every K2 and Volkl flat ski is demo'ed in the industry with a Marker Jester or Griffon on it. These skis get tested by shop employees, who most of the time are pretty ridiculous skiers. I know that Marker is associated with these companies so thats why its the Jester on there, but the amount of stress put on these bindings from some top skiers run after run at demos....these things are tested pretty true. And since the Jester and Griffon came out, not one warranty has come through my shop, and we sell on average about 150 pairs of Griffons a year.
For your age, the Griffon is a very solid binding. going above 12 DIN would be if you are hucking cliffs and absolutely need to stay in your binding, in which case you will change the DIN on your own and throw out any responsibility from the binding company in the event of an injury. If you leave your DIN set properly by your shop, your DIN wont go past an 8 at your age. The lighter weight binding will give you an overall lighter ski....easier for you for spins and airs...
Solid binding. highly recommended.
Try to avoid a lot of the young hype on NS of people bashing ski brands, im sure half the time its kids just mad they couldn't get a pair for themselves.