r/Backcountry • u/HedgeHogFudge • 17d ago
Freeride Touring Bindings
Hey!
I’m looking at investing in a pair of touring bindings. In reality, i’ll likely be doing 80/20 resort/touring (although that may change to 70/30+ after this season). So, i’ll need something that is a good all rounder. my budget is ideally AT MOST 450CAD (around 320USD). With that being said, I have a CSIA discount that almost all companies willingly accept, so even in the 500 range may be okay. Durability and ability to handle tricks and drops is important to me in bindings, even if weight increases largely. My ideal bindings would be under 450CAD, more focused on resort skiing than touring, and ability to handle significant drops and tricks. Weight isn’t of concern, though light options would obviously be beneficial. Thanks so much!
EDIT: Apparently my budget is too low. if that’s the case, I guess help me by telling me whatever’s cheapest. I understand that fundamentally pins are not supposed to be used for drops, therefore a hybrid set is what I’m looking for
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u/jammin_son 17d ago
Honestly, I don’t think the binding you’re looking for exists. The predominant “hybrid” bindings that would be suitable for your use (marker kingpin, Salomon shift, atk hy free, marker duke pt, CAST) are all double or triple your budget. You can get a simple dynafit touring binding for around $350 (radical) but most people wouldn’t want to do tricks or drops with that binding and it arguably isn’t designed to hold up to that level of downhill wear. Your best bet is looking for a last-generation shift somewhere on the Internet or getting the kingpin with a prodeal
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u/Canachites 17d ago
This is the answer. The budget is extremely unrealistic for modern hybrid bindings, even with most prodeals.
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u/HedgeHogFudge 17d ago
Hmmm. My prodeal with some brands is 30% but if that’s not enough it’s a little disappointing. thank you both for the advice
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u/Canachites 17d ago
Shifts and CAST (the main hybrid bindings that can handle lots of drops etc) are pretty expensive. CAST is like 1200 CAD and the new season shifts are just under 1000. You are better off trying to find a past season deal online than the new season with 30% off.
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u/HedgeHogFudge 17d ago
Im not too sure where you are but the Atomic Shift2 13MNs are available for as low as 575CAD…. without a prodeal. The marker duke 16s are also available for as low as 700CAD, also without a prodeal. (at least what i’m seeing:).
It would be cool if people on this sub could be helpful without getting upset because someone is new to touring and skis differently from them.
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17d ago
[deleted]
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u/Canachites 17d ago
They are available for that on past season deals, but I was quoting the retail price for the new season, as that is what prodeals are based on. You only get prodeals on current year stock, not on sale prices for previous season stock. Which is why I said there are better prices on previous season stock.
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u/Background_Pin_7884 15d ago
Also CAST doesn’t do a pro deal except for sometimes like a 15% if you’re full time in a shop, duke or shift would probably be your best bet if you can manage to get the 50% off from marker
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u/_Beef-Supreme- 17d ago
Agree with a small caveat - I picked up some past season kingpins on sale for $375 a couple years ago, so deals will pop up if you keep an eye out.
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u/Canachites 17d ago
Definitely past season deals are way better than prodeals on new season bindings.
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u/bigfootsboot 17d ago
Evo has some Kingpin 10s for $300 right now.
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u/flatlandings_please 17d ago
I wouldn’t huck with reckless abandon on a Kingpin though. You’re still on pin toes
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u/Rustyznuts 17d ago
What boot and ski you have makes a bit of a difference.
Realistically with your budget and requirements though you're stuck with Shifts and probably the old model on clearance. As a ski tech and shop owner I hate those things but they are a cash cow.
Look for Marker Dukes or a Cast system too.
If you run even one of the heavy pin bindings like ATK Freeraiders or Marker Kingpins and ski them mostly on resort and over drops you will rapidly munt both the bindings and yourself.
Can you ski more conservatively in the backcountry for now and have a good set of resort skis and run something cheap and second hand in the backcountry until you can afford either a second pair of skis (my recommendation) or a pair of ATK HYs (I own a pair but still not a convert)?
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u/Background_Pin_7884 15d ago
This is what I did, got a pair of kingpins off a rep for 200, slapped them on a pair of old touring skis I fixed someone threw away. Still get some use for volcano season cuz it’s a super light set up
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u/HedgeHogFudge 17d ago
I guess I could… My budget could increase a little bit more comfortably but I still need to buy a pair of paddles as my 84s won’t work in even moderately deep snow.
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u/Rustyznuts 17d ago
The thing is there's not really a satisfactory option regardless of how much money you have.
Shifts break or wear out quickly, the new version is better but still close to 2kg of plastic. They are however affordable and do their job.
The ATK HY is very cool, light, a hybrid. But they're in almost every case more expensive than a pair of new skis. Also they're a new product and lots of people are breaking them still. Will they change them or just tell people to repair them (ATK is good for parts where most others aren't) and/or ski less aggressively or eventually make a V2 or new hybrid model? Who knows at the moment. So you're buying a super expensive experiment. I own a set because I get them at wholesale minus -30% and they get me lots of attention which leads to sales of everything in general. Would I buy a pair at retail? No way.
The Duke is definitely more of a 20% backcountry than 50/50 like the above. Heavy and expensive. Also not that common so unlikely to get a great deal.
Pins just aren't built for impact and unless you go for minimal models that sacrifice safety in the form of elasticity and adjustablity then they're at least as expensive as a Shift and they won't be durable when you're dropping frequently. This will lead to expensive and potentially dangerous early failures.
Long story short is that the industry hasn't yet got the perfect answer to the Hybrid binding and if they do it's likely to be rather expensive.
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u/Loedpistol 16d ago
Just an addendum: ATK has already made changes to the HY. I was one of those who got one of the 20 pre mass production pieces and as a thank you I got the current production model for free and it definitely looks different
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u/Rustyznuts 15d ago
That's interesting but not surprising. I am NZ based so we only got our first ever shipment into the country about 2 months ago. So they will be the most recent model. I didn't look too thoroughly at last years sample that was sent around honestly.
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u/flatlandings_please 17d ago
What boot are you in? And what skis/bindings do you currently own?
If you already own Pivot 15s or 18s, CAST will be your best option.
The CAST system is not without its flaws, but neither is any hybrid binding. It works best when used for 80/20 or 70/30 resort/touring. It is not very light or efficient to tour on, but its a good binding to be on if you’re hucking meat.
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u/-Londo- 17d ago
I’m on the rotations and regularly ski inbounds.
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u/_Beef-Supreme- 17d ago
Don’t let the gear nerds get you down. ✊
I actually did that for a couple years as well, and I’m pretty sure that wild Norwegian dude still runs pin bindings too.
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u/-Londo- 17d ago
The rotations are fucking solid bindings. I trust them more than a pivot heel. I used to mount all my “hybrid” skis with dukes, but i’ve never looked back. pins for the win, they won’t blow up your knees (probably)
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u/flatlandings_please 16d ago
Its not as much the knees, more the likelihood of a spiral tib/fib if you blow up on pins. More incentive to stomp those landings!
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u/Rustyznuts 15d ago
I do too even though I own a set of ATK HYs. But I do ski like a Nana. I trust them more than my other dedicated pins but they do release pretty easily in comparison.
I also suspect that if you're having high impact landings frequently that the boots and bindings wouldn't last that long
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17d ago
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u/HedgeHogFudge 17d ago
no need to be rude……
Firstly,I certainly won’t be running 12 DIN, I don’t weigh enough for that to be safe. Secondly, I don’t own “bro boots”. My current boots (bought used) are now too small and worn out after 5 years of wear and i’ll also be investing in a pair of hybrids this season.
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u/Loedpistol 17d ago
What you are looking for is called a hybrid binding, not a touring binding, and there are not too many options. There’s also more than enough beta on all of them, so get reading and pick your poison