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Figured I'd start a thread since I couldnt find a specific one.
I was able to see some comments in the lightweight touring thread, but nothing specific.
So... Whats the deal with these binders.
They seem like they're glossed over quite a bit.
Anyone skiing on the Titan Vario 2? Seems like a pretty cool option for a lightweight binder with heel elasticity built in, with a funky toe piece.
guys at skimoco seem to love them, as well as the comment thread on the new vario 2.0 (link below), I have no expierence with them, so not really a useful comment.
https://skimo.co/ski-trab-titan-vario-2
I only skied 1 day on them. Skied great but user interface was very frustrating. Was happy to get back on my MTN the next day.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by skisurfmirth
What about it?
The toe piece is the most innovative. It's my favorite by far. I do believe the toe elasticity described at 1:05 makes a noticeable difference when skiing down.
Additionally, the ability to skin without locking the toe makes me feel a little bit safer when skinning. Also, I'm lazy and seriously it's kind of nice not to lock/unlock toes. My ski comes off a few times in very bad skinning conditions or when I'm hacking around on the skintrack, but it's pretty rare. Or you can just lock the toes as normal and have the option to unlock the toes when you want, e.g. when you're forced to cross a suspect slope.
In terms of getting into the binding, it's a different process. Some people say they switched over without a problem. I'd say it's still a little more cumbersome to step in, but I'm okay with the tradeoff.
In my experience, the heel elasticity of the Vario 2 is only good for safety. It ensures consistent release when the ski flexes. I did not find any noticeable difference in downhill performance, and that's been corroborated by Eric at skimoco.
I'm looking for one more Gara Titan/Vario 1 and then I'll be 100% on Trab race bindings.
no doubt toes look to have some benefits, but that whole heel system looks primed to ice up.Quote:
Originally Posted by CirqueScaler
it's the next purchase on my list.
i've heard the toe takes some getting used to, but i've heard it pays dividends particularly clicking in in precarious positions cuz you just depress the lever instead of having to actually step in with any force.
i'm anticipating the heel and risers being my biggest gripe. I like how my MTNs just involve one turn of the heel and you don't have to touch it to access all the heel risers levels.
having to bend down and turn the heel for each riser setting has the potential to be a bit annoying, but it depends on your skinning style. some people grind it out and stay at one riser level while others (me) like to switch them constantly for the slope angle.
with all the touring gear out there, people can find lots of options for their specific use-case. ultimately, ski trab binders are for the weight weenies. Gara titans are going on my big mission/volcano setup.
Toe piece does not lock in the open position, has to be held open. Really did not like having to rotate heel piece to access flat/high or mid heel heights.Quote:
Originally Posted by rfconroy
I'm with SPP on the riser thing. I want a low and high riser without turning anything. Seems like the you guys who we let go first to set a skin track get a little too drunk at the start of the climb and end up with track angles that are constantly varying, often to very steep. Seems like a second riser flap on the vario would be stupid simple. Nothing to loose and a lot to gain. Maybe we could put a vario heel, an MTN heel, and a Raider heel an box, shake it up good, and then let it sit for a while and see if they would fuck all summer long and hatch out a perfect heel in the fall. And, one that would use the ATK roller tipped U-spring. That's what I want.
Ive got the Titan with the higher release values. They definitely ski above their weight...I feel as good as ATKs, but not quite as good as Tectons.
Im using the Trab toe with an ATK Freeraider heel (the old one with the beefier spacer). 630g, elasticity, good retention...dont have brakes but I can live without them.
Nice to see these get some traction on TGR. I have around ~100 days on my gara titan and its a solid lightweight binding. I broke a toepiece once just randomly skinning around, but I want to say that was a fluke (I got a warranty on it). I definitely would not be airing anything on these binding but feel pretty comfortable taking them all over the PNW for skiing. Never had any icing issues or anything else. If you are willing to ski a bit more gently in the backcountry and aren't consistently hucking cliffs, I'd recommend it. Also allows you to get a couple extra laps in