Slated for release in the Autumn of 2012 (hopefully Salomon will be doing a bit more beta testing than apparently went into its Quest boot) this binding is claimed to be a “Marker Duke” killer. The double rails make them look a bit like the bastard love child of a Duke and a Silvretta 400.

Salomon and Atomic are part of the AMER sports group and already collaborate on ski and boot manufacturing. Details are few at the moment, unless you know more, you will be able to switch from climb to ski mode with your pole, similar to the Fritschi or Silvretta bindings. The bindings will feature DIN 16 so are clearly aimed at hucking freeriders rather than randobeardies.

Main features claimed are a low chassis (26mm ride height) and wide burly toe piece. Salomon are calling it a “premium” binding, does this mean it will be expensive?

davidof - 19 October 2011 02:04 PM

Salomon are calling it a “premium” binding, does this mean it will be expensive?

go on… take a wild guess

All this extra choice in the market place hasn’t done a lot for existing ski tourers, retail prices haven’t dropped, if anything they’re higher. The one advantage I can see is that whereas the product lifetime used to be years for boots and bindings there’s a new version out each season now. I was looking at a pair of dynafit boots the other day and thinking I might have them because a) they were red and b) they were last years and half price.

Do we reckon Salomon can sell these? Aren’t a lot of the duke customers buying those precisely because they’re not Salomons so the bloke next to them in lift line doesn’t mistake them for someone on holiday? Or is the Salomon reputation for bindings so good they can sell on the back of that?

I’ve got to say theres a lot of slating of the Dukes on here as a binding for slack country skiers and people who want to look the part but to be fair if you want to tour then ski fast and hit drops (which I know not everyone wants to) at the end of it then you can’t use any other set up as they’re all too weak and blow up or release easily. I tour a fair distance on my Dukes and not because I want to look good on them ( I’d happily have a pair of super light Dynafits if I could) but because I can’t ski how I’d like to at the end of the tour on anything else! Personally looking forward to Salomons effort as it looks like a walk to ski adjustment without having to come out the binding… Not all of us on the Dukes can’t ski tour… we just have to work a lot harder!

niallp - 19 October 2011 08:41 PM

I’ve got to say theres a lot of slating of the Dukes on here as a binding for slack country skiers and people who want to look the part

more the latter than the former I think. I’d put a small wager on sales of touring bindings now being higher than sales of skins For anyone that’s genuinely using them it’s great news they’re around but I’d put another small wager that bog standard fritschi and dynafits are spending a lot more hours going up hills and a lot less leaning against the bedroom wall somewhere quite flat.

I’d have some dukes, or barons, or those new salomons on some suitable skis if I could have one of everything but there’s not enough days I’d use them to make it worthwhile.

One thing I noticed with the Duke is that when it came out it hooked a lot of new people into touring, people who’d maybe just done life served off piste or small hikes. The gnar crowd if you will, skiers who would never have trusted a Dynafit or Silvretta binding. Now they are hooked they are finding the limits to the Marker Royal Family, at least in terms of long tours in the backcountry, so you are seeing a lot of people switch over to Dynafit (which is now the new gnar .

Of course, some of them are finding the limits to Dynafits when it comes to hard charging ski descents.

Ise, I think you are right about general price increases, we’ve seen it with touring skis, any idea what the new Dynafit binding range is going to cost?

davidof - 21 October 2011 09:14 AM

Ise, I think you are right about general price increases, we’ve seen it with touring skis, any idea what the new Dynafit binding range is going to cost?

No idea how much anything costs anymore Both the local store and brochure from one of the regional names have stopped putting prices in, you’ve got to ask!

The sport conrad epic brochure arrived the other day, for example the Low Tech Radical is €399 & a radical FT is €489. And my all time favourite, because it speaks more eloquently than I can about how the market is going, multi-coloured dynafit crampons are €54.95 a pair.

I’ve just seen the Speed Radical in the shops for 320 euros !, that’s about double what I paid for a TLT Speed 18 months ago (195 euros). Wow! Kind of makes the Plum Guide look like a good deal.