After spending the last decade almost exclusively on Dynafit bindings I took finally refitted my old Diamirs to a pair of Dynastar 4x4 skis and took them on the Grand Vans tour yesterday. This was state of the art touring gear circa 1998. Today probably more than 70% of Grenoble based skiers are on Dynafit bindings.
The ski / binding combo weighs about 4.5kg, I would normally be touring on around 3.5 kg. Boots (TR10s) are 3.3kg as opposed to my Scarpa F3 which tip the scales at 2.9kg. I wasn’t with the fastest group ever, we took about 3 hours to cover the 1200m of climbing so no real disadvantage on the climb.
I used to remember kick turns being a pain but I guess with many years extra experience they were not a major problem. I still think the Dynafits are easier though. However the skis at 178cm made a small difference. I normally ski on something a few cm shorter.
Skinning, can’t say I really noticed a difference. Both bindings work fine.
Ski crampons. The Diamir is a really solid interface and the ski crampons are really strong, ideal for the hard, icy conditions. Maybe a bit more drag but as a contrast Anny broke a Dynafit binding holder on the climb. There is maybe slightly less bight with the Diamir but overall a proper ski crampon.
The binding is still much easier to use than a Dynafiddle. Step in, step out simplicity with ski brakes that work. Ideal if you are having to take your skis on and off - erm which you will have to do to fit the ski crampons.