Touring Binding

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Hey NS im looking at buying some touring bindings and skins for some surface one lifes. what would you recommend for someone who will be doing short tours (no longer than an hour or so) but mostly skiing downhill (resort and snowmobile). Also, im not completely set on getting a pair of touring bindings, so is there anything else you would recomend for taking back/side country? Btw im 19, 5'11'' and 140 lbs.

 
ahh forgot to mention.. im using some technica alpine's even with a touring setup cause id rather have the benefit of a downhill boot because i wont be touring all that much
 
There is really no such thing as a legit touring binding yet. Dukes

are alright, but can not hold up to lots of jumping and resort riding.

Your best bet would be alpine trekkers or MFD alltimes. I would opt

for the day wreckers if you are going to be resort riding / sledding a

lot. They definitely have some durability issues, but they will BCA send you a hardware package for free. They tour alright on shorter hikes, they just don't side hill very well.
 
Fuck that, Dukes are fine for resort skiing. They are by far your best option considering price, availability, and performance. Trekkers are a waste and the MFD is not cheap.
 
I have done plenty of tours on my trekkers and they're not half as bad as what you hear. If you are touring for only an hour or two then they are perfect. cheap and you get your alpines for the downs :)
 
He said he is not set on touring bindings and will mostly be resort riding or using a sled with an occasional hour long trek. Why would you chose a duke over an fks with a trekker? I have ridden in bounds on occasion with my dukes and I am not a fan. They are unnecessarily elevated, have shitty afd's, break when you land switch, are mostly plastic and are a pain in the ass to swicth from touring to skiing mode. I personally use dukes tourning but they do not necessarily fit the type of skiing he is doing. Yeah trekkers sometimes break which is where the day wrecker comes from, but I would rather have someting more solid under me for the downhill. It is all a matter of opinion and I was giving mine.
 
Salomon Guardian?

salomon-atomic-guardian-tracker-16-7.png

 
I'm not sure touring with the One Life's is really even all that feasible with that much rocker. I've never seen or heard anyone with that set up.
 
A lot of rocker will actually make skiining easier in the pow, which is when he should be using one lifes. Hardpack would be a little sketchy but who wants to tour for hardpack.
 
one of the weirdest experiences I had when I first skied in Europe was seeing people tour up the groomers all the way to the top just to ski down the same groomer...
 
thanks for all the feedback! another idea i had was to just use snowshoes to trek into/up lines... i bought a pair last year and havent really used them.. i tried them out with my ski boots and while they are not ideal they seem doable. from what ive been hearing, a touring setup (specifically the dukes) wouldnt hold up very well hitting booters and the occasional park run.. is that correct?
 
snowshoes are really slow to tour in, definitely get a touring binding. ive put about 150 days on my dukes riding everything from backcountry to park and have never had a problem with them, so you really shouldnt have any problem with the occasional park lap
 
i highly reccomend the mfd all time plates. they are heavy at first but after 2 days of skiing them i dont even notice them anymore.
 
i had a similar dilemma this season and i just got a pair of trekkers because I use my ski's for 80% resort skiing so i was able to just got with my trusty sth 16's, decided against the MFD because of cost and weight
 
I agree they aren't the best downhill binding. But to me it just seems counterproductive to cut skins and actually try and tour without a touring binding. I personally have been able to ski pretty aggressively with the Dukes and have never had a problem.

But if you are even remotely serious about any side-country or backcountry skiing do not use snowshoes, they are a waste of time.
 
Went through the same decision for what to put on my TSTs... was debating Wreckers, Dukes, and MFDs. Heard too many bad things about the wreckers, the MFDs are nice but expensive and SO heavy, so I went with the Dukes. Utah doesnt even have any snow to tour on so I've just been resort skiing on them and have no complaints.
 
I originally bought fritschis and snapped the toe piece the very first day riding them. I traded them in for Dukes and have loved them! They are a bit heavy (not nearly as heavy as an MFD set up would be) but for the short tours youre doing they will be perfect. Dukes are just as solid as any downhill binding I have ever skied. If youre worried about the durability of the binding buy it from Backcountry.com and you will never have to worry. I'm not connected to bc in any way, but they saved my ass this year!
 
one more vote for the dukes or even barons. i've put about 160 days on a JJ +barons (one step down from dukes) setup, with a solid mix of touring, sidecountry, and hard resort ripping in all conditions. some but not many jump laps in the park, but no rails, i have park skis for that. The slidy plastic pieces on both toes broke off after 100+ days but marker replaced them quick and free of charge.
 
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