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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
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    Paris, France
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    100

    Sidecountry bindings: Marker Duke/Baron versus Solomon T Guardian MNC 16

    Need to buy a new pair of bindings and would appreciate current market advice. Spend 95% of my time bootpacking or downhill. 5% skinning. But for that 5%, I'd like to get some alpine touring bindings. Needs to fit standard alpine boot sole.

    My current choices are:

    1) Marker Baron
    (I had these before. Cracked a heel off on a groomer (!!) and had a catastrophic day. So quite suspicious of plastic construction. But 2019/2020 appears to have magnesium toe and heel parts now?)
    https://www.marker.net/en-us/product...-516/?season=2

    2) Marker Duke
    (We all know this one. Used to be the king. How does it fare now against the competition?)
    https://www.marker.net/en-us/product...-515/?season=2

    3) Salomon T Guardian MNC 16
    I've never ridden on these. Does anyone have experience, and especially a comparison to Marker?
    https://www.salomon.com/en-int/shop-...l#color=11428T

    4) ANYTHING ELSE I SHOULD BE CONSIDERING?!
    Last edited by carvehard; 01-09-2020 at 07:51 PM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Posts
    466
    Cast seems like it would fit if you have the cash or already own pivot 18s.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    In a parallel universe
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    4,755
    Quote Originally Posted by lemonhead View Post
    Cast seems like it would fit if you have the cash or already own pivot 18s.
    He says "Needs to fit standard alpine boot sole" above, tech fittings don't fall into that category.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Missoula, MT
    Posts
    22,462
    Guardian skis really well. No flat touring mode though.
    Might want to look into the Tyrolia AAAAAAAAAAAwhatever series. Ambition? Whatever.
    No longer stuck.

    Quote Originally Posted by stuckathuntermtn View Post
    Just an uneducated guess.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2019
    Location
    Mid-tomahawk
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    1,712
    Quote Originally Posted by ACH View Post
    He says "Needs to fit standard alpine boot sole" above, tech fittings don't fall into that category.
    Well, there's the Cast toe conversion option. But all that starts getting expensive.

    Guardians work pretty well for what they are.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Posts
    466
    I was thinking conversation if OP is not interested obviously cast is out. I hate frame bindings and have been much happier not using them.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
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    Bodenseekreis
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    920
    Quote Originally Posted by HAB View Post
    Guardians work pretty well for what they are.
    Yes they do, until they don't! As in when one of the frame rails fails...

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2019
    Location
    Mid-tomahawk
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    1,712
    Quote Originally Posted by SoooL View Post
    Yes they do, until they don't! As in when one of the frame rails fails...
    Well, yeah. I never personally broke one but I know others did.

    That said, frame bindings have been out of my life for a while now and I have no interest in bringing them back.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
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    Before
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    27,908
    Marker F12 Tours have worked well for me.
    It's a little annoying that they have to be taken off to convert between dh and uh and the riser stack is not so great. But they're lighter than other frame binders and so far haven't had any pre-release issues.
    Merde De Glace On the Freak When Ski
    >>>200 cm Black Bamboo Sidewalled DPS Lotus 120 : Best Skis Ever <<<

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Nov 2016
    Posts
    1,383
    Barons/Dukes have a high stack height. I've heard numerous stories of guardians breaking and they're heavy as hell. I think tyrolia adrenalins are the best frame binding out there, buy these

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Not Brooklyn
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    8,319
    Dukes/Guardians/F12's can all break. Maybe the Tyrolias are better but I doubt it. They all make a dead spot in the middle of the ski and add stack height. If I needed a plate binding I'd get whatever was cheapest. But if I was able to spend some money I'd go Shift or Cast with a boot that has a walk mode. Better uphill and down.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Vallee Teton
    Posts
    2,586
    Quote Originally Posted by Buster Highmen View Post
    Marker F12 Tours have worked well for me.
    It's a little annoying that they have to be taken off to convert between dh and uh and the riser stack is not so great. But they're lighter than other frame binders and so far haven't had any pre-release issues.
    Me too.
    Aggressive in my own mind

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Nov 2016
    Posts
    411
    Alternatives to consider - touring boots with tech fittings! You won't regret it... Even if you never skin, the walk mode will be a godsend when boot-packing. But also, you should skin more. Boot-packing sucks.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Missoula, MT
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    22,462
    Quote Originally Posted by mrkbrnblm View Post
    Alternatives to consider - touring boots with tech fittings! You won't regret it... Even if you never skin, the walk mode will be a godsend when at the bar. But also, you should still upturn your toe to the GSA.
    FIFY
    No longer stuck.

    Quote Originally Posted by stuckathuntermtn View Post
    Just an uneducated guess.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Vancouver BC
    Posts
    3,267
    How hard do you ski? I assume you aren't interested in boots with tech fittings which would allow you to use Shifts for touring. IMO Guardians/Dukes ski like shit compared to Shifts because of the weight, stack height and the fact they 100% all develop slop in the track mechanism within a season or two. You can get reasonably beefy boots with tech fittings, combine with Shifts (or if you huck and ski resort really hard, CAST) and you have a way more pleasant setup than Dukes/Guardians. Also a lot more pleasant to bootpack with the lighter weight of Shifts over your shoulder than Guardians.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Posts
    8,242
    Quote Originally Posted by hoarhey View Post
    Me too.
    Me three. Marker F12's have been good so far. And I don't do long tours. Maybe 45 minutes tops. Better than my Barron's which I also had an issue with one of the components breaking while skiing that sent me head first into a wind drift.
    "We don't beat the reaper by living longer, we beat the reaper by living well and living fully." - Randy Pausch

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    northern BC
    Posts
    30,881
    whatever I can get on used skis and so far thats a couple pair of Baron's, they have worked just fine for inbounds, I only skinned them a few hundred meters in the side country, they were heavy, I also have some FR+ in the quiver which are also heavy which is no surprise to me cuz frame binding will always weigh twice what a tech binding weighs

    I would probably also buy a used ski with Guardians but that hasnt come up,

    Buying a lightly used rig is a cheap way to buy ski/binding BUT if you buy used remember there are different sizes of frame binding depending on your BSL
    Lee Lau - xxx-er is the laziest Asian canuck I know

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Sikskiyou's
    Posts
    1,549
    Been pretty happy with the Adrenalin bindings from Tyrolia. They claim that the design allows the ski to flex under the binding - can't say how well this works in the field, but I can see the "Freeflex" part of the binding working when hand-flexing the skis. Stack height isn't optimal, but they've skied well so far. Picked them up for around $210 new at L9.

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Location
    MA
    Posts
    4,496

    Sidecountry bindings: Marker Duke/Baron versus Solomon T Guardian MNC 16

    This feels like a stupid question, but how would a frame binding ‘’putting a dead spot in the flex of the ski’’ affect the actual performance of the ski on snow?
    Last edited by Self Jupiter; 01-11-2020 at 12:56 PM.

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Swiss alps -> Bozone,MT
    Posts
    671
    It allows for a triple radius, which I’ve been told is all the rage these days.

  21. #21
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Rasta Cruz
    Posts
    173
    I might have a pair of Guardians to get rid of in a couple weeks if you’re interested. They’re used but in good condition.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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