Pivot 14/FKS 140 versus Pivot 18/FKS 180

TheQuailman

TheQuailman

Active member
So according to what I've read the Pivot 14 = FKS 140 and the Pivot 18 = FKS 180 and they are just different colors?

Anyone know why the FKS 180 costs more than the Pivot 18 (on backcountry.com) or is that just because of marketing?

Also what is the benefit of going with the 18/180 over the 14/140? I understand the DIN goes higher. Is it because you should ride with the DIN near the middle of the binding so if you ride at a 7 then the 14 is good but if you ride at a 9 then the 18 is better?

I ski with a 7 so is it dumb to go with the 18/180? Is that just a better binding so its better even though my DIN would be fine on a 14/140 is it a better binding regardless?

Thanks + Karma all day.
 
Yes, the Pivot and FKS are mostly the same...however there is ONE difference between the FKS 180 and the Pivot 18 (which is the main reason for the price increase). The 14/140 are exactly the same, but the FKS 180 has a different toe piece than the Pivot 18 (the Pivot has the same design toe piece as the FKS 140/Pivot 14/PX series/FKS World Cup series toes (that boxy looking toe), just higher DIN, while the FKS 180 has a toe that is rounder and has a central pivot point which allows for a smoother release and better upward release.

The FKS 180 is also a bit more (on backcountry at least) because people will pay more for them because of their branding and color. Also, if I'm not mistake, the Pivots on backcountry and last years model so they're probably trying to sell them off (I'm fairly certain that Look changed to the FKS toe piece for this years bindings as well...so that changes the difference between the too).

The benefits to higher DIN bindings are that they are generally more durable than other bindings. And, obviously, the higher DIN for people who ride at 12, 13, and 14 and are close to maxing out 12/14/15 DIN bindings (this is usually a small population of people, generally people who charge really hard and do big cliff drops, no park riders).

And yes....an 18 DIN binding makes no sense for you.
 
As I said, they changed it to be the same as the FKS either this year or last year, I can't remember. But I know for a fact that the Pivot 18 had the same toe piece shape at the Pivot 14 because I had both of them last year and almost mounted the 14 toe with the 18 heel because I wasn't paying enough attention and the only way to tell the difference was to read the indicators.
 
Well then I had a prototype or something, cause I definitely had an 18 DIN toe piece that looked like the 14 DIN one (with the toe wings that could move and the boxier look). I know this because, I sold them to buy some FKS 180s instead to have that toe piece.
 
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