If you want to get serious about backcountry ski touring, you’re going to need a tech binding. While Dynafit invented the ultra-light binding style, the company’s patent expired a few years ago. Ever since then, small binding companies have sprouted up to compete. Plum is one of those companies. Based out of Chamonix, France, Plum seems to be gaining traction on the slopes. Pronounced “plume” - like a plume of cold smoke - a representative from the company stopped by our office and let us snap a few photos of the new Plum line of bindings, set to come out this fall. There are four bindings in the Plum line that accommodate everything from fat powder boards to skinny race skis. Check out the photos below.
From the top to the bottom you see The Fat Boy for skis 105mm - 120mm, The Badger for skis 90mm - 105mm, The Guide (flagship model) for skis up to 90mm, and The Race for people who wear spandex.
Above is a picture of the toe piece for the The Fat Boy. Like a few of the other Plum bindings, this comes with a plate for both the toe and heel pieces. The plate on this binding gives you 7mm of rise and allows the binding to sit on a wider platform. This is supposed to give you more leverage as you slay powder in the backcountry on your super fat, super light set up.
By the looks of it, these bindings appear to be strong, light and offering something for the true backcountry freeskier. The trend to mount tech bindings on fat powder boards is a good one. If you want to score top to bottom backcountry powder runs all day everyday, most of the time you're going to have to walk far. Tech bindings allow you to do that better than heavier touring bindings that are geared more toward sidecountry skiing. With new boots coming out that work in both tech and alpine bindings, like the Dynafit Vulcan, and fat powder skis being built lighter than ever, the trend to make gear beefy but still light is fantastic for backcountry skiing.
