Marker Alpinist heel question

[riff]

I tour a hundred days a year and anecdotally haven’t noticed any changes in my heel springs- however I can’t absolutely rule out the chance it does change.


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[brutah]

Those of you who have used these bindings, what’s your thoughts? Rotating heel a pain in the ass or no big deal?

Mine stopped rotating completely after about 20-30 tours on em.

I also didn't like that the heel moved back and forth a little and could feel the heel piece move when I had risers up and I stepped on the heel.

I didn't feel very safe on this binding due to all of plastic parts and the movement of the heel piece. Got rid of it as fast I could.

[riff]

To clarify, I’m on an atk with heel spring, not alpinist.


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[Sledzski]

To clarify, I’m on an atk with heel spring, not alpinist.


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Thanks Riff. Understood. I appreciate the insights (and the disclaimer). My question was around u-spring binders in general, so the response was inline.


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[Sledzski]

I also didn't like that the heel moved back and forth a little and could feel the heel piece move when I had risers up and I stepped on the heel..

Brutah - do you think this was this due to the 4mm of horizontal travel in the heel? Wondering if it’s the travel or the flex in the alpinist heel tower?



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[brutah]

Brutah - do you think this was this due to the 4mm of horizontal travel in the heel? Wondering if it’s the travel or the flex in the alpinist heel tower?



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I think it was the 4 mm horizontal travel of the heel piece so somewhat by markers design. But it didn't start out moving and progressed to moving after touring on it a dozen times.

I've also heard of the toe piece wearing down to the the point that they don't lock out.... There's just too much plastic to wear out on that binding for me.

I'm also 6'2", 225 lbs and an aggressive skier so I'm not easy in gear.

[Sledzski]

Thanks Brutah. Appreciate the insight.


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[frorider]

We have a good Alpinist thread here from last year, but I’ll throw in some updates. I have 2 pairs, GF has 2 pairs, zero issues. I’m 190 lbs and mostly ski BC....guessing my first pair of Alpinists have 50 days on them. As wildsnow’s tests showed, the clamping force of the toe is higher than most & allows me to skin with them unlocked in avy terrain, big plus. I agree with Blister and Outdoor Gear Lab...in their binding comparisons on same ski, the Alpinists feel a bit more damp and less affected by refrozen chattery conditions than other lightweight tech bindings. My own quiver is limited to Ions, kingpins, verticals, vipecs (which also ski well but are heavier).

[nicolaib211v]

Has anyone had any issues with the heel piece failing and not staying in place in the fore-aft direction?

I was on a quick skin this AM and went to take a step and noticed my riser wasn't under my boot anymore. Took the ski off to take a look and the heel piece now moves fore and aft with very little pressure either way. Took off the heel piece and theres a little metal spring-clip looking thing at the front of the 'sizing' screw that seems like it should hold the screw in place and let the heel tower move, but it doesn't seem to be doing anything anymore. The shop is going to call Marker and see what's what... may try to warranty, but we'll see.

Curious if anyone else has had anything similar happen w/ these.

[emcee]

This is the top thread on Google for "alpinist heel piece" so I'm bumping it up just in time for next season.

I have the brake-less version sitting unmounted in my workshop. I'd really like to have heel contact like what is shown on the brake version.

Is there a way to shim or add hight to the brakeless heel pad to create boot contact? Do they sell higher heel pad pieces?

[jdadour]

Great thread. To reiterate what other folks have said above, my buddy and I think these feel too flat of a ramp, and that's coming from someone that skis pivots with the toe risers at a 1mm ramp. Will be adding heel shims to mine for sure.

[emcee]

Bumping again, what are you guys using for heel shims? Is there a product on the market or are you making your own? (and if making your own, how?)

[jdadour]

Bumping again, what are you guys using for heel shims? Is there a product on the market or are you making your own? (and if making your own, how?)

Im making my own out of 1/4 inch black HPDE Acrylic. Ends up being around 6mm thick.

[emcee]

Are you worried about messing with the heel release profile? I feel like if you're just barely "kissing" the bottom of the sole it should be OK, right?

Strange that they didn't design the binding with some sort of adjustable heel shim.

[GoldenBC]

Just to clarify, what points are being measured from to determine delta on tech bindings?

[jtran10]

Anyone know how to fix the heel piece lifting in the front? (First image). Seems to have a bit of play that I was able to tighten somewhat by tightening the top skrew, but there's still a bit of front/back wiggle

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[Blaster]

Remove the heel riser by pushing out the pin that holds it in. Hammer and a nail punch works well but be careful it only goes out one direction. One side of the pin will have a jagged gear-like edge. That side goes out. Hammer on the other side.

Lift the heel riser spring out to reveal a hidden screw, that is not the RV screw. you can tighten that back down to fix your issue.

[NWFlow]

Wow thanks! I'd fixed that issue by not looking at it directly and pretending it didn't bother me.

[jtran10]

Remove the heel riser by pushing out the pin that holds it in. Hammer and a nail punch works well but be careful it only goes out one direction. One side of the pin will have a jagged gear-like edge. That side goes out. Hammer on the other side.

Lift the heel riser spring out to reveal a hidden screw, that is not the RV screw. you can tighten that back down to fix your issue.

I'm in japan and dont want to play around with it too much and break something. Ugent, or ok to do back in the states in 5 days?

Thank you thank you

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[NWFlow]

Hope you made it until you were home, jtran!

I managed to continue ignoring the issue beyond posting about it (shocker!), and today managed to snap the torx screw holding the tower onto the baseplate. Low speed, so no issues besides instatele -- but definitely recommend snugging that issue up sooner rather than later. Mine had gotten bad on a trip, so i too figured i wait until i got home.

Anyone know if anywhere sells the towers/heel casings or whatever you'd call it individually?

[NWFlow]

[frorider]

Hope you made it until you were home, jtran!

I managed to continue ignoring the issue beyond posting about it (shocker!), and today managed to snap the torx screw holding the tower onto the baseplate. Low speed, so no issues besides instatele -- but definitely recommend snugging that issue up sooner rather than later. Mine had gotten bad on a trip, so i too figured i wait until i got home.

Anyone know if anywhere sells the towers/heel casings or whatever you'd call it individually?

Warranty ‘em. Or Just buy a new set of Alpinists from a European retailer for $250

[cravenmorhead]

Yeah I was able to warranty my rising heel issue.

[NWFlow]

Word. Emailed a couple shots and if nothing will try the warranty route. Worst case is to just buy a sale pair, otherwise been happy with the bindings for three years so can't really complain

[cravenmorhead]

I had decent luck going through the shop I purchased them from. Seems like Marker won't deal with purchasers, just retailers.