The new Salomon Z binding...

R

Rooddss

Active member
What do you guys this about the new Salomon Z bindings...any good, i herd that they werent that great of quality compared to last years s912's...
 
I picked up a pair in the shop and they felt really cheap like they were made entirely out of plastic. I would have no confidence whatsoever riding those, and for that reason I'm not going to.
 
I don't know... i have a pair on one of my new setups and they definitely seem light and plastic-y (?).. but comparing them to another pair of 912ti's i have the biggest difference is the design of the toe piece, not completely different materials (in retrospect the 912's seem like they have a lot of plastic as well). Unless the design has some flaw in it I expect the materials and housing to hold up as the 912ti's did.

The toe piece design looks to be closer to Atomic's neox bindings than anything else and helps because it doesn't compress the springs by twisting creating forces on the housing, but the forces come from straight on when the wings are flexed or opened.. same basic concept that look, vist, and atomic use. The heelpiece is basically unchanged from before.

hope that helped some.
 
Hey Guys I skied the new Z12 for all of last Spring and I had absolutely no problem with it pipe, park, or freeride. It is lighter than anything else on the market. A toe and heel weighs less than a heel piece from Look/Rossi and it has more retention as well. I know it is hard to believe, but once you step into the binding and actually ski it, you will see that it is actually pretty bomber. It is also lower to the ski than previous models which also saves weight and gets you closer to the ski for better control on rails. I have a feeling next year there will be a Z14 binding for those of you who want a higher DIN, but for now I think the new Z series of bindings is going to be a huge hit.

Salomon Z12 Ti

http://www.untracked.com/p1280c26b39-07_salomon_z12_ti_ski_bindings.html

 
they havent been testing out consistantly when running binding checks in the shop i work at. the old toe was much more consistant when set correctly. i'll stick to my old look jibs.
 
The Z bindings are pretty sick though it is hard to tell just looking at them. They have the tightest coupling on par with the Look toe. They actually aren't just plastic they are infused with carbon so they are actually a lot stronger than the all plastic S series 912 and 914. They are super light so they are going to be the park and sidecountry binding to have this year. I am thinking about putting a pair on a big ski for hiking this year. They have been testing it and guys have been skiing in it for almost a year now and they have had much fewer issues with parts breaking than they had with S bindings in the past. I agree it looks kind of cheap but it is honestly far from it.
 
first of all, even though you hear it everywhere here, pre-release is not an actual term. either a binding releases or it doesn't there isn't anything 'pre' about it. however, since the heel piece for the salomon's are the same design the elastic travel is the same... meaning that it is still much less than look binders. Once a greater pressure than the din setting is exerted on the binding they pop out pretty quick, unlike look which take longer and can create concerns with the forces required to eject from the binding. that being said, no, the salomons don't pre-release any more than the previous models... they release at the force they were intended to, when that force is applied.
 
so you are saying salomons are better than looks? ive never skied looks but i have skied salomons and they release alot on me
 
they are saying that the new Z toe which i dont' think you've skied on since its "new" and different, is tighter then a look or rossi or marker or old salomon toe there is no give what so ever with the new auto adjusting toe piece that they have integrated into the Z binding which means no wings loosening up or any of that crap so they are the lightest on the market already and they have less movement once in the binding then any other binding currently on the market.
 
i am not saying one is better than the other... i am saying that from my experience as a tech and having run hundreds of bindings salomons tend to have a more consistent release force than looks, which can lead to more injuries. i'm not saying it will... but i value my knees and want to enjoy skiing when i'm 70. Again injuries can happen regardless of what binding you are on if you don't have it set properly. If you are having ridiculous problems with your salomons popping out, maybe you should talk to your local tech and see about increasing your din. If you like looks thats awesome, their bindings keep getting better.. i have never had a big problem with my sal's (yes i have popped out when i would prefer not to) and might even venture to say that there are probably things you could be doing as a skier to help prevent it.
 
^ and that discussion generally relates to the heel piece which remains unchanged (besides the new materials). but salomon made a big step (one closer to a look binding in fact) in redesigning the toe to release without any lateral strain on the spring.
 
I never had any problems with the old ones so the new ones should be even sicker if they really did improve them. im light tho so i donno mebbe all u fattys had a problem lol
 
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