Fritschi Vipec review thread

[MrSmith]

Face-to-palm.

Spent the morning finally getting my Vipec/Vector rig ready to go. After applying loctite to the toe pins I was using my fancy new torque wrench to torque down the locknut. Stripped one of the pins. I was reading the scale on the wrench wrong. Looks like the wings are fine, but I obviously need to wait for replacement pins now.

I'm an idiot.

[GeezerSteve]

You stripped a steel pin in an Al alloy hole?

[shirk]

I think Fritschi might have over estimated the mechanical competence of the average North America ski tourer.

Soon they'll have to limit instal to certified competent shops only.

[MrSmith]

Stripped the threads on the pin underneath the locknut. Misread the scale on the wrench and had it set about 7.5 Nm. Awesome, since I bought the wrench specifically to avoid botching this operation. Luckily the threads in the aluminum wings look fine.

[MrSmith]

Or I stripped the threads on the locknut, kind of hard to tell as the locknut no longer moves on the pin.

[MrSmith]

[GeezerSteve]

Or I stripped the threads on the locknut

More likely the nut cuz the pin should be some hard shit. Hardware store.

Seriously, who needs a torque wrench to snug down a 4M or whatever the fuck it is locknut?

[XXX-er]

You just tighten that nut till it strips and back er off a 1/4 turn eh?

I made a career out of fixing shit much of which looked pretty simple to me but it was just what I was good at

OTOH ... I know absolutely nothing about women

[LeeLau]

Easy to bag on MrSmith but how many certified competent shops are there really?

[Hugh Conway]

Easy to bag on MrSmith but how many certified competent shops are there really?

competent or certified?

the presence of the new torque wrench is disturbing.

[MrSmith]

Easy to bag on MrSmith but how many certified competent shops are there really?

I wouldn't post something like this here and not expect to be bagged on. I'm not in the habit of doing shit this dumb.

[MrSmith]

competent or certified?

the presence of the new torque wrench is disturbing.

Surely, all torque wrenches should be old.

[shirk]

Easy to bag on MrSmith but how many certified competent shops are there really?

Less and less these days, especially outside of mountain towns.

Alpine gear doesn't require actual technical skill. Align a jig, slam some holes, and get forward pressure sorta kinda close and it's good.

Adjusting for a mm or less of tech fitting variance then properly torquing a jam nut is much harder relative to the alpine setup.

I have not seen the Diamir tech manual for the new bindings, but the Swiss are usually very detailed if you take the time to read it all.

[XXX-er]

Easy to bag on MrSmith but how many certified competent shops are there really?

Isn't the average tech characteristically some dirt bag making not much $, who closed a place somewhat like say the Savage Beagle, last nite ... just as the mushrooms kicked in?

[LeeLau]

Isn't the average tech characteristically some dirt bag making not much $, who closed a place somewhat like say the Savage Beagle, last nite ... just as the mushrooms kicked in?

Sadly that might be true although I go to techs I trust. Randoms might not be as lucky.

Know its been said before but is it really a good idea for Fritschi to build something that requires as much precision as this? Especially given the state of competence in shops and home mechs - myself included? Just speculating on the precision as I'm kind of allergic to being the guinea pig for first-year tech bindings so am happy to let everyone else be the test bunnys.

[Hugh Conway]

If manufacturers keep selling shit tech boot fittings, yes. It's one or the other.

[XXX-er]

bleeding edge technology was/is ime never the best place to be

SO is spite of the sexy vipec & ion threads I bought 2 sets of dynatfits in the last month or so ... better the devil you know than the devil you don't

[NoPostholio]

^^^word, speed radicals will do ne just fine now.

[GeezerSteve]

Is there so much variation with non-Dynafit tech toes that an adjustable jaw width is necessary? Seems the dims could be reverse engineered within a cunt hair or two. Or is it a wear thing?

[NoPostholio]

When I had my vipecs mounted up, I had the shop tech try both my vulcans and tlt5s. When set up for the vulcans, the tlt5s would not get the same release parameters needed to deem them g2g with same pin adjustment. With the vipecs the pins have to be static and at full depth in the inserts - too tight or too loose and you would not get proper release needed. Dynafit toes on the other hand continue to clamp and the springs are always holding the pins into the dimples. I guess it all boils down to whether you think the toe release would help you. For me I did not see that as an advantage when weighed against all the fiddling involved with getting toes exactly right.

[Jonathan S.]

Is there that so [much] variation with non-Dynafit tech toes that an adjustable jaw width is necessary? Seems the dims could be reverse engineered within a cunt hair or two. Or is it a wear thing?

My understanding is Yes, Yes, No.
Dynafit does publish a detailed standard.
(I've had a partial copy of it for years now.)
No, it's not enforceable by rule of law or something, but there is a detailed published standard for anyone to follow.
And even if there wasn't, the dimensions are easy to copy just by grabbing a pair of old Dynafit boots.
Why would anyone deviate from it?
So Tecnica made their dimples too shallow one year (their first year IIRC), Garmont made their dimples too deep one year (their last year!), and apparently other companies don't get the left<>right span distance exactly right.
The most amazing part was when Garmont initially denied that anything was wrong (according to WildSnow.com). This past fall, I was rather surprised (or maybe not...) to see a northern New England climbing shop selling last year's Garmont boots at some trivial discount. I clipped the boot into an adjacent consignment ski/binding setup, and the loose fit was immediately obvious. Then I tried to twist it out (toe lever in ski mode, but heel pins not engaged), the resistance was obviously all wrong. Kind of a dead horse since Garmont is now bought out by Scott, but Garmont's denial was pretty much on par with the dead parrot skit, and their flouting of the Dynafit standard was inexplicably strange -- what do they hope to gain from such deviations?

[Hugh Conway]

< captain obvious > it's cheaper for them to manufacture things that way? The more specs/the tighter the spec, the more money it costs to make.

[Jonathan S.]

< captain obvious > it's cheaper for them to manufacture things that way? The more specs/the tighter the spec, the more money it costs to make.

But isn't it easier & cheaper to mindlessly copy an old Dynafit boot interface, rather than try to do something different?

[Hugh Conway]

But isn't it easier & cheaper to mindlessly copy an old Dynafit boot interface, rather than try to do something different?

Unless you are buying the parts from Dynafit (or using their drawings) you aren't "mindlessly copying"

[Jonathan S.]

When I had my vipecs mounted up, I had the shop tech try both my vulcans and tlt5s. When set up for the vulcans, the tlt5s would not get the same release parameters needed to deem them g2g with same pin adjustment.

Whoah, now this is surprising!
Does the boot sole rubber play any role in this?
(I didn't think so, but I'm surprised that two modern Dynafit boots would have enough variation to trip up the Vipec adjustment. Any PNW volcano damage to either boot?)