What bindings for Alpine Touring?

B

bigbromskier

Active member
I know it's been talked about a lot, but I'm doing it again. Scratch the obvious argument about backcountry risk assessment and safety skills for the time being......

I'm mostly looking for the right binding. I'm probably going to be using my 184 Blogs from last year--I'm 5'6 135lbs and I've got a pair of dalbello kryptons from a few years ago. I'd say that I ski rather aggressively.

First: are the dynafits only for use with dynafit boots? If not, are they a plausible option for backcountry/sidecountry adventures as well as normal inbounds skiing? (we've all heard eric hjorleifson slays them, but I'm kind of skeptical).

Second option: the blackdiamond fritschi diamirs. Same question as above. To me, these seem like a pretty good options--your thoughts?

Third: Dukes are heavy, but I'm probably a good fit for griffons, no? Overall thoughts on these would be helpful.

I'm not going with the Trekkers. I've saved up some money and my roommate had the trekkers for two uses before they broke so I wanna make a good investment for a good price.

Finally: I'm not doing any serious backcountry expeditions and I'm probably not going to get out into the backcountry more than once a week. With this in mind, one would probably recommend the trekkers, but once again I'm not buying something that's gonna break so easily--what's the best overall binding for what I've said about myself?

Thanks in Advance!
 
I love my dukes. The fritschi's seem to break alot if you are a aggressive skier. If I had some money to throw down on a bc set up I would get the dynafits but you do have to infest in boots
 
dukes are heavy but a good option. barons are a little lighter but also a good option.

if weight is a concern, i'd look at the marker f12. pretty light touring specific binding.

your binding choice is going to depend on a lot of different factors (ie weight preference, how agressive you are, etc...) but if you plan on hucking in the bc and landing switch then your best option will be a duke for durability.
 
1. Dynafit bindings work with any "tech AT boot" aka the ones with the little metal divots on the sides of the toe. Dynafits patent has expired so other companies are also making bindings with the same attachment (ex. La sportiva)
2. fritchis are good and and easy way to start touring with your downhill boots. I had a number of friends tour their first season without AT boots. 3. I tour on dynafits now, I love em especially on my dps's, super light. With that being said I don't use them for backcountry kicker days because I don't trust them as much. Dynafits are great they just are not made for everyday resort abuse or hucking bigger then 20 footers....)
 
With some binding recommendations out of the way....I assume you already know this, but If you are just starting in the backcountry you money is better spent on shovel, probe, beacon, and an avy course......
 
Your boots are not dynafit compatible so look at the Markers. Stay away from the Fritchis - backcountry.com just posted a video on their YouTube spot about where they commonly break if you are interested.
 
rc is right on cept Plums are even sexier than dynas

Sooner or later if you turn earn enough youll be in a "tech" system or a freak w/ 1/2 a binder

Sooner or later they all break frischis sooner naxos dead so when they break good luck

I toured for a few seasons on silvertta pures and in bfe AK they were very good bindings for me but not very tortionally stiff

I ride dukes inbounds or slack I use and like Jondrums binding freedom plates to swap dyna duke

he does a few others dynasoli etc

im not wild about the stack height and ramp angle or touring transfer system on markers seen a lot of issues a few which have been improved

mdf, g3 onnyx and other options Id hit swaps egay clist etc for a good dynatech boot or swapable soul

dont be a bc skier statistic
 
Thanks for all the input! I already have a beacon probe shovel bag and I only plan on going out with experienced peeps, not to mention taking some avy classes so yeah......seen my share of freaky shit so I've got enough wits about me to not do it totally unprepared......

I've seen the runmfds before and look awesome (especially in my situation--full time college student serving in a restaurant part time). basically I won't have the most time to actually go out so a whole setup is unnecessary, sadly. But at the moment I have rossi axial 2 ti's from a few years ago (just realizing my shit's pretty outdated, not that it doesn't work though) and it doesn't work with them. There are two MFD dealers in my town though so we'll see what I can do..

There's a pretty big touring/outdoorsy scene here so I guess I'll hit up the shops cause they're pretty knowledgable. Thanks again, I definitely have a better jumping off point than I did before! Still appreciate any input of course...
 
Oo I thought MFDs were a refined version of the trekkers not a 'binding mount' i guess--they still look pretty legit, but does anyone have any experience with them? Will they hold up well if I use them mainly for inbounds stuff and the occasional (weekly-ish, hopefully) backcountry adventures? Do they release as well as bindings alone? They look 200% more legit than trekkers, but definitely more questionable than normal binding setups..

Thanks again!
 
These look pretty darn secksy

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^this. Although someone on tgr pointed out that there doesn't seem to be a mechanism for lowering the toe piece module thingy to accommodate both AT and alpine boots which would be a problem
 
MFDs are good if you're mostly doing short tours, sidecountry or occasional tours with more experienced people. They are also great on the way down when you're locked into your regular alpine bindings. I haven't had any issues with mine. Trekkers are a good similar option if you make sure to take the time to get them set up right, and are careful not to over stress them, or fall over the front. That's how I hear about them breaking most often.

Regular AT bindings are all notorious for exploding at the worst possible moment. So just know that going in.

The new Dynafits and the Plum bindings seem to be the best option these days if you want to dedicate a setup just to AT. We have riders who ski their Dynafits everywhere, down some really gnarly stuff and never have issues.

 
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