DIY Alpine Downhill + Tech Toe uphill touring binding

[Lindahl]

They don't really ice up. I like this better than the CAST system I used to have, cuz you can drop the heelpiece for longer walks. I use Shifts instead of these on my inbounds/sidecountry ski, since I don't do long walks with that setup. These are for my wife's one ski quiver, where dropping the extra weight gives her a boost on the up for longer tours.

[singlecross]

Still using my setup and just did 3 days of touring on Teton Pass. Never had any icing. I trust the system so much that it will be my setup for two weeks traveling to Japan. I also carry this MSR dish brush which is really nice for cleaning snow off.

[mr walker]

They don't really ice up. I like this better than the CAST system I used to have, cuz you can drop the heelpiece for longer walks. I use Shifts instead of these on my inbounds/sidecountry ski, since I don't do long walks with that setup. These are for my wife's one ski quiver, where dropping the extra weight gives her a boost on the up for longer tours.

Interesting. Occasionally our demo bindings ice up at work (our demo fleet is stored outside for all intents and purposes) which made me think twice about this being a good idea. These would be going on my work skis which I very, very rarely need to tour in; I have other setups that are more ideal. I really just want the peace of mind to be able to get back up hill in an emergency if needed. Just can't quite convince myself to put true alpine bindings on because of that. I also don't really like Pivots (yeah sue me) and CAST is not cheap, so here I am rethinking this again.

Still using my setup and just did 3 days of touring on Teton Pass. Never had any icing. I trust the system so much that it will be my setup for two weeks traveling to Japan. I also carry this MSR dish brush which is really nice for cleaning snow off.

Oddly enough, I've had this setup in mind for a Japan trip as well lol.

Thanks for your input guys.

[Lindahl]

Interesting. Occasionally our demo bindings ice up at work (our demo fleet is stored outside for all intents and purposes) which made me think twice about this being a good idea. These would be going on my work skis which I very, very rarely need to tour in; I have other setups that are more ideal. I really just want the peace of mind to be able to get back up hill in an emergency if needed. Just can't quite convince myself to put true alpine bindings on because of that. I also don't really like Pivots (yeah sue me) and CAST is not cheap, so here I am rethinking this again.



Oddly enough, I've had this setup in mind for a Japan trip as well lol.

Thanks for your input guys.

That makes sense. Most touring bindings will ice up outside (snow melts in the day, freezes overnight). Cast froze really bad on me once like that, had to slam them with my boots. I store my skis inside.

[mr walker]

That makes sense. Most touring bindings will ice up outside (snow melts in the day, freezes overnight). Cast froze really bad on me once like that, had to slam them with my boots. I store my skis inside.

Valid point.

[addisj]

Bump, and updates on any of these setups?

I realize this is now an old thread, but that's how long it took to try this swappable toes idea. charlesj was not joking about wasting an absurd amount of time.

Thanks to lindahl for the original concept, and to charlesj and muggydude for the detailed images and instructions on the swappable toes, and everyone else who pitched in to move this forward.

One complicating factor is that anyone trying this will likely have different versions of all of the pieces, which may not mesh.

In my case the tech toe piece had a completely different screw hole pattern than charlesj's, and I was using Attack 14s as the base with a different placement of the latch mechanism. So my only option was to try to install a small aluminum plate for mounting the 2 rear screws of the tech toe.







And here they are mounted up.



The removable toe piece weighs in at 205g (90g for the tech toe/screws, 115g for the base/screws), and the total uphill weight with the plates, risers, toe piece and screws is about 510g. Could save even more weight by chopping off more of the plates, especially the toe plate, but keeping them as is for now for the adjustability. Also, even with leaving a little extra of the toe plate forward of the mounting screws, the removable tech toe still needs to be positioned all the way forward on the track to allow the risers to contact the boot heel. This may be specific to my BSL though (313) and if so you could probably chop off more of the plate.

As a side note, if anyone is interested in trying this project, a cheap way could be getting a pair of used rental skis from Lone Pine Gear Exchange that come with the base plates and bindings. The blue Factions on the right were like 300, and then all you need are the risers, tech toes, and a separate set of Attack toe pieces.

Maiden voyage:

[charlesj]

Well done! Keep on testing/skiing. Spending a bunch of time on a cool idea can be worth it if one follows through. Due to some knee issues and not finishing 100% I never deployed mine. Addisj’s execution looks clean and secure. Those minimalist Voile pins could be ideal for this mod (depending on mount pattern). Lindahl’s CAST alternative is viable and relatively inexpensive. DIY and hacking solutions can be satisfying beyond a logical product purchase

[Lindahl]

For those waiting in the wings, my wife and I are still using this setup pretty regularly and it still works great.

[madcult]

Dude 4 years later here we are, Tyrolia developing such binding.

[MagnificentUnicorn]

Tyrolia isn’t developing anything, they just copy and claim innovation. Their new pin binding is just a copy of full featured u spring bindings already on the market, zero innovation.


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[thecazdog]

I think the OG design in this thread is awesome because who wants to tour with an alpine binding heel on their ski if they dont have to. Going to do my own version using inserts and demo Strive binding. Will post pictures of completed setup.

[doebedoe]

Tyrolia isn’t developing anything, they just copy and claim innovation. Their new pin binding is just a copy of full featured u spring bindings already on the market, zero innovation.


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Well, if the demo version of it is available retail and it uses the same track as the Attack; that'd be quite the new product in the marketplace. Effectively a track based CAST system.

[MagnificentUnicorn]

Well, if the demo version of it is available retail and it uses the same track as the Attack; that'd be quite the new product in the marketplace. Effectively a track based CAST system.

They probably read this thread and know about CAST. I wouldn’t call that innovation.


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