why does everyone hate marker bindings?

**GrantN** · 12-25-2015, 07:43 PM

Why so much hate for them? Is it a quality thing? Enlighten me.

**ScrewYou** · 12-25-2015, 07:48 PM

I love my jesters so far, but hear they get sloppy after a while. Time will tell.

**bornincolorado** · 12-25-2015, 08:06 PM

They got better

**TAFKALVS** · 12-25-2015, 08:14 PM

Nothing like double ejecting when you least expect it. No, markers are great.

**Vinman** · 12-25-2015, 08:17 PM

only had issues with them back in the piston era. Royal family is rock solid.

**stuckathuntermtn** · 12-25-2015, 10:42 PM

Royal Family is basically the opposite of the biometric toe. I don't think either are very good. Rode a demo ski with some Griffins and damn near blew my acl.

**Swine** · 12-26-2015, 12:28 AM

For me they feel needlessly harsh compared to fks/pivot. Less elasticity and I can tell.

**east or bust** · 12-26-2015, 10:35 AM

^what swine said may be true. have griffons and jesters and fks14s. there may be a slight difference in feel but you have to be looking for it to notice it IMO.

release is smoother on the fks

**WaistDeepGroomers** · 12-26-2015, 11:00 AM

If you ski slow on soft skis like I do, there is no reason to complain. Marker hate here seems to come from same rational for why the only skis you see in the buy/sell threads are 190+ and made of carbon-reinforced steel.

**ScrewYou** · 12-26-2015, 11:05 AM

I like to stay in my bindings as much as possible. For some odd reason I used to come out of my FKS 180s (multiple different sets) all the time with DIN set 11 or 12. I actually had better luck with my pivot 14s set at similar DIN..

My jesters are relatively new, so will need more time, but i love the burly step in and i havent come out once with DIN set at 12. No problems with stepping into them in powder either.

Still salomons are the best bindings..

**XavierD** · 12-26-2015, 11:14 AM

Lot o' plastic, plastic wears out and gets sloppy. Most (including the royal family) tend to develop some play after a few seasons at 40 days a year or so. The Jester Pros with the metal reinforcement might fix this. Anyway, most of my bindings are on their third or fourth pair of skis and have more than 200 days on them. Many were bought used. I credit this durability to their metal construction. Most Jesters/Griffons I have seen are done after about 100 days. If you are one of the folks who gets new binidings with new skis, I wouldn't worry about it.

**teamdirt** · 12-26-2015, 11:50 AM

Just picked up some Marker Kingpins! Excited to test these out. Excellent initial reviews. Anyone else already have some time on these...reviews?

**TahoeJ** · 12-26-2015, 11:51 AM

My only beef with the Royal family is they can be hard to step into, requiring more downward pressure than a lot of other bindings. Which in certain situations can really suck.

Other than that, they're fine and a lot of the hate is due to old reputation.

**kootenayskier** · 12-26-2015, 11:55 AM

Because if you're a life long skier, a pair of high quality bindings is an investment in safety and convenience that always works without issue, and that gets mounted on a succession of skis. Marker's have known (albeit relatively minor) issues, and just don't last like high end Salomon's almost always do. I also find their marketing strategy objectionable.

**Swine** · 12-26-2015, 12:07 PM

Originally Posted by aevergreene

I like to stay in my bindings as much as possible. For some odd reason I used to come out of my FKS 180s (multiple different sets) all the time with DIN set 11 or 12. I actually had better luck with my pivot 14s set at similar DIN..

My jesters are relatively new, so will need more time, but i love the burly step in and i havent come out once with DIN set at 12. No problems with stepping into them in powder either.

Still salomons are the best bindings..

On the fks did you go by the forward pressure indicator to adjust? My understanding is that it is notoriously untrustworthy on the pivot/fks. But I thought that was true of the 14 as well. Weird.

**old goat** · 12-26-2015, 01:11 PM

1) hard to step in in soft snow
2) the open heel frame traps snow which melts in the back of my car.

As far as prerelease the way I ski velcro would work.

**bl2000** · 12-26-2015, 01:38 PM

Originally Posted by XavierD

Lot o' plastic, plastic wears out and gets sloppy. Most (including the royal family) tend to develop some play after a few seasons at 40 days a year or so. The Jester Pros with the metal reinforcement might fix this. Anyway, most of my bindings are on their third or fourth pair of skis and have more than 200 days on them. Many were bought used. I credit this durability to their metal construction. Most Jesters/Griffons I have seen are done after about 100 days. If you are one of the folks who gets new binidings with new skis, I wouldn't worry about it.

Agreed. Too much plastic. I also suspect too many parts for the necessary function, but that's just IMO.

**#######** · 12-26-2015, 06:51 PM

I also think alot of it may stem from the speed point demo bindings in the early 2000s.

Oh and that first generation F12 Tour turd was almost as bad as the Naxo.

**christoph benells** · 12-26-2015, 07:16 PM

in a release calibrator they don't have very consistent release. the higher end ones are better, but the cheap-o models sometimes fail the test right out of the box!

as far as the people talking about the pivot/fks forward pressure, the indicator is just a starting point. you are supposed to tighten the heel down until it "negatively impacts elasticity"

the heels on the royal family have some issues with consistent release. in my experience 1/100 pairs or so.

the new griffon for next year...all boot sole (at/apline) types all the time! no adjustment needed. or at least that's the rumor.

**GeezerSteve** · 12-26-2015, 07:24 PM

I haven't heard hate for the Royal Family bindings. Some nitpicking, e.g., see above. They have held up fine for me.

Originally Posted by stuckathuntermtn

Rode a demo ski with some Griffins and damn near blew my acl.

With the exception of the Knee Binding, downhill bindings are not designed to prevent ACL injuries.

**raisingarizona13** · 12-26-2015, 07:26 PM

Don't leave your Marker touring bindings in the car overnight like I did the other day. I tried using a shovel to pry the mode lever over and snapt the lever in half. They are locked for good now.

I like mine, I want a lighter set up but I'm too poor to make that happen right now. For skiing in bounds and touring they work. The toe pieces have come a long way since before the touring binding era. I used to walk right out of my green spring Markers, they had a din of 24 I think and I would just randomly get released from the toes. Not cool but it did save my ass in an avalanche where I was getting sucked under the moving snow and I got out by twisting the front of my boot. It popped off as the moving snow got up to my chest.

The Dukes are heavy and my feet get banged up on a big day of skinning.
Again, I'm poor so I deal with it.

If you are a serious ski tourer and climb around the mountains all day they are clearly not the best.

**Lurch** · 12-26-2015, 10:27 PM

In the 90s Marker made a toe that released in all directions and caused pre-release if the skier got in the back seat. I believe most of the Marker hate comes from the reputation of those bindings.

**sweetdaddy** · 12-27-2015, 07:09 AM

As others have said a history of prerelease and general lack of durability plagued their stuff in the 80's, 90's and early 2000's.

They're doing better recently though. Royal Family offerings are pretty solid. The Duke and Baron frame touring bindings are considered better than their Fritschi counterparts. If the revised Kingpin can keep it's pins from falling out it's definitely an advancement for tech bindings with the no pin heel and DIN release.