Skinets have more on the Dynafit Beast
http://www.skinet.com/skiing/articles/new-freeride-binding?lnk=rss&loc=homepage
PRESS RELEASE
It’s all in the name – ski touring supplier DYNAFIT is presenting a brand new binding design for winter 2013/14. Dynafit’s binding designers have hit the fall-line and are targeting ambitious freeriders with a binding for all conditions and terrain types. The frameless system is combined with great stability and robustness up to DIN 16 integrating top performance on the ascent with an aggressive downhill ride.
Former pro freerider and design technicians Fredrik Andersson and US pro skier Eric Hjorleifson have brought new disciplines into play for ascent-focused ski touring specialist DYNAFIT. Together, they have been developing the new binding model, the Beast 16. Their demands for the freeride binding were clear from the outset: top downhill performance, DIN value of 16, optimum ascent comfort all courtesy of the frameless system – and naturally not forgetting lightness. The weight of 935 grams makes the binding a maverick in the freeride binding ascent category.
The frameless system, which celebrates its 30th anniversary at DYNAFIT in 2013, saves lifted weight and provides the ideal pivot point on the ascent. So the designers’ decision to arm the proven system with the requisite downhill characteristics was a logical step. The Beast binding has been fitted with a sophisticated release mechanism. This provides release at both the toe and heel units, while the rotating toe piece has been designed in such a way that it combats premature release potentially caused by sudden impacts. The binding’s ultra-low height gives freeriders perfect ski-to-snow contact. A stable and smooth ride thanks to the subtle lean-forward angle and high-level torsional rigidity as a result of the wide baseplate are all features unique to the new DYNAFIT binding.
Freeride pros Eric Hjorleifson and Fredrik Andersson used their long years of experience, as well as their ethos of creating the ultimately versatile skiing experience, as inspiration for the new design. DYNAFIT athlete Hjorleifson said “New-generation skiers need equipment that ensures equally top performance whether you’re jumping, skiing off-piste and cross-country.
The Beast 16 is available this coming winter in a limited run of 2,500 bindings, all individually numbered and delivered worldwide.
In other words: “Limitless Skiing”.
at 935 grams I’m thinking of a fairly porcine beast mind you but you do get an integrated ski brake thrown in. It is like a car crash between a tech binding and an alpine binding, with a kind of AD2000 inspired design. Maybe the marketiing guys can persuade engineering to add flashing blue leds to it as well?
Over the last decade Dynafit have been running Occam’s razor in reverse gear. We’ve seen more and more complexity with some serious beta testing issues (that’s early adopters like you and me), first with the TLT toe piece icing, then the fracturing FT toes arms (doh, a “freeride” binding that is weaker by design than its touring counterpart) and lately the exploding radical heels. I’m worried that the more involved design will suffer from snow build up issues. Interesting that the toe piece rotates on a turntable (like an old Look binding). This is designed to combat prerelease (you could just lock out the toe piece like ski tourers do, of course 
and is a fairly radical departure. You can’t fit ski crampons from what I can see, but I guess the target demographic is heliskitourers anyway.
Be interesting to see how this pans out, a Dynafit binding for the Marker crew, although I think they’ve pretty much moved over to tech bindings anyway so Dyna could be preaching to the converted.
