Which binding should I choose?

L

lukas_chatzi

New member
hey newschoolers,

wanted to ask for opinions on what binding i should buy. I will buy me some new pairs of armada arv 94 in 178cm. I am 182cm tall and my weigth is around 76kg (167,5lbs) and my riding level is very good I would say. I am skking since I can think more or less but I want to get my first real park/freestyle/freeride setup since I want to get into parking more.

Now I can't decide between the armada strive 14gw (around 100euros), the salomon sth2 16 and the armada strive 16 (both around 250euros).

So you see the 14 is way cheaper but I think it misses some of the metal parts the others have. Thats why i am not sure about the durability with the armada strive 14.

Also if you got other recommendations for other bindings that are not extremely expensive, I'd be happy to know about them

Thanks for every answer.

Two additional questions: What does STH stand for in ski bindings?

Is 178cm ski length good for 182cm body length?

**This thread was edited on Mar 25th 2024 at 8:59:04am
 
The STH has been a very durable and reliable binding for a long time. I'd definitely go with the salomon over the armada. you could also look into the marker jester or tyrolia attack.

And to answer your other question 178 isn't too short. you may notice it a bit outside of the park in terms of stability but it will be perfectly fine in for the park.
 
the STHs have been around a while now and have built a great reputation. the strive is the successor to it and i've not heard anything bad about them yet but they haven't been around long enough to say much with certainty

i think you're right that the STH16 is pretty good about metal construction and like i said they've built a great reputation. can't go wrong with them here i'd say, but honestly i wouldn't be too pessimistic about how the strives do

i think STH stands for steel track housing, which is the track thing on the heelpiece i think? i think that used to be on the old burly salomon bindings like the metal 916s. mining old vague memories here

and 178 is pretty good for a park ski on a 182cm person. general rule of thumb is start with your height and add or subtract a little from there based on skill, preferences, what you ski etc
 
14600744:WittyCong said:
The STH has been a very durable and reliable binding for a long time. I'd definitely go with the salomon over the armada. you could also look into the marker jester or tyrolia attack.

And to answer your other question 178 isn't too short. you may notice it a bit outside of the park in terms of stability but it will be perfectly fine in for the park.
Click to expand...

thanks for the answer!

yeah I was looking into tyrolia as well but from reviews, threads etc. i figured that tyrolia also consists of plastic for the most part and that they are not that excellent when talking durability. and marker i know they produce good bindings aswell but i had soooo many problems with my squire 11 they broke all the time so i it's like a mental thing with marker for me i guess

And in general I think you're totally correct when saying that I should choose Salomon over Armada but I have to consider the price as well bc Salomon is more than double the price of Armada and I am pretty broke rn
 
14600776:SofaKingSick said:
the STHs have been around a while now and have built a great reputation. the strive is the successor to it and i've not heard anything bad about them yet but they haven't been around long enough to say much with certainty

i think you're right that the STH16 is pretty good about metal construction and like i said they've built a great reputation. can't go wrong with them here i'd say, but honestly i wouldn't be too pessimistic about how the strives do

i think STH stands for steel track housing, which is the track thing on the heelpiece i think? i think that used to be on the old burly salomon bindings like the metal 916s. mining old vague memories here

and 178 is pretty good for a park ski on a 182cm person. general rule of thumb is start with your height and add or subtract a little from there based on skill, preferences, what you ski etc
Click to expand...

thank you that's very helpful information. so the reviews I read where pretty positive about the strives, pretty hard decision in my opinion. yeah that meaning for sth would make sense indeed, thanks!
 
In the binding department; Salomon, Armada, Atomic, all 3 are under the Amer umbrella and pool resources and so there are no differences beyond colours and printed brand.

Strive 14 vs 16

14 is gripwalk and Alpine boot norm only

16 is adjustable to take a touring norm also

14 is mostly glass fibre reinforced PA plastic

16 has metal components in the heel making power transmission and durability better

STH versus Strive

Pretty sure STH stands for Steel Housing Technology

there is no difference in heel between the strive 16 and STH

the difference is in the toe. The strive has a new toe design which has lower centre of gravity, supposedly improving ski feel and power transmission.

the STH driver toe has unmatched elasticity at 52mm vs the 47mm of the strive. this means with the STH you’re marginally less likely to pre-release when the skis get knocked about.

I would rank them STH, Strive 16, Strive 14.

as to which you should get it’s about whether you are hard on your gear and are willing to have a binding that lasts longer and if you’re an aggressive skier and will get the benefits of a better “suspension” of a binding.

Other good options would be Look Pivot 15 which have more metal components giving marginally better durability, they have similar but different elasticity, with the vertical release suspension feel of the binding being smoother and reliable.
 
14600792:lukas_chatzi said:
thanks for the answer!

yeah I was looking into tyrolia as well but from reviews, threads etc. i figured that tyrolia also consists of plastic for the most part and that they are not that excellent when talking durability. and marker i know they produce good bindings aswell but i had soooo many problems with my squire 11 they broke all the time so i it's like a mental thing with marker for me i guess

And in general I think you're totally correct when saying that I should choose Salomon over Armada but I have to consider the price as well bc Salomon is more than double the price of Armada and I am pretty broke rn
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man, you are not gonna break the bindings. Also salomon, armada and atomic bindings are exactly the same because they are all a part of amer sports. Squire 11 and attack 11 are the worst bindings you can get, but the attack 14 and griffon 13 are soo much better. I dont think you will benefit from a 16 din, around 14 din will be best for you. Dont care about durability rn imo, get a good binding. If you want the best durabilty tho - go for pivots. Also sth on park skis is weird

**This post was edited on Mar 25th 2024 at 12:50:28pm

**This post was edited on Mar 25th 2024 at 12:54:01pm
 
14600792:lukas_chatzi said:
thanks for the answer!

yeah I was looking into tyrolia as well but from reviews, threads etc. i figured that tyrolia also consists of plastic for the most part and that they are not that excellent when talking durability. and marker i know they produce good bindings aswell but i had soooo many problems with my squire 11 they broke all the time so i it's like a mental thing with marker for me i guess

And in general I think you're totally correct when saying that I should choose Salomon over Armada but I have to consider the price as well bc Salomon is more than double the price of Armada and I am pretty broke rn
Click to expand...

There's plenty of people doing dubs and skiing park at the highest levels on the marker jesters and attacks. I don't want to make assumptions as to why you had issues with the squire in the past but a bad experience with a binding shouldn't be the end all be all. I'd give the griffon 13 or jester 16 or the attack 14 or 16 a try. You are not going to break them because they're plastic so I'd drop that notion from your mind when shopping for bindings in the future. If you're destroying bindings constantly it's either the binding itself which should be a warranty claim or you are doing something to cause them to fail. metal bindings are great if you're taking huge slams or putting your skis through the ringer constantly but I highly doubt you are doing that if you are just learning park. If you're really in a pinch for money give the armadas a try, I don't have any experience with them to give an opinion on them. Best of luck with your search

**This post was edited on Mar 25th 2024 at 3:30:21pm
 
14600776:SofaKingSick said:
i think STH stands for steel track housing, which is the track thing on the heelpiece i think? i think that used to be on the old burly salomon bindings like the metal 916s. mining old vague memories here
Click to expand...

14600797:FaunaSkis said:
Pretty sure STH stands for Steel Housing Technology
Click to expand...

close enough, whoever's right, but i'll defer to you

do you know what FKS stands for???
 
14600792:lukas_chatzi said:
and marker i know they produce good bindings aswell but i had soooo many problems with my squire 11 they broke all the time so i it's like a mental thing with marker for me i guess
Click to expand...

In my experience high end Marker stuff (Jesters) are actually pretty good, Griffons are okay and Squires and everything below are absolute garbage. I'd say the same about look too, Pivot 15 and up is great but SPX and NX break if you look at them sideways
 
14600867:SofaKingSick said:
close enough, whoever's right, but i'll defer to you

do you know what FKS stands for???
Click to expand...

I honestly claim no greater authority on this matter, it just seemed right from the marketing I checked. I feel like steel tracks on bindings have been quite common for a while but steel spring housings aren’t and would be a good point of difference to plastic spring housings.

14600877:IsaacNW82 said:
In my experience high end Marker stuff (Jesters) are actually pretty good, Griffons are okay and Squires and everything below are absolute garbage. I'd say the same about look too, Pivot 15 and up is great but SPX and NX break if you look at them sideways
Click to expand...

~11 din bindings all are designed for lighter and less aggressive skiers, there’s honestly no stand out burly low din binding. They all have majority plastic constructions and I feel that limits the positive engagement sound/feel that gives me confidence as a not skinny tall guy.
 
14600849:WittyCong said:
There's plenty of people doing dubs and skiing park at the highest levels on the marker jesters and attacks. I don't want to make assumptions as to why you had issues with the squire in the past but a bad experience with a binding shouldn't be the end all be all. I'd give the griffon 13 or jester 16 or the attack 14 or 16 a try. You are not going to break them because they're plastic so I'd drop that notion from your mind when shopping for bindings in the future. If you're destroying bindings constantly it's either the binding itself which should be a warranty claim or you are doing something to cause them to fail. metal bindings are great if you're taking huge slams or putting your skis through the ringer constantly but I highly doubt you are doing that if you are just learning park. If you're really in a pinch for money give the armadas a try, I don't have any experience with them to give an opinion on them. Best of luck with your search

**This post was edited on Mar 25th 2024 at 3:30:21pm
Click to expand...

yeah i think you're totally right, thank you!!

gonna have a look at the attack 14 and armadas now i think
 
14600776:SofaKingSick said:
the STHs have been around a while now and have built a great reputation. the strive is the successor to it and i've not heard anything bad about them yet but they haven't been around long enough to say much with certainty

i think you're right that the STH16 is pretty good about metal construction and like i said they've built a great reputation. can't go wrong with them here i'd say, but honestly i wouldn't be too pessimistic about how the strives do

i think STH stands for steel track housing, which is the track thing on the heelpiece i think? i think that used to be on the old burly salomon bindings like the metal 916s. mining old vague memories here

and 178 is pretty good for a park ski on a 182cm person. general rule of thumb is start with your height and add or subtract a little from there based on skill, preferences, what you ski etc
Click to expand...

Strive is the superior binding. Power transfer is excellent fairly low stack unlike something like a jester. The heel is the same as the STH but the toe is updated. All the issues from the STH toe has been fixed here. The old STH had independent adjustable wings that were a pain in the ass to adjust and would wander. Strive doesn't. In the strive go for Salomon or atomic. I have had more trouble with Armada branded bindings than identical Atomic or Salomon. Idk. Personally I ride pivot 15's and love those but go for whatever is in your price range. The strive is a very good binding.
 
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