2020-2021 Gear Rumors / Pictures etc

[whyturn]

Truth. Haven’t had one problem with the stupid steep skin tracks in the wasatch. Only problems I have is with the morons who set them that way. Set a track so that is useable for days for multiple users! Or start earlier, so you’re not in such a hurry to get back to your desk job!

It’s my skin track, I’ll set it how I want!


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[alpinevibes]

Fischer's bold new move, the choice of pink or blue.

Attachment 314489

I guess Hattrup just let the “let’s copy the hip Black Crows and Faction look” slide by???


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[XavierD]

This is silly, all these bindings have pros and cons to argue one is definitively better or worse is silly and ignores the reality of the majority of experiences. I’ve had my issues with all of them, at the end of the day each one is a compromise, just be aware of what you’re buying. One will be better than others for each individual needs, they all have a place. I’m gonna focus on my experience with the Duke PT, as this is the new gear thread and plenty of discussion about why Shift/CAST/KingPin/Tecton all rock or suck elsewhere. For comparison purposes however, at this point I would choose a Duke PT for a travel ski (mostly lift, some touring) and Tectons for a wider pow ski (limited lifts, mostly touring, I think there is a lot to be said for an alpine style heel on wider skis, even in soft snow).

Duke PT thoughts:
Toe height adjustment is pretty much the same as on Marker SoleID jester/griffin toes. It’s solid and proven. Full confidence it will hold it’s toe height when adjusted. Less fun to adjust however, if moving between various soles.

You can ski this binding with alpine, grip walk or other 9523 soles. Like the shift or CAST you don’t need tech inserts to ski it, just to tour.

Heel engagement is very solid but also much easier to step into than previous Marker duke/jester heels. There is enough vertical elasticity I am not worried about pre-release when hitting bumps or troughs like I have experienced with other cross over bindings.

It skis like a jester. Same stack height, no wobble, solid.

Climb bar options of zero or 10degrees is sufficient for me. I have also spent the last year+ touring on shifts and Alpinist so I really don’t care about the higher angles. You can if you want to. I have shit dorsiflexion (also known as ankle mobility) btw.

Brake retention in uphill mode is very secure. I don’t see the brakes inadvertently deploying while skinning.

Toe piece lock down is very secure. It’s impossible for the thing to come off while your boot is clicked in. There are also multiple, redundant points of contact. Failure of any one won’t cause the toe to fly off.

Toe conversion is the most fiddly of the group IMO, it’s not difficult, but there is potential for icing up. It’s not a binding I’d want on any day where I’m doing a lot of transitions. This is the point I foresee most consumer bitching coming from. I also doubt most consumers would be willing to deal with CAST. YMMV.

In the event you’re a big dumb dumb and lose the downhill toe component you can get down the mountain in tech toes. Avoid this at all costs, and I wouldn’t start linking turns but you could get yourself down.

You won’t loose the toe in the ‘quick tour’ mode it’s still firmly held on to the mounted binding, you’ll just look like a goober and it’s a bit obnoxious for anything other than a quick few hundred feet.

It’s a good binding, I’d be ok buying a first year iteration (but I also did this with Shifts). Overall on the spectrum of tour to resort this is much more aligned with the resort side. I’d call it an alpine binding with option to tour. Similar to Shifts and the original Duke, I doubt most will ever go uphill, but that’s ok. It’s good to ave another option to compare to.

Compared to CAST it’s a lighter set up, and not having to carry the tech toes with you is nice. One less thing to carry to the mountain or forget in your other pack.

Compared to shift it’s clearly heavier and a bit more fiddling to swap from ski to tour and viseversa. I also think a more solid alpine connection.

If you’re comparing it to a kingpin or Tecton I think you’re lost and confused.

[sruffian]

Here is the real kicker: If you know how to skin and have ankles that work properly, you don't need a high riser. High risers are for people with fused ankles, jongs and dudes who are too fat to see their dick or touch their toes.

soooo people who ski markers?

[galibier_numero_un]

... all that transmitted energy goes from the skis to the pins to your boot then straight to your fucking soul

Sig worthy stuff here ;-)

... Thom

[ffmedic84]

That's the ski I'm most interested in out for next year. After hearing such great things about the new Mantra, the Katana sounds like a real winner.

Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[k-roc]

I guess the Confession is dead.

[TahoeJ]

Kingpins are more prevalent because they were the first binding with an alpine-like heelpiece. First-to-market makes a big difference in terms of market share. The Tecton skis a bit better, is lighter, and has a more reliable release mechanism (lateral release at the toe). It also has had less in-field problems, at least from what I've heard and seen. There's just no reason to buy a Kingpin after the Tecton came onto the market.

I have no problem staying in my Shifts and I huck a ton. At 185 lbs in street clothes, I set the heels at ~11.5 because that's the point where I get minor calf strain before releasing. Toes at 10 and my skis stay on in high speed carves through chickenhead bullshit at speed. They release just like the other alpine bindings I've used. I'm not sure if people are failing to set them up correctly, or if there's a quality control issue, but myself and many others don't have the problem in Shifts that a few have had. If you personally have had problems, I'd suggest having a professional set up a different Shift binding before just writing it off entirely. But I get if you don't want to do that and just use CAST instead. Personally, myself and many others would rather not mess with the faff of juggling extra gear if we don't need to.

100% agree on both accounts. I don't get why anyone would buy kingpins at this point when the Tectons exist.

[CaliBrit]

100% agree on both accounts. I don't get why anyone would buy kingpins at this point when the Tectons exist.

Agree on this. About to buy some I think for V Werks katanas.

[NorCalNomad]

100% agree on both accounts. I don't get why anyone would buy kingpins at this point when the Tectons exist.

Been saying that for years. Plus Tectons never had pins shearing out...

[GoldenBC]

Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

Skied the new Katana, it is a very turny ski. Feel like it has a 16m turn radius despite what the specs say. Doesn't like to be let loose and run, wants to be worked and turned constantly, and across the fall line. That being said, it does turn well. It is soft and damp and holds and edge through chop. It is heavy. It is loud as hell. Like a carbon dps, but a few notes lower. Like riding a Norco VPS loud. I think the skis I skied could be more detuned, so I will reasses after I do that.

[phallic-menace]

Setting up the shift correctly is easy. Getting it to stay adjusted is hard. Walking out of them is easy. Cast is brilliant.

I'm happy with the trend from big brands towards skis for skiers and not holiday makers.

[GoldenBC]

Been saying that for years. Plus Tectons never had pins shearing out...

Chatted with an old guy who came into my shop the other day. He has broken 3 tecton heels.

[TahoeJ]

Well, the kingpins have multiple threads dedicated to them failing, so...

[mn_teleswede]

Chatted with an old guy who came into my shop the other day. He has broken 3 tecton heels.

THread drift....
Tele may suck, but at least we don't have to worry about the heel of our binding breaking LOL

[jackattack]

Chatted with an old guy who came into my shop the other day. He has broken 3 tecton heels.

user error? some ppl are just rough on gear.

kingpin had a legit recall iirc?

[Lord Thomas]

Skied the new Katana, it is a very turny ski. Feel like it has a 16m turn radius despite what the specs say. Doesn't like to be let loose and run, wants to be worked and turned constantly, and across the fall line. That being said, it does turn well. It is soft and damp and holds and edge through chop. It is heavy. It is loud as hell. Like a carbon dps, but a few notes lower. Like riding a Norco VPS loud. I think the skis I skied could be more detuned, so I will reasses after I do that.

Not my experience on them at all (2x on the 191 and 1x on the 184). Had no problem making super-G sweepers at a lot of speed. BUT, could slow down and ski in easy, short turns if desired. No bid deal either way. Loud, yes, tinny carbon feel underfoot...not my experience with them. This is a ski that can kill on demand.

[glademaster]

The sound of carbon skis bothers some people a lot more than others, and has a surprisingly large effect on how much you like/trust a ski. Try skiing one with earplugs in some time.

[NorCalNomad]

user error? some ppl are just rough on gear.

kingpin had a legit recall iirc?

Nah there was a legit problem with the brake retainers braking on the first round if you stowed them by stomping on them in the wrong order. But at least it didn't stop the binding from working or eject you out of the binding.

[adrenalated]

Nah there was a legit problem with the brake retainers braking on the first round if you stowed them by stomping on them in the wrong order. But at least it didn't stop the binding from working or eject you out of the binding.

You're forgetting the recall for faulty toe pins.
https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2018/ma...to-fall-hazard

[stuckathuntermtn]

Skied the new Katana, it is a very turny ski. Feel like it has a 16m turn radius despite what the specs say. Doesn't like to be let loose and run, wants to be worked and turned constantly, and across the fall line. That being said, it does turn well. It is soft and damp and holds and edge through chop. It is heavy. It is loud as hell. Like a carbon dps, but a few notes lower. Like riding a Norco VPS loud. I think the skis I skied could be more detuned, so I will reasses after I do that.

Sounds a lot like a Woodsman 108. Damp, stable, not hooky, but just wanted to turn and not slash. Even at -2.

[ZomblibulaX]

THread drift....
Tele may suck, but at least we don't have to worry about the heel of our binding breaking LOL

That is not the least compelling argument for teleing I've heard, but it still completely fails to move the needle.

Per conflicting Katana 108 quick reviews: I don't think I'm the only one here who feels these are essentially useless without direct comparisons to comparable skis. People ski different; at least if I know you like X ski for this reason but didn't like Y for that reason, I can make an inference. Old ass bike references aren't exceptionally helpful, but I get what you're saying about noise.

[Lord Thomas]

That is not the least compelling argument for teleing I've heard, but it still completely fails to move the needle.

Per conflicting Katana 108 quick reviews: I don't think I'm the only one here who feels these are essentially useless without direct comparisons to comparable skis. People ski different; at least if I know you like X ski for this reason but didn't like Y for that reason, I can make an inference. Old ass bike references aren't exceptionally helpful, but I get what you're saying about noise.

Yep, what you said. Two very similar skiers can have very different experiences on the same ski in the same conditions. It's like me with most Atomic skis (e.g. Vantage 97's, Backland 107, etc), I've tried a lot of them and there is not one of them that I would like to own. But my shop owner buddy, who is roughly my size and a good skier, prefers them to just about anything else. Fortunately, we have options to suit us all. About the only way reviews are of use is if you find a reviewer who consistently likes the same gear as you. For instance, Blister of the last couple years. With Luke and Sam, both jibby jr. petite's, doing most of the reviewing it has become mostly meaningless for me. (not totally sure what jibby means so I hope I used the term correctly) But Paul Forward on the other hand, pretty much lines up nearly exactly with my preferences. And some attributes (e.g. the noise a ski makes) are more important to some than others. Again, we got options.

[bodywhomper]

It also sounds like the tunes (or finishes) on the demo katanas are different.

[MMMSKI]

Skied a Line Blade yesterday, unbelievable ski...