Worth it to get Marker Dukes for occasional touring?

-benedetto

-benedetto

Active member
I live in NY and have never ski toured. However, I hike a lot and snowshoe when conditions allow. I've been interested in Ski Touring for years. So my question is, are the Marker Duke's good enough for 95% skiing and maybe 5% touring. There are a few trails around me in the Catskills that I would like to Tour up when conditions allow in the future. I like hiking and the workout so much that I would tour up at a ski hill as well for the first run or two of the day too. So, would I get away with skiing hard with the Marker Dukes and maybe touring a few times a year?
 
I would say yes, I would caution you about using those bindings for everyday mountain skiing. Touring bindings like the duke, provide lift off the ski, some people are not used to this and do not like it. The other thing is, if you use these bindings too much and beat them up on the mountain, the touring mechanism will become loose. Even though the duke is heavy, if you don't tour much, this binding will be absolutely fine. Depending on how aggressive you are as a skier, you could save a little weight and get the baron which is the 13 DIN version of the duke.
 
13700626:cobra_commander said:
because the BCA ones were such a great success? Dumb idea is dumb.
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Pretty sure the whole point of the Daymakers is to be what the Trekkers weren't. And for the record, I have numerous friends who use Trekkers fairly often for day-trips, and none have had issues with them, and they've all always been happy they didn't shell out for expensive AT bindings.

The Dukes will ski about as well as most regular bindings, but have a larger stack height, weigh and cost a lot more, and always give you some uncertainty when landing switch. For truly just 5% touring, I would look into something like the Daymakers or BCA Trekkers, though Dukes would be a viable option.
 
13700626:cobra_commander said:
because the BCA ones were such a great success? Dumb idea is dumb.
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Why would you sacrifice so much performance and money to get a touring binding for 95% skiing and 5% touring? THAT seems like a dumb idea.

He obviously isnt touring up 5k vert NY peaks, you just need something simple to get you up there reliably and supply the funnest way down.
 
13707331:ReetsAdeets said:
and they've all always been happy they didn't shell out for expensive AT bindings.
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These are $300 on top of whatever you spend on bindings...

You can get guardians online for pretty cheap right now.
 
Yes but you can transfer it between ALL of your skis. If its not a deep day you may be skiing on a 98mm underfoot, if it's dumping maybe your 115mm. you would need 2 pairs of touring bindings then
 
I would recommend the Barons. If that's all the touring you'll be doing then I would go with a little cheaper option that will still let you ski as hard as you want.
 
13708560:50Kal said:
Anyone get a pair of daymakers yet? Wanna hear how they work.
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Mine came in the mail yesterday, test fitted everything today. Everything seems really well put together, just like in all their videos and descriptions. I've tried everything from old school trekkers to full AT setups, and i would honestly pick this over a binding like the duke or similar any day. Off course they add a bit extra weight, but the duke is already a heavy binding. And i can still use trust my fks or attacks going downhill.
 
Anybody ever use MFD Alltimes?

I know they've been out of business for years, but I had a set and they seemed to actually work quite well before I ditched those skis.
 
13710189:WildBANimal said:
Anybody ever use MFD Alltimes?

I know they've been out of business for years, but I had a set and they seemed to actually work quite well before I ditched those skis.
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I skied on a pair mounted on Atomic Alibis all the time for a few years and loved them, until one of the plastic heel pieces that holds the plate down broke on the landing of a switch 3 last season. Up until then, they skied rock solid. The metal plate got bent and the heel piece is all broken now. They were great for a few years of hard use all over the resort though, including some park days, and for some steep day tours. They're heavy, but I did like how they toured. The risers were easy to use with your pole baskets, and how you didn't have to get out of your bindings to switch from walk to ski mode. The toe hinge lets the ski pivot almost all the way around when the heels free, so you can take your skins off without getting out of your bindings too. I did always think it was weird that when the heels were locked down, even unweighted, the plates flexed the skis bit and took its normal camber out of it and giving it a little bit of rocker. I always loved how that setup skied though so I just went with it.
 
13711303:ReetsAdeets said:
I skied on a pair mounted on Atomic Alibis all the time for a few years and loved them, until one of the plastic heel pieces that holds the plate down broke on the landing of a switch 3 last season. Up until then, they skied rock solid. The metal plate got bent and the heel piece is all broken now. They were great for a few years of hard use all over the resort though, including some park days, and for some steep day tours. They're heavy, but I did like how they toured. The risers were easy to use with your pole baskets, and how you didn't have to get out of your bindings to switch from walk to ski mode. The toe hinge lets the ski pivot almost all the way around when the heels free, so you can take your skins off without getting out of your bindings too. I did always think it was weird that when the heels were locked down, even unweighted, the plates flexed the skis bit and took its normal camber out of it and giving it a little bit of rocker. I always loved how that setup skied though so I just went with it.
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Yeah, that's how I felt about them...

I feel like they could have been engineered a bit tougher, but outside of that and the fact that they were quite heavy (mostly because alpine bindings are just heavy), they were pretty rad to ski on.
 
I've toured on Dukes for a few seasons now, and had 70+ days touring on them last season. They seem to get a lot of hate from the ski touring community (mostly because anything except dynafit products are considered un-kosher) but in my personal experience they're a fully reliable binding that gives you 100% capability on the way down with the sacrifice of added weight on the uphill. I just switched to kingpins which I personally believe are the future of ski touring but those are a few years down the road for you...

If you're new to touring, get the dukes. It's a proven product that is durable and will give you those 5-10 days of touring a season that you're looking for while keeping your boots and skis.

In terms of the touring inserts and plates- they could be decent options but I would say they are less reliable and proven, so be careful with these.
 
13712444:Ian.D said:
I've toured on Dukes for a few seasons now, and had 70+ days touring on them last season. They seem to get a lot of hate from the ski touring community (mostly because anything except dynafit products are considered un-kosher) but in my personal experience they're a fully reliable binding that gives you 100% capability on the way down with the sacrifice of added weight on the uphill. I just switched to kingpins which I personally believe are the future of ski touring but those are a few years down the road for you...

If you're new to touring, get the dukes. It's a proven product that is durable and will give you those 5-10 days of touring a season that you're looking for while keeping your boots and skis.

In terms of the touring inserts and plates- they could be decent options but I would say they are less reliable and proven, so be careful with these.
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If you had to ride Dukes strictly inbounds what would you think of them?

Only reason I ask is because I got a set of the Seth Annex 118s that I really want to be my daily driver, and my touring setup is old k2 Made N's that I love with even older fritschis that have long outlived their life spans, so for me it seems like the cheapest way out is to to Dukes on Seth's for my everything ski. It just seems like not that many people are going this way. I am more worried about not having a reliable in bounds charging ski because they are touring bindings. I am just not that concerned with weight I figure you get used to what you have if you want to shed a lot of weight quit drinking and hit the gym.
 
13712857:Casey said:
If you had to ride Dukes strictly inbounds what would you think of them?

Only reason I ask is because I got a set of the Seth Annex 118s that I really want to be my daily driver, and my touring setup is old k2 Made N's that I love with even older fritschis that have long outlived their life spans, so for me it seems like the cheapest way out is to to Dukes on Seth's for my everything ski. It just seems like not that many people are going this way. I am more worried about not having a reliable in bounds charging ski because they are touring bindings. I am just not that concerned with weight I figure you get used to what you have if you want to shed a lot of weight quit drinking and hit the gym.
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The dukes are going to ski exactly the same as say a marker griffon binding. I've never had any sort or premature releases on them, you can crank the din as high as you're comfortable with.

That being said, there's two major differences from skiing a griffon on your resort skis.

1. You foot is raised higher off the ski because of the frame. It's only a few centimeters, but it gives you less feel for the ski. You'll definitely notice the difference at first but in my experience you adjust to it after a few days of riding.

2. The added weight is very noticeable. Instead of your skis feeling snappy and light, there's a significant increase in the swing weight which makes the maneuverability a little tougher.
 
13712963:Ian.D said:
The dukes are going to ski exactly the same as say a marker griffon binding. I've never had any sort or premature releases on them, you can crank the din as high as you're comfortable with.

That being said, there's two major differences from skiing a griffon on your resort skis.

1. You foot is raised higher off the ski because of the frame. It's only a few centimeters, but it gives you less feel for the ski. You'll definitely notice the difference at first but in my experience you adjust to it after a few days of riding.

2. The added weight is very noticeable. Instead of your skis feeling snappy and light, there's a significant increase in the swing weight which makes the maneuverability a little tougher.
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Right on, thanks for the good info!
 
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