Salomon Z12 ti binding durability

**zartagen** · 04-07-2018, 10:46 AM

Since this for bumped, I'll throw in my 2 cents.

These are the worst bindings on the planet. They develop slop on the track almost immediately and the slop causes the binding to release from very little force, even with the din at 12. Myself and numerous others had the same problem, rendering the ski setup useless. If you're not having problems with them, you've probably never even looked at a mogul, much less skied faster than 7mph. This binding can fuck off and die.

**plugboots** · 04-07-2018, 12:00 PM

My sliding tracks broke on 2 tracks, (2 different binding pairs), so I replaced all of them with steel and the problem went away. I've moved on to other bindings since, but that seemed to be the main issue.

**AweShuksan** · 04-07-2018, 12:17 PM

Originally Posted by zartagen

Since this for bumped, I'll throw in my 2 cents.

These are the worst bindings on the planet. They develop slop on the track almost immediately and the slop causes the binding to release from very little force, even with the din at 12. Myself and numerous others had the same problem, rendering the ski setup useless. If you're not having problems with them, you've probably never even looked at a mogul, much less skied faster than 7mph.

You're saying the bindings are not suited for the intended purpose? That Salomon marketed them as doing a job they are incapable of doing?

Because Skiing slower than 7 mph and never skiing a mogul is not really realistic for a binding rated for Din 12. Maybe user error? Are you using boot soles with the proper ISO shape? Mounted by someone who knows what their doing? Properly adjusted?

I think not.

**old goat** · 04-07-2018, 07:29 PM

Note the dates on this thread. Perhaps Salomon beefed up the heel track because according to the shop where I bought mine and brought them back there were a lot breaking back then. They were marketed as being light. The ones they sell now don't have the Ti designation. In any case, the FP on mine was correct, and the binding was mounted so that for my BSL it was in the middle of its range. Not user error.

I did what Core Shot suggested and took off the brake on the one that hadn't broken. The heel track was cracked on that one two. I'd also suggest anyone using old ones to inspect the track.

And nobody said they all break. I always find it amusing that when there's a thread where a number of people report the same problems with a piece of gear there's always someone who says that theirs hasn't broken. I drove a 73 Pinto for 8 years and it never blew up. We drove a Subaru with a Takata airbag for 8 years and it never blew up. I can't ever imagine driving a GM product but I'm sure not all the ignition switches failed. That doesn't mean the products didn't have design flaws that needed to be fixed. Obviously in these anecdotal reports we have neither a numerator nor a denominator but it's still worth paying attention.

Malcolm Gladwell had an interesting take on the subject--wish I could remember which book. He was talking about cars but his thoughts could apply to any complex product. They all have failures and they mostly fail in different ways, ways that may or may not have been anticipated by the designers. Just about every product made is a compromise between safety, performance, and price. He pointed out that the 73 Pinto wasn't statistically more dangerous than average for the time, it just failed in a particularly spectacular and gruesome way. Other cars of the era found different ways to kill people.

**AweShuksan** · 04-08-2018, 10:32 AM

Originally Posted by old goat

Note the dates on this thread. Perhaps Salomon beefed up the heel track because according to the shop where I bought mine and brought them back there were a lot breaking back then. They were marketed as being light. The ones they sell now don't have the Ti designation. In any case, the FP on mine was correct, and the binding was mounted so that for my BSL it was in the middle of its range. Not user error.

Good points. The same binding can have variations over the years. I just noticed all mine are Z10 Ti's, not Z12's as I misremembered. Mine were purchased in 2011 and 2013 and they all have metal heel tracks. It's surprising if the Z12 Ti's came with plastic heel tracks while they equipped the lower rated Z10 Ti's with metal ones. That doesn't make sense.

**old goat** · 04-09-2018, 12:50 PM

Originally Posted by AweShuksan

Good points. The same binding can have variations over the years. I just noticed all mine are Z10 Ti's, not Z12's as I misremembered. Mine were purchased in 2011 and 2013 and they all have metal heel tracks. It's surprising if the Z12 Ti's came with plastic heel tracks while they equipped the lower rated Z10 Ti's with metal ones. That doesn't make sense.

My Z12Ti's which were probably about '07 came with metal tracks but I think the tracks were titanium--or at least the guy at the ski shop told me they were. The replacement tracks were steel. Or maybe the new ones were just thicker. Hope they last for the guy I sold the skis to.

Things do change over time. I have to laugh when someone (including me) posts about something that has lasted them 25 years. What are the chances they still make them that good? The company probably closed its US factory, outsourced production to a contractor in Bangladesh, and got bought and sold by at least 3 different private equity firms since they made the product.