2013-2014 Gear Rumors What you got

[rug wheelie]

Boot heel insert is retro. Image 5.) you can see 2 metal fangs just above the pins. These deliver vertical retention. Without the boot heel insert these fangs would tear up the plastic.

Toe piece rotates 8-10°(?) which is about what it takes to eject laterally from the heel.

$1,000.00 retail.

Rube Goldberg comes to mind.

[SiSt]

Boot heel insert is retro. Image 5.) you can see 2 metal fangs just above the pins. These deliver vertical retention. Without the boot heel insert these fangs would tear up the plastic.

Toe piece rotates 8-10°(?) which is about what it takes to eject laterally from the heel.

$1,000.00 retail.

Rube Goldberg comes to mind.

Yup.

Looks to me like the vertical retention fangs are loaded by the spring, so if there´s a coupling between this and the pins where the pins get pulled back in towards the center (looks like some kind of rotating gizmo in one of the pics), then that´ll be a way to get the variable retention setting in the heel. Bottom flathead screw sets the rotation value, top pozi sets vertical release. Can´t see any adjustment mechanism on the toe though.

[bestskieratsnowbird]

looks pretty sick, if it's in the weight range of the marker tour bindings but with a much more fluid tour mode like you'd expect from a dynafit it should be a winner. to anyone bitching about compatibility, that's what happens, sometimes you just gotta make a change and maybe it'll work with the old shit, maybe not. anyone getting pissed at a company for innovating probably isn't inclusive in the target market anyway.

[SiSt]

looks pretty sick, if it's in the weight range of the marker tour bindings but with a much more fluid tour mode like you'd expect from a dynafit it should be a winner. to anyone bitching about compatibility, that's what happens, sometimes you just gotta make a change and maybe it'll work with the old shit, maybe not. anyone getting pissed at a company for innovating probably isn't inclusive in the target market anyway.

I don't think it's so much being pissed at innovation, more that you feel a bit stranded by the highway maybe? If Dynafit provides the fittings "free" included in the pricetag and it's an easy mod that can be done by any certified dealer, then they get a lot more love from their already loyal customers.

[skimaxpower]

Granted, it's just a photo from the Internet, but the 16-DIN Dynafit offering doesn't leave me salivating. Looks heavier, more complicated, and more ways to break. I love the simplicity of the current Speed Radical. In contrast, this thing looks like it's just waiting to spring open and shoot tiny expensive bits of metal all over the ski hill.

Also noteworthy: it comes with brakes.

[marshalolson]

Granted, it's just a photo from the Internet, but the 16-DIN Dynafit offering doesn't leave me salivating. Looks heavier, more complicated, and more ways to break. I love the simplicity of the current Speed Radical. In contrast, this thing looks like it's just waiting to spring open and shoot tiny expensive bits of metal all over the ski hill.

do you want alpine functionality or no? all alpine bindings have many more parts than a TLT binding. its just that most of them are inside a housing so you can't see them.



either way, expect dynafit and licensed designs to retrofit, but i would be highly skeptical of non-licensed designs (k2, lange, tecnica, etc) to retrofit to this new binding.

[arild]

Those look awesome. It'll be interesting to see if dynafit manages to get them on the market next year already.

Norsk.

[bestskieratsnowbird]

damn too early to say much but i am liking it, kinda what the GMF guys were trying to accomplish with the more reliable release of an alpine binding and the touring ease of tech. not gonna be that light but that's totally fine in my book. hopefully hoji's putting em through the paces.

[Prodigy]

Welp, looks like the cat's out of the bag. Surprisingly nobody's talked about #4 and #5 in that second picture yet.

[verbier61]

I dunno how many skiers in yurp actually need 16 DIN. Certainly not the majority of the people I'm skiing with...
Moreover, plums have been on sale here for 200€ this fall.

[marshalolson]

I dunno how many skiers in yurp actually need 16 DIN. Certainly not the majority of the people I'm skiing with...
Moreover, plums have been on sale here for 200€ this fall.

i personally look at this binding as replacing the ALPINE binding (or duke, or guardian) in my stable, not a 330g plum. maybe that is crazy talk.

either way, cue up the hype machine

[SiSt]

i personally look at this binding as replacing the ALPINE binding (or duke, or guardian) in my stable, not a 330g plum. maybe that is crazy talk.

either way, cue up the hype machine

True. Not so much about weight, or DIN for that matter, but about power transfer, elasticity, consistent, trusty release values etc. And it will tour soo much better than any plate binding...

Played out the right way, this could likely be the the most torsionally stiff binding ever? (Crazy talk or potentially possible?)

[verbier61]

Well if I do not need 16 din why shoud I pay 700€ for this rather than 200€ for a 12 din plum.... But maybe I'm wrong

[shirk]

Well if I do not need 16 din why shoud I pay 700€ for this rather than 200€ for a 12 din plum.... But maybe I'm wrong

It's not about the DIN number.

It's about this

elasticity, consistent, trusty release values etc.

When skied on mixed inbound/slackcountry type terrain.

[hop]

Since I don't need 16 (or 12 for that matter) DIN and get along fine with the normal FT heel, I wonder if I could just get the new toes for a bit of elasticity in my current setup.

[verbier61]

So y have already decided that this stuff is the best bindings as for elasticity, trusted release values, etc. Dynafit does not need a marketing dept.

[Scottish_Skier]

Interesting.... Looks like they going for a Marker Duke Killer ?

FWIW No tech bindings are currently officially DIN certified - as they don't release vertically, only laterally. If these have a a proper DIN rated release then it will be a step forward (if you can afford them!).

Obviously no one needs DIN 16.... if you really don't want your skis to come off then locking the toe on TLT speeds = a leg breaking DIN 25!

[skinnyskier]

Since I don't need 16 (or 12 for that matter) DIN and get along fine with the normal FT heel, I wonder if I could just get the new toes for a bit of elasticity in my current setup.

Am I wrong to think that Dynafit is using a turntable heel for lateral release in the Beast 16? Is the toe really any different?

[shirk]

So y have already decided that this stuff is the best bindings as for elasticity, trusted release values, etc. Dynafit does not need a marketing dept.

Where did anyone say it's already proven to be the BEST based on a couple pictures?

There are hundreds of horror stories about inconsistent releasing from tech bindings when skied in variable and chopped up (inbounds) snow.

IF this binding does that better some people will find it to be their one quiver solution.

It certainly APPEARS to be moving in a direction that addresses that.

Release value of 16 is pure marketing. The rest of the market is 16 so if you are not painting that number on the side then you are not in that market. DIN does not actually certify any release value over 10.

[JRainey]

Am I wrong to think that Dynafit is using a turntable heel for lateral release in the Beast 16? Is the toe really any different?

I imagine the heel releases laterally like current tech bindings, also like the older tyrolia side release heel piece. The toe probably just rotates to accommodate lateral motion in the heel before release. In current tech bindings your heel can't swing out too far before it pops out at the toe.

These are like turntables in reverse, the toe pivots to increase the deflection range of a heel that releases. Instead of a heel piece that rotates to increase the deflection range of a toe that releases.

I also see the benefit of these as a real alpine replacement. I've been skiing on plums almost exclusively inbounds since last spring and have begun to question the need for alpine bindings. Especially with the state of the art in AT boots. There's still a slight doubt in my mind when I pushing it really hard, and even though they've done me good, it takes a while to develop trust with a binding.

I would say these aren't the right direction for a pure touring binding, but for an alpine replacement that tours better than any frame binding, it looks pretty good.

[Jonathan S.]

[...]also like the older tyrolia side release heel piece[...]

Tyrolia lateral release has never been anywhere other than at the toe.
The "diagonal" heel just pivots out very slightly while releasing forward.

[JRainey]

Tyrolia lateral release has never been anywhere other than at the toe.
The "diagonal" heel just pivots out very slightly while releasing forward.

Thanks for the correction.

[bestskieratsnowbird]

I would say these aren't the right direction for a pure touring binding, but for an alpine replacement that tours better than any frame binding, it looks pretty good.

no improvements need to be made in the pure touring market, there's no drawbacks for someone just looking to ski a little pow a couple miles in the backcountry to a setup like dynafit speeds with TLT5s or something. weight is super low, they tour like a dream and ski fine for their intended purpose. on the flipside, there's nothing on the market for someone looking to go get out into big mountains with a binding that is reasonably light and tours reasonably well, and a boot to match. it just doesn't exist regardless of what some people are led to believe. that's what we're hoping for in this binding. i wouldn't say an alpine replacement like marshal mentioned, there's always going to be the need for those inbounds in my opinion, but for skiing big shit that is human powered access, there's no viable option still in my opinion.

[TG]

So y have already decided that this stuff is the best bindings as for elasticity, trusted release values, etc. Dynafit does not need a marketing dept.

HaHa.

If you want an example of marketing BS, try the Plum brake, eh? That was coming "real soon now" from not long after the time the 1st plum was made available, years ago. The "coming soon, better than Dynafit" brake was used as a selling point for the binding.

[werdswerf]

Does anyone have any pics/details about the new battery-powered airbags? I feel like this could be a game changer - even after a few years of iterations, compressed air airbags are expensive and not particularly user friendly.