Fritschi Tecton

[XXX-er]

isnt the vipec on version 4?

And so hopefully the toe will work on the tecton

but in real life something always comes up that the engineers didn't foresee & didn't test for

[galibier_numero_un]

isnt the vipec on version 4?

And so hopefully the toe will work on the tecton

but in real life something always comes up that the engineers didn't foresee & didn't test for

Nothing like expanding distribution of your product to the general population to find out what's in need of improvement :-(

Yes, gen-4 for the Vipec-Evo/Tecton toe. Last year's black Vipec was gen-3. The only change I'm aware of is improved ease of entry. The Black Vipecs from last year, are still a bit challenging to get into - even with the ski on the work bench. Thankfully, this is the only flaw I've encountered to date with the design.

Putting this all into perspective, I'd say that both the first release of the Vipec and Kingpin were actually quite good. Of course (in the case of the Kingppin) you didn't want to find yourself with a loose toe pin at the top of something gnarly :-(

Typical bleeding edge warning applies. I'm optimistically waiting for the early returns on the Tecton.

... Thom

[1000-oaks]

Yes, gen-4 for the Vipec-Evo/Tecton toe. Last year's black Vipec was gen-3. The only change I'm aware of is improved ease of entry.

As I recall, the "black" toe looks similar to a white from above, but was a mostly redesigned mechanism. Check out the underside of the toe: bigger springs, more carriage travel, the plastic tail section gets a metal skeleton, etc.
https://www.wildsnow.com/wp-content/...un-525x351.jpg

[NorCalNomad]

Metal doesn't necessarily mean "good" and plastic doesn't necessarily mean "bad".

... Thom

Exactly. Anything carbon fiber is technically "plastic."

[XXX-er]

Nothing like expanding distribution of your product to the general population to find out what's in need of improvement :-(

rself with a loose toe pin at the top of something gnarly :-(

Typical bleeding edge warning applies. I'm optimistically waiting for

... Thom

In my past life I came across a couple of instances of stuff that never could have been foreseen but my favorite was an ATM machine failing on insertion of deposit envelopes, you think you got it fixed cuz the problem goes away but then it comes next year in the fall ???!!

because thats when the sun is at the right place in the sky to shine directly down into the depositor throat and fuck up the photcells that sense the envelopes

SO the machine only failed when the planets aligned a certain way ... you just cana test for everything!!

[galibier_numero_un]

In my past life I came across a couple of instances of stuff that never could have been foreseen but my favorite was an ATM machine failing on insertion of deposit envelopes, you think you got it fixed cuz the problem goes away but then it comes next year in the fall ???!!

because thats when the sun is at the right place in the sky to shine directly down into the depositor throat and fuck up the photcells that sense the envelopes

SO the machine only failed when the planets aligned a certain way ... you just cana test for everything!!

Dealing with machinists is similar. You have to have an eagle eye in your QC process - even with a part that's been made correctly over multiple production runs.

People don't realize that CNC machining of a part involves multiple steps which require manual intervention by the operator to call up the next step. Machinists, like all businessmen are trying to become more efficient in their fabrication process. Sometimes, in trying to combine steps or otherwise improve the process to save machine time, they can outsmart themselves.

A previous machinist of mine had some idle capacity on a lathe which he had previously not used to turn motor pulleys for me. It required a collet designed to hold larger parts and the result was pulleys with excessive runout by a factor of 10 (i.e. .010" instead of .001" or better).

... Thom

[summit]

I can see how the elasticity in the heel will give a little more alpine feel than the Vipec.

I can see how the heel might transmit power a little better than the Vipec.

I don't see much in the way of safety increase over Vipec (except what comes from elasticity).

So is minutely better feel/power worth $50, 50g, and a more pain in the butt mode transition?

I'll see... gonna try a pair.

[auvgeek]

I don't see much in the way of safety increase over Vipec (except what comes from elasticity).

I haven't really kept up with the Tecton, but I thought lateral release at the heel and the toe was theoretically supposed to be safer...what am I missing?

[garuda]

I haven't really kept up with the Tecton, but I thought lateral release at the heel and the toe was theoretically supposed to be safer...what am I missing?

There isn't lateral release at the heel.

[LeeLau]

Still accumulating questions and putting up some pics.

Post up questions here.

I'll start

- Will Evo be easier to step in?How will the rear boot sole wear with the Tecton heel?

- Will Tecton work with Procline, F1, TLT6, TLT7, Backland class of boots?

- How will Tecton/Evo brakes work?

- Is there Tecton heel gap?

Key difference between 2017-8 Evo and 2016-7 Vipec (left and right)



Key difference between 2017-8 Evo and 2016-7 Vipec (left and right)


Dynafit toe inserts are spaced (measured on a Salomon Freeski Mtn Lab) at 65mm. The binding opening on the Black Vipec (stays open without needing pole to hold the toe lever down) is 70 mm; lots of space. The binding opening of the white Vipec of previous years was 63mm (with the toe lever flipped up) and 68mm (with the toe lever held open with a pole). Numbers don’t lie and explain the frustration some may have had with older Vipecs . For the record, the binding opening of a Dynafit Comfort is 68mm.


Vipecs and Evo and Tecton play well with tech fittings. Should be no concern about that


Evo toe (left) Tecton toe (right). No idea why the Tecton toe is 14g lighter as they're functionallty and construction-wise identical.


For control purposes - Vipec toe weight


and final geek fest - Evo toe weight


Tecton heel. This is where the gear-fappage is occurring. Will take better pictures when they're mounted on a ski


Tecton heel. Flipped over to show the mounting pattern which is IDENTICAL to the Vipec and Evo mounting pattern. Risers look easy enough to engage with the pole; I use the nub end of a BD pole handle flipped around to engage heel lifters. RV 12 heel


The Tecton heel moves back and forth as it goes from walk to ski mode. It has a flat touring mode wihen the heel risers are not engaged

Ramp angle is the same as with Evo/Vipec. Ie about a 5mm delta with toepiece being lower therefore not as much pitched forward as older Dynafits.


Tecton heel weight. Add 5g if you want to get persnickety about weight

[XXX-er]

an officer of the court wouldn't lie so you could just tell us what this shit weighs and I would believe you eh?

[Cocximus]

Has anything changed in tectonic brake mechanism since the white vipecs?

[LightRanger]

What's the current story on brake widths? Anybody have definitive measurements of what clears what? On BD's site they have 100mm, 110mm, and 120mm widths.

Yes, of course I can always email BD, but just wondering if somebody already has it.

[NorCalNomad]

Hopefully they've fixed the widths. My 2nd gen 120's barely clear the edges of my Amperages (115 waist) that were -1.5cm mounted.

[1000-oaks]

Hopefully they've fixed the widths. My 2nd gen 120's barely clear the edges of my Amperages (115 waist) that were -1.5cm mounted.

Wonder if they screwed up and put 105/110mm brakes in your box. My 115/120mm brakes have lots of clearance on a 116mm waist ski.

From the brakes I've handled (all three widths), BD publishes the actual brake width, and Fritschi packaging is 5mm less. So brakes labelled 90 fit 95, 115 fits 120, etc.

[N1CK.]

If the same brakes as vipecs, I had 95 brakes on a 108 ski with just a little hand bending. No problem.

[LeeLau]

I just measured my 110s off the Tectons and they fit my ZeroG 108s fine- no problem

[bean]

The 120s open to at least 135mm. Makes me wish I'd gotten 110s, but after the old 115 Vipec brakes couldn't clear a 112 ski...

[NorCalNomad]

Wonder if they screwed up and put 105/110mm brakes in your box. My 115/120mm brakes have lots of clearance on a 116mm waist ski.

From the brakes I've handled (all three widths), BD publishes the actual brake width, and Fritschi packaging is 5mm less. So brakes labelled 90 fit 95, 115 fits 120, etc.

Must have been.

[LeeLau]

More Tecton love http://blistergearreview.com/gear-re...schi-tecton-12

[detrusor]

Didn’t read the whole thread....can this be used in boots with the minimal heel ledge like the Atomic backland?


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[1000-oaks]

Swapped the Tecton heel with my Vipec heel today and played with it a bit. Moving the lever through the modes is an act of faith - it feels really flimsy compared to how much pressure it takes to change positions, lol. Maybe it breaks in...hopefully not literally. The heel cup seems to lock the boot down solid enough though.

Having no installation instructions, how do you properly set the forward pressure? The adjustment screw is always flush with the housing when zooming in from a loose adjustment, though the screw does pull into the housing a little if you overtighten it a bit like you could with an alpine binding. Guess you tighten until the screw pulls into the housing, and then back out a click to flush?

Took a few minutes to figure out how to attach the brake base to the heel unit. Tip: the brake mode shifter arms have to key into the slots in the heel cup, and then the heel has to be in walk mode to swing the lock nut on the adjustment shaft into the pocket in the brake base.

Looks like the upper climbing elevator will probably rattle when in ski mode (upper elevator is under the lower in ski mode), but a little glop of silicone RTV between the lifters would take up the play.

[greasyslope]

^Your intuition about the forward pressure matches the info I got directly from BD. Tighten up and back off one click.

Wildsnow has a good article on mounting brakes, etc. Still a little confusing but LD makes it sound like he almost lost it while figuring it out on his own.

He also mentions a different method of checking forward pressure, which I glanced at and it didn't make intuitive sense to me. YMMV.

[bean]

Wildsnow has a good article on mounting brakes, etc. Still a little confusing but LD makes it sound like he almost lost it while figuring it out on his own.

It's a little confusing at first but if you follow the included diagram, paying attention to how things are oriented, it's pretty straight-forward.

[Reformed]

It's a little confusing at first but if you follow the included diagram, paying attention to how things are oriented, it's pretty straight-forward.

Yup. I'm not understanding how folks are struggling with this. Better than Dynafit's stupid H clips IMO... I found the whole mounting process very straightforward.