Impressive execution. Just one day so far on them
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Impressive execution. Just one day so far on them
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Got my second gen out to do some resort skiing on saturday and they were great. Got to test a double front release and side releases.![]()
^ so are they any more damp than regular techs?
Oh wait I meant pintech
Looking to put these on a 112 waist ski, 108 brake gonna give me any troubles?
Full speed from a run into icy moguls again at full speed (didn't see them- shoulda been paying attention - whoops). Skis stayed on my feet. Vipecs felt gooooood. Would've rattled out fillings on my Dynafit pulling the same dumb stunt
So is the point that you re still pulling the same dumb stunts OR that we are in a brave new world WRT touring bindings?
I'd really like to see a side by side comparison of everything out there - all the good and the bad. Sort of what Jeff Brines did with the boot shoot out between vulcans, maestrales and freedoms.
Fair enough, not interested in a complete shoot out anyways.
How do you think kingpin would have handled your unexpected rip into the icy bumps? As an old guy with effed knees I'm looking for a kinder gentler ride than my verticals.
Thanks Lee, always appreciate your input.
I've always thought the problem with the Dynafit 'teeth shattering' on icy runs is as much to do with the stiff/light skis as the boots themselves. A good liner, more absorbant footbed, should fix that somewhat. I just don't see how any one pin-tech can be more subtle than another given the interface is the same.
But what do I know? Does it make a difference between tech binding models?
FWIW, I think the Beast heel does look like Alien
Wrong thread, I know![]()
sure but maybe alien was already taken?
Lee Lau - xxx-er is the laziest Asian canuck I know
Shar and I have the same bsl and the same boot size. She was curious about the Kingpins so was also skiing on that same run but a bit behind and also went into the icy moguls. She told me afterwards --- "oooops holy s&*t" but they felt like an alpine binding even when getting knocked around
Does anyone know where I can find a pair of demo plates for the vipec? Any reps or shops out there that have a pair they would sell? Also curious to see a close up picture of the vipec mounted to the demo plate. The guys at BD said both the toe and heel can be moved on the demo plate and that the standard vipec binding just mounts onto the plates.
For sure! I got 108 installed on 100 skis, almost too small.
Thread drift but the Beast heel reminds me of Lou's page on the Su-matic AT binding, which really does look like a metal cricket trying to eat your boot heel:
https://www.wildsnow.com/backcountry...i-binding.html
Got to finally do some self powered riding with the vipec's yesterday. Only really had to use the tour mode in the toe when I started kickturning as I'm horrible at those :P
So whats the general consensus on the new vipecs? seems like they have addressed a lot of the issues of the first gen toe piece. quite interested in these now, currently have current gen plum guides which are ok but all the failures reported in the plum thread do scare me a bit. also wouldnt mind something with a bit more elasticity and that skis a bit more like an alpine binding.
have read some things about the heel piece icing up a bit and also not engaging properly and going insta-tele. Have people found this to be much of an issue? Id be using them a lot in NZ conditions where the snow is wetter and tends to pack in to things and ice up fairly easy. also read about someone pre releasing at the toe piece when they tried kicking the edge of their ski into firmer snow on a steep slope, has this happened to anyone else?
Do people feel these are as durable as the current radical line? seems like they are quite complex and plasticy which tends to make my think there could be more to go wrong, this could just be irrational paranoia though.
Had 5 days which is by no means a long term review.
- Solid "feeling" connection which is a plus
- More fiddly to get into than Dynafits. Ease of getting in from easiest to hardest -> Ions - Dynafit/Kingpin (tied) - Vipec - Onyx
- Is possible to torque first heel lifter enough under aggressive cantilevered skinning for the lifter pin to displace from its slot. However the plastic is so tough I could bend it back into the slot
- Easy to engage lifters
- No pre-releases so far at Din 9 which is my normal alpine DIN (had to run my Dynafits at DIN 10)
- Tendency for toe lever to click from Walk to Ski mode when kick turning. Going to try the smaller/lower toepiece color clips to see if that helps
- No icing of heel. Visual inspection shows no way for ice to get into heel
- No toepiece pins issues
I beat the crap out of the first gens and recently got a set of the new toes on warranty. Seems to have fixed every issue that I've heard of. Pin is now held in place with a lock-wire, plastic internal piece which held the binding open for step-in has been replaced with metal, guides have been added that make step-in much less fiddly, and a new color clip size has been added that works with additional boot toe shapes.
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