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Thread: Should I Upgrade?
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08-05-2020, 12:19 PM #1Registered User
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Should I Upgrade?
This coming winter will be my 4th season skiing. I bought used demos from Squaw when I first started because it was cheaper than renting. My skis are 2014 Blizzard Bonafide with Marker Griffon demo bindings. I am pretty happy with the skis still, but I often have trouble clicking into the bindings because of the spring loaded toe and it seems to be easy to be misaligned when I am in. My friends with Look bindings seem to click in right away and never have problems.
I can ski any groomed run and last season I started venturing into some intermediate off trail areas. I ski Mammoth and Squaw mostly.
Would it be worth it to get new bindings or should I save the money for when I want new skis as well?
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08-05-2020, 12:19 PM #2
save money and upgrade the whole kit imo (in another season or two). you can always have a shop take a look at the bindings to see if they're set right for your boots, that could be a cheap fix. I wouldn't pay for the upgrade until you're pushing the limits of what your gear can do while skiing.
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08-05-2020, 12:33 PM #3Registered User
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08-05-2020, 12:53 PM #4Registered User
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You'll find a lot of people on this forum struggle with Marker bindings. They may have improved since decades ago, but I have some a demo pair on skis I bought off this forum and the clicking in part can be surprisingly difficult, especially in soft or deep snow. I find it's often the heel won't come down and because of the awkwardness it can cause misalignment as you try and force it.
You could wait versus simply upgrading only the binding. A good binding can then be transferred to a new ski as long as you have the brake width in mind. The issue with Pivots is that it is hard (and expensive) to swap brakes. The Bonafides are a 98mm waist, so you'd probably want a B95 Pivot, but the next jump up is a B115. Where you're skiing your next ski may potentially be wider than the Bonafides and the B95 will then be too narrow. A Salomon STH2 binding is perhaps a better option because you can buy brakes separately if you were ever to change to a different width ski. Just a thought - you'll find cult followings on this forum for both Pivots and Salomons, probably doesn't matter as long as the color matches the ski - that is super important.Originally Posted by jm2e:
To be a JONG is no curse in these unfortunate times. 'Tis better that than to be alone.
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08-05-2020, 01:16 PM #5
Whatever you do, buy the red ones...
I wouldn't change out the bindings at this point. If you do that, then at the end of the season you decide you want new skis, then you have to deal with the brake issue plus having an old set of skis without bindings. The skis you have could still serve as rock skis or you could sell them, with bindings and only one set of binding holes in the skis. That's a better set up to sell later or, as mentioned, hang onto them for rock skis.
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08-05-2020, 01:33 PM #6Registered User
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08-05-2020, 01:34 PM #7Registered User
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08-05-2020, 03:49 PM #8
Nothing wrong with keeping a vintage Bonafide in the quiver indefinitely.
Difficulty stepping into Marker Royal Series bindings (Griffon is one) is a known problem, especially in soft snow. You need to be careful to get the heel in straight and get a solid step down, sometimes the heel seems to be in but hasn't fully engaged. Problem seems to be what many consider excessive forward pressure, rather than "spring loaded toe" - when set up with the correct forward pressure, it looks like the space is too short for your boot to fit.
Marker has fixed this for 2021, so a new set of Griffons (or some other binding) wouldn't be out of the question.
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08-05-2020, 04:21 PM #9Registered User
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keep that setup as the start of your quiver, figure what else you need and try to buy that set up used as well, before you know it you got 10 pairs of skis
Lee Lau - xxx-er is the laziest Asian canuck I know
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08-05-2020, 04:23 PM #10
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08-05-2020, 06:51 PM #11Registered User
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Originally Posted by jm2e:
To be a JONG is no curse in these unfortunate times. 'Tis better that than to be alone.
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08-05-2020, 06:57 PM #12
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08-05-2020, 06:59 PM #13
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08-05-2020, 07:14 PM #14Registered User
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Toe height adjustment? Depends on AFD and year of binding I reckon; but maybe they're a bit too low?
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08-05-2020, 08:53 PM #15Registered User
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08-05-2020, 08:53 PM #16Registered User
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You can pay close to 2k for a setup but once you get heading down the quiver rabbit hole you come upon near new skis with bindings and skins and the whole fucking yada which are so fucking cheap you just keep buying these deals
you just got to have the cash and be ready to jump on a deal, its kind of like religion or at least what i imagine religion is if i was actualy fucking religious
have faith and the the deal will show upLee Lau - xxx-er is the laziest Asian canuck I know
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08-05-2020, 10:33 PM #17
The toe itself doesn't move, the AFD moves on an inclined track to accommodate different boot sole thicknesses. If you have the forward pressure set up correctly, look at where your heel comes down on the roller in the heelpiece. It has to push the heel back a lot to get your boot into the binding, hence the difficulty stepping in. New models have a re-shaped roller and are only slightly more difficult to step in to than other brands.
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08-05-2020, 11:02 PM #18
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08-05-2020, 11:05 PM #19
This. Especially difficult for lightweight skiers, and even harder if you have boots with rubber on the heel. Instead of stepping into a rotating cup that pushes back the heel assembly (no friction between the boot and binding), Marker Royal bindings (excluding Squire) require the boot heel to slide across the pivot and wedge the assembly backwards, and there's a lot of friction where the boot heel slides across the pivot area. A quick snap normally gets you in, but if you don't weigh much you might have to push down on your knee at the same time to give the boot heel a bit of extra downward ooomph to overcome the friction.
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08-06-2020, 02:24 AM #20
There springs in the toe (ie the din spring and the sliding AFD spring) have no effect on the ability to step in to the binding.
The height adjustable AFD is only on the consumer Griffons/Jesters/Squires. The OP has the old 'worm drive' Demo bindings which have a fixed height alpine boot only AFD. The latest 'lever action' Demo binding has dual alpine/GW AFD's but they're still fixed height.
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08-06-2020, 09:48 AM #21
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08-17-2020, 02:47 PM #22
I think the Bones are a keep until they are destroyed (delam most likely) ski, so I would argue you throw new bindings on.
I have 2017 Bones with Look SPXs on them.
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08-17-2020, 03:04 PM #23
It's very embarrassing to have a ski with a Griffon binding fall off while you're riding the lift. Ask me how I know.
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08-18-2020, 02:18 PM #24
Marker sucks IMO. Pivot FTW
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08-18-2020, 05:56 PM #25
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