The Neverending Debate of DIN's - Backcountry Edition

[amacdonald]

I've never really bought into the trend of insanely high DIN setting required to ski aggressively at the resort, and have always run my Look's at 9-10 depending on the time of the year. But man, I eject in my Kingpins way too often when hitting anything over a small/medium cliff in the backcountry (~10ft or larger is a toss up). I don't wanna be that guy who just jacks his tech bindings all the way up and blows a knee in the backcountry, so I'm curious what my fellow cliff sending, backwards landing friends on NS think about the Kingpins release values. Do they seem pretty consistent with your other bindings or a bit soft? For reference I'm about 6'2 and 185lbs

 

[vermontana]

I was never really able to get along with my kingpins for aggressive skiing. I would pre-release relatively often, and even popped out on a jump takeoff while once pre-twisting to spin, dins at 9. Forward pressure was checked and set to spec, I moved the din to 11 and I think that helped a bit but honestly I just feel like I can't trust them too much landing cliffs or any huge compressions. The toe piece seems to have a relatively low set release value that the heel din doesn't balance out, and I'm definitely not running them with the toepiece locked. They're on my pre-season rock touring skis now and theyre fine for that but I moved to ATK 14s on my daily touring skis which so far have been confidence inducing on jumps and small cliffs (except for a fiddly brake lock). 6 feet 180lb so similar to you.

 

[amacdonald]

I was never really able to get along with my kingpins for aggressive skiing. I would pre-release relatively often, and even popped out on a jump takeoff while once pre-twisting to spin, dins at 9. Forward pressure was checked and set to spec, I moved the din to 11 and I think that helped a bit but honestly I just feel like I can't trust them too much landing cliffs or any huge compressions. The toe piece seems to have a relatively low set release value that the heel din doesn't balance out, and I'm definitely not running them with the toepiece locked. They're on my pre-season rock touring skis now and theyre fine for that but I moved to ATK 14s on my daily touring skis which so far have been confidence inducing on jumps and small cliffs (except for a fiddly brake lock). 6 feet 180lb so similar to you.

Cheers, I feel like they get a lot of hype because Sammy shreds them, but much like you I have no interest in locking the toes for descents. I will look at the ATK 14's in the future. Appreciate it!

 

[edai]

Cheers, I feel like they get a lot of hype because Sammy shreds them, but much like you I have no interest in locking the toes for descents. I will look at the ATK 14's in the future. Appreciate it!

Glad I found this thread when I did. In the middle of researching if I wanted to go with Kingpins, not so sure theyre the right choice now. Thanks guys.

 

[vermontana]

Glad I found this thread when I did. In the middle of researching if I wanted to go with Kingpins, not so sure theyre the right choice now. Thanks guys.

They're not a bad binding if you're an average skier, but I feel like with the current offerings on market, I would want something full-pin (ATK FR14 if you charge, or salomon MTN, even marker alpinist) for touring skis or CAST/Duke PT if you want a true 50/50 without compromising downhill performance

 

[Literature]

Dang, it seems like folks are really excited about the ATK 14s. Need to check those out sometime in the future.

That they have the ability to change the toe release is a major function improvement.