol just kind of thought of it on my own

View attachment 762620

I broke that part but not on the place where the metal bar contacts it. It is a chunk of plastic missing from where the break arm sticks out all the way to the far end. Both heelpieces have it and I've only had it happen when I'm doing 4s on I guess I land weird or something
 
13387860:parkplayground said:
I broke that part but not on the place where the metal bar contacts it. It is a chunk of plastic missing from where the break arm sticks out all the way to the far end. Both heelpieces have it and I've only had it happen when I'm doing 4s on I guess I land weird or something

ahhh, i know what youre saying. and dang man.
 
I have FKS and Griffons on my skis, and I have to say they are both good bindings. I've had no problem with my griffons and they've always released when I needed them to. I hardly (if ever) prerelease with them. I don't know if I would recommend them to someone on the heavier side, though (I'm 140 lbs). if you're like 160+ you should probably go with jesters if you take the marker route.

I also really like the FKS. the all metal construction is kick ass, and the pivoting heel piece is great for a natural release. I've also noticed I feel much closer to the ski on my FKS. the design is much lower profile IMO, and it's nice to feel like your boot is directly on the ski. I have had one or two instances that my binding didn't release when I thought it should, but no serious damage occurred so maybe it knew better than I.

either way I don't honestly think you can go wrong with either. if you're buying new and money isn't an issue, maybe go with FKS. if you're trying to save a little, go with griffons or jesters. the markers will also be a bit lighter, but I never really notice a difference in weight. either way you won't pick a bad binding.
 
13387935:hughlorin said:
I have FKS and Griffons on my skis, and I have to say they are both good bindings. I've had no problem with my griffons and they've always released when I needed them to. I hardly (if ever) prerelease with them. I don't know if I would recommend them to someone on the heavier side, though (I'm 140 lbs). if you're like 160+ you should probably go with jesters if you take the marker route.

I also really like the FKS. the all metal construction is kick ass, and the pivoting heel piece is great for a natural release. I've also noticed I feel much closer to the ski on my FKS. the design is much lower profile IMO, and it's nice to feel like your boot is directly on the ski. I have had one or two instances that my binding didn't release when I thought it should, but no serious damage occurred so maybe it knew better than I.

either way I don't honestly think you can go wrong with either. if you're buying new and money isn't an issue, maybe go with FKS. if you're trying to save a little, go with griffons or jesters. the markers will also be a bit lighter, but I never really notice a difference in weight. either way you won't pick a bad binding.

Best thing in this entire thread. 10/10 k+
 
13381582:AbusedBanana said:
I personally won't buy markers again. If you land switch awkwardly, there's a really good chance your brakes are going to snap from the plastic binding. Happened to me and my buddies. I personally LOVE the fks and pivots because if you land switch awkwardly (which happens), the brake just bends. Thats because its ALL METAL, NOT PLASTIC. Takes 5 seconds on the hill to bend it back after you fall, aside from taking markers into the shop and getting replacement parts. METAL>PLASTIC

I had markers on my line tc's and i was at tremblant for march break for a 4 day trip. Second day of the trip, I popped a switch three off one of the jumps and landed in switch awkwardly and unfortunately I broke my brakes, and they had none left in the town for markers, so I had to ski without brakes for the few days and it was a pain, i almost killed a few people. I just really like fks's better. But markers are great too. I just didn't like my squires. Buy some Jesters or Griffons if your buying markers, otherwise id say to pick up a pair of fks's or pivots
 
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