Duke or Baron?

[Jktraylor]

I'm looking to get into some AT gear this year and I'm not seeing a good reason to go duke over baron. What say the group? I'm 6'0" 180 and usually ski a din of 10. You probably won't see me hucking anything over 20 and I don't spend much time in the park. These are going on Rocker 2 122s as a dedicated powder ski.

[hutash]

I'm looking to get into some AT gear this year and I'm not seeing a good reason to go duke over baron. What say the group? I'm 6'0" 180 and usually ski a din of 10. You probably won't see me hucking anything over 20 and I don't spend much time in the park. These are going on Rocker 2 122s as a dedicated powder ski.

First off, either sucks as an AT binder, think of them more as a side county binder. they are heavy and the walk modes sucks. If you really want an AT binder, get tech.

That said the biggest difference between Duke and Barron is the higher DIN, which since you are at the max of the Barron means you should probably go Duke. If you are a hard charger and huck a lot, even if "only" 20, the Duke will hold up better. The Duke weights a little more, but they are both boat anchors.

[kokomas]

I went Baron, no regrets

[gregL]

That said the biggest difference between Duke and Barron is the higher DIN, which since you are at the max of the Barron means you should probably go Duke.

At a DIN of 10, he's not even close to the max of the Baron, which should work fine for him. I'd even recommend saving a bit more weight and getting last year's Baron with the narrower rails.

[allaway]

At a DIN of 10, he's not even close to the max of the Baron, which should work fine for him. I'd even recommend saving a bit more weight and getting last year's Baron with the narrower rails.

On a related note to that - has anyone tried the newer '14 EPF Barons - does the rail width have a noticeable effect on performance or is it just marketing BS? I can pick up a pair of '13 barons for a pretty hefty discount compared to the '14s....

[skimaxpower]

Marker has made incremental improvements to it's "royal family" bindings since they were first released in approx 2006. That being said, if I were making this decision, I would go for last year's Barons and save the money.

[gregL]

On a related note to that - has anyone tried the newer '14 EPF Barons - does the rail width have a noticeable effect on performance or is it just marketing BS? I can pick up a pair of '13 barons for a pretty hefty discount compared to the '14s....

I've skied both the EPF and narrow versions of the Duke on 115mm and wider skis and don't notice a performance difference while skiing - plus the EPF versions are significantly heavier in an already heavy package

[justr]

Barons, and last year's are fine. Granted I'm lighter by a big measure... but Barons and r2 122 (@115 waist) are my resort + short tour (up to 4k vert) choice.

Walk mode isn't Tech for sure. And uphill steep kickturns on barons and long-tailed twins are uh fun, specially post abdominal surgery. But they work fine.

Didn't the newest tour f12 test out even torsionally stiffer than barons or dukes? I'd look there too if the DIN limit works. And it should.