What's up with EssVar bindings?

[gwat]

Got these ancient EssVar 10-18 bindings.
The heel seems solid, it has a metal cup.
The toe is all plastic. I don't want to be cruising along at 170km/h and have my toe explode.
Was there ever an EssVar 10-18 metal toe made? That I could slide on there.
Or do the newer Atomic 10-18 bindings use the same hole pattern as the Ess?

[Gunder]

Yes, there was an all metal high-din race version. That was Atomics flagship for a while in the mid-late 90s. Funny I just threw a couple of boxes of them in the trash a week ago.

Completely different hole pattern than the current Atomic binders, as the new ones use the same hole pattern as the Salomon drivers etc.

Regardless those things are so old, there is no way I'd trust me knees to them. Besides its not like new high-din alpine dinging are that expensive anymore.

[LiveLarger]

Regardless those things are so old, there is no way I'd trust me knees to them.

Bang on target! Those bindings are trash.

[TAFKALVS]

They look like a spiral fracture waiting to happen.

[mntlion]

yes, they are old, but if you want to use them, get them tested to prove they are junk (odds are they WILL fail) but its worth knowing.

Also new binding, have a 5+% failure rate when tested, so stuff out of box is not perfect either.

[waxman]

it's not failure its just not to torque spec

g, check your texts

[buttahflake]

the toes should be fine, it's those heel's that are terrifying
vague is a good descriptor

[1000-oaks]

I had those on my Blizzard Thermo SL slalom skis, later replaced with Marker MR's. Never had any injuries, but then the plastic was fresh in 1989.

[Julio]

Extra Scary System. Very Accidental Release. And that was like 20 years ago!

[snoqpass]

We used to have fun with those,One binding forward One binding back

[DropCliffsNotBombs]

The sloppiest roll-coupling of any binding in history. I wouldn't waste one day of skiing on those.

[XXX-er]

We used to have fun with those,One binding forward One binding back

its called " telemark "

[Johnny Deep]

its called " telemark "

And that technology done jumped the shark.

[charlesj]

Everyone is right that they are rather ancient and likely to fail tests... BUT the whole easy to adjust fore-aft feature was rather sweet. you could tweak the position without the swiss cheese effect.

[Beyond]

As someone who had his his knees release before a crap Sollie binder of about the same vintage did, what's not to like: Save few bucks on binding. And soon have cool new knees without all those stupid ligaments and cartilage to hassle anymore. Win win.

[strawjack]

What are those boards they are mounted on? I'm thinking you keep everything as is and mount the whole deal on a wall.

[tuco]

Attachment 168301

My brother has that exact same setup(the 220's)

[tuco]

^^Haha, I thought it was because of the lean of the Dstars!
Yeah, bro's are 220's, and that would explain the different tip shape.
Speed skis?
There is no fukin' way I'd use those 1018's!

[1000-oaks]

Blazing-purple ESS glory can be had new for $42, ready for your vintage Rossi 4G's.
ESS VAR bindings By Atomic, New Old Bindings

[Altaholic]

Extra Scary System. Very Accidental Release. And that was like 20 years ago!

I like that.

[LiveLarger]

Please come back and describe in detail, the sound you heard when your ligaments popped. It's one you will never forget. Trust me

[skiATL]

Bumping this shit back up. Bought these at DI yesterday. I just want to use them for a run or two this spring. How do you adjust the forward pressure on these bad boys? I can't find good Info on them.

[buttahflake]

Same as it ever was, heel screw flush. I’m drooling, I was a huge Kastle fanboy back in that era. Have those ever been used? So sick!

[ill-advised strategy]

UR GONNA DIE!!!

[Afkpuz]

UR GONNA DIE!!!

can't tell what level of irony you're on with this username combo though

also they should recycle these colors... What's the most radbro downhill binding on the market, the pivot 18? can I get those in pink and green and white next year?