Official ATK Binding Thread

[tgapp]

I wonder if they will follow the diabetic, canned fruit model, where they charge you extra for leaving out the sugar ;-)

[context edit] That was the case, when I was a kid & we picked the stuff up for my grandmother [/edit]
... Thom

pretty much BD's business model at this point. i think he called it the Helio 200LT or something?

as much as i love trashing BD's 150% marked-up ATK bindings, there is something comforting about the fact that i can get product support (literally) down the street from me rather than having to deal with an oversea's company.

[galibier_numero_un]

... as much as i love trashing BD's 150% marked-up ATK bindings, there is something comforting about the fact that i can get product support (literally) down the street from me rather than having to deal with an oversea's company.

^^^ agreed (in fairness to them) ^^^

It would be interesting to see a comparison across various companies - how much markup an importer gets. It certainly costs $money$ to set up an import and support organization.

... Thom

[tuco]

pretty much BD's business model at this point. i think he called it the Helio 200LT or something?

as much as i love trashing BD's 150% marked-up ATK bindings, there is something comforting about the fact that i can get product support (literally) down the street from me rather than having to deal with an oversea's company.

I used to believe the same. Then I went to warranty dept. to fix all the cheap, chincy POS buckles they use that were snapping on my Covert backpack and was told qoute "REI has buckles to fix that."
WTF BD?
They ain't what they once we're!

[davjr96]

It looks like BD has another new model the Helio 350 https://www.blackdiamondequipment.co...01608_cfg.html (Or my search skills suck...). Anyone know what ATK binding this corresponds too? Looking to replace Xenics I am warrantying for crappy toes.

EDIT: Looks like the Raider 12? https://www.atkbindings.com/en/prodo...-lightblue-en/

[Benneke10]

The 350 is super appealing except for the price. I wonder what the ramp is since they're using the skimo toe pieces with the freeride heel

[plugboots]

I figured. davjr’s link to the 350 shows a monolink R10 toe. Shouldn’t it be lighter than 350 g?

ATK may be the only AT binding I’d be comfortable buying and not having service nearby.

[Adrgha]

Has anyone tried the freeride spacers for the R12's? Do they actually make a noticeable difference in downhill performance? They're rather pricey for what they are, imo.

[galibier_numero_un]

Has anyone tried the freeride spacers for the R12's? Do they actually make a noticeable difference in downhill performance? They're rather pricey for what they are, imo.

$30 for spacers with adjustable height sounds fair to me.

[plugboots]

$30 for spacers with adjustable height sounds fair to me.

And sideways anti-friction slidy thing.
They cost more than $30


https://www.atkbindings.com/en/prodo...ide-spacer-en/

[Adrgha]

They cost a lot more than that over here, more like $80. My question still stands; do they make a noticeable difference?

[kid-kapow]

I have not tried either Raider 12 2.0s or FR14 with and without the freeride spacers, but I am somewhat impressed with them from a design standpoint. My initial thought was just to cut some plastic and use it as a spacer with the R12 2.0s, but the ATK ones are very well tought out withh both height adjustment as well as an AFD. Also, they will supposedly drop a bit in price for the 2021 season, so just wait and buy them discounted at Fjellsport during one of their many sales

[Adrgha]

Yeah, I'll probably end up getting the spacers if I get ATK's for my next project. I don't care about the extra weight. I was just wondering if anyone had done any testing with and without them to see how much of a difference they actually make.

I hope Fjellsport end up carrying them, always a good deal to be had there. Do you know if they had R12's and/or spacers last season?

[sruffian]

ATK may be the only AT binding I’d be comfortable buying and not having service nearby.

Agreed. Having beaten up a pair for about 40 days this spring I'm in the market for an additional pair for a different set of skis. I'm hard on gear and not worried about having to warranty these things. Debating just ordering more for euro land or jumping through hoops to get a reasonable price on BD stuff, but not looking at other touring bindings

[alpinevibes]

They cost a lot more than that over here, more like $80. My question still stands; do they make a noticeable difference?

There’s been some chatter about them on other threads, can’t remember - maybe the sub-300g thread? The consensus was generally positive for ski feel and position to the heel pins.


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[tgapp]

There’s been some chatter about them on other threads, can’t remember - maybe the sub-300g thread? The consensus was generally positive for ski feel and position to the heel pins.


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So I get really confused by ATK binding nomenclature, but I think that I have Raider 12 2.0's, and I do have the freeride spacer.

My thoughts? For the weight/price penalty, they are 100% worth it. it takes a minute to tune them to the height of your boot, and you can't easily ski different boots on the same setup (why would you?), but the freeride spacer makes a noticeable difference in dampening the ride and improving the overall feel of the bindings. Not huge, but noticeable. Kind of like a step between traditional pin bindings and something like a Tecton/Kingpin

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[kid-kapow]

I hope Fjellsport end up carrying them, always a good deal to be had there. Do you know if they had R12's and/or spacers last season?

They already carry ATK - they sold them last year at least. I got two pairs of FR14s from them. I did not need 14s, but buying them was cheaper and easier than getting 12s + freeride spacers.

12s have never been supplied with the freeride spacers stock, just the 14 models. The odd thing was that buying the freeride spacers aftermarket for r12s made the package more expensive than fr14s, which made people unhappy or buy 14s in spite of not needing anywhere close to din 14.

That is wyh the freeride spacers are supposed to be more affordable for 2021 according to Davide re the video quoted in the second post in this thread, then reposted several times

[galibier_numero_un]

They already carry ATK - they sold them last year at least. I got two pairs of FR14s from them. I did not need 14s, but buying them was cheaper and easier than getting 12s + freeride spacers.

12s have never been supplied with the freeride spacers stock, just the 14 models. The odd thing was that buying the freeride spacers aftermarket for r12s made the package more expensive than fr14s, which made people unhappy or buy 14s in spite of not needing anywhere close to din 14.

That is wyh the freeride spacers are supposed to be more affordable for 2021 according to Davide re the video quoted in the second post in this thread, then reposted several times

So, Fjellsport deals with us funny talkers on this side of the pond? Looks like right now, they show only the RT8 & Crest, but that could be subject to time of year, current inventory.

...Thom

[kid-kapow]

So, Fjellsport deals with us funny talkers on this side of the pond?

I have no idea if Fjellsport ships abroad - Adrgha and I are both over here in Scandiland

Last year Fjellsport sold both r12s and r14s, and a few other lighter weight ATKs, where the pricing was pretty good during some of their sales. They have also had an offer for the two past season (all season long) where you get 30% off the full retail price if you buy a ski and binding at the same time. They can be mounted (free of charge) or sold together. In other words, you can easily buy a ski and binding and then pass either on if you just wanted the discounted binding/ski. Boots are included in the offer if they are bought at the same time as the ski+binding. So pretty great from a consumer stand point, if pretty bad if you run a small shop and can't compete on volume / need high margins to stay in business. I have no idea if they will run the same offer for the coming season.

More often than not the markets are freer over here than in the US wrt what customers stores can sell to and the pricing policy (set by the store in question, not the brand - though there are some regulations dictating when stuff can go on sale wrt to when they were in stock and so on).

[Spyderjon]

I offer worldwide shipping and orders to destinations outside of the UK/EU are tax free. My ATK 20-21 stock is due to arrive in September. Going to be carrying the Freeraider 14 (with heel brake), the C-Raider (+ optional Freeride Spacer), the Crest 10 and the Crest 8. Should be able to get other models depending upon quantity/availability etc. I'll be able to offer the following prices including FedEx Priority shipping to main USA conurbations based upon todays VISA/MasterCard GBP/US$ exchange rate:

Freeraider 14 (heel brake) - GBP440 / $595
C-Raider 12 - GBP378 / $510 + optional Freeride Spacer GBP45 / $61 (so with the spacer it's $24 cheaper than the 14)
Crest 10 - GBP326 / $440
Crest 8 - GBP323 / $436

I'm hopeful that I might even be able to do better than this if the GBP/EU rate continues to improve before I pay for the bindings although worldwide shipping rates are somewhat erratic at the moment due to the CV19 situation.

The ATK 20-21 specs can be seen here: https://www.thepisteoffice.com/image...%20web%202.pdf

[tgapp]

I offer worldwide shipping and orders to destinations outside of the UK/EU are tax free. My ATK 20-21 stock is due to arrive in September. Going to be carrying the Freeraider 14 (with heel brake), the C-Raider (+ optional Freeride Spacer), the Crest 10 and the Crest 8. Should be able to get other models depending upon quantity/availability etc. I'll be able to offer the following prices including FedEx Priority shipping to main USA conurbations based upon todays VISA/MasterCard GBP/US$ exchange rate:

Freeraider 14 (heel brake) - GBP440 / $595
C-Raider 12 - GBP378 / $510 + optional Freeride Spacer GBP45 / $61 (so with the spacer it's $24 cheaper than the 14)
Crest 10 - GBP326 / $440
Crest 8 - GBP323 / $436

I'm hopeful that I might even be able to do better than this if the GBP/EU rate continues to improve before I pay for the bindings although worldwide shipping rates are somewhat erratic at the moment due to the CV19 situation.

The ATK 20-21 specs can be seen here: https://www.thepisteoffice.com/image...%20web%202.pdf

Thanks Spyderjon! Let me know if you end up carrying the Release 10, I would love to support a mag business.

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[Spyderjon]

tgapp, I'll see if I can add a Release 10 to my order. I think they'd be about GBP287 / $388 shipped. I'll let you know. The UK market is keen on having brakes and the Alpinist 9/12's and the Superlite 175's are a lot cheaper for the brakeless market so I didn't order any Release 10's.

[tgapp]

tgapp, I'll see if I can add a Release 10 to my order. I think they'd be about GBP287 / $388 shipped. I'll let you know. The UK market is keen on having brakes and the Alpinist 9/12's and the Superlite 175's are a lot cheaper for the brakeless market so I didn't order any Release 10's.

Man if you can I am 100% in for a pair. Thank you!!

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[galibier_numero_un]

So, Fjellsport deals with us funny talkers on this side of the pond? Looks like right now, they show only the RT8 & Crest, but that could be subject to time of year, current inventory.

...Thom

Of course, @Spyderjon is choice #1. I didn't mean to imply otherwise. Sometimes, ya need parts mid-season, so it's a good idea to have backup sources.

... Thom

[comish]

So there was a bit of banter in the past, but besides the 5 position heal riser megneto-neeto-wiz-bang-thingy what is the downside to the Crest 10? Assuming one doesn't need 12 or 14 din? Just thinking that is a pretty attractive binder, all metal, kinks worked out at this point, rather cost effective... Thoughts?

[plugboots]

So there was a bit of banter in the past, but besides the 5 position heal riser megneto-neeto-wiz-bang-thingy what is the downside to the Crest 10?

So what’s the downside to the five position heel riser thing?