Telemark Talk / Telemark Tips Forum

Most of my bindings are SBs but since I don't do much skinning anymore I would be happier if they were 3 pin HWs.

If you do go with the SB and you like to K&G get the origional and not the X2.

woodchuck wrote:... At some point, I need touring bindings. What's the best touring binding for an Excursion class boot? Switchback?

I like the SB for that class boot. 3-pins can work well too.

lowangle al wrote:Most of my bindings are SBs but since I don't do much skinning anymore I would be happier if they were 3 pin HWs.

I am thinking the same way recently, but I have to admit that I don't always like to tour in Excursions/3-pins because the sole and duckbill are pretty stiff IMO and have more resistance while touring than I like. BUT I really like the idea of skiing primarily with 3-pins only and pulling the hardwires out of my pack for relatively rare instances like when skiing longer, steeper, poor conditions.

lowangle al wrote:If you do go with the SB and you like to K&G get the origional and not the X2.

Why is that LAA? I'm curious what the difference is to you between the SB and the X2. I use both and besides the .4lbs difference in weight, I think they tour and ski in a similar fashion. The X2's IMO are better for bigger boots, but Excursions work great with the X2's as well and the regular SBs work fine with big or not-so-big boots.

I usually K&G in ski mode and feel more forward resistance and tip pressure with the X2s. If I was mostly skinning or resort skiing I'd go with the X2. My boots are T2 ecos.

lowangle al wrote:I usually K&G in ski mode and feel more forward resistance and tip pressure with the X2s. If I was mostly skinning or resort skiing I'd go with the X2. My boots are T2 ecos.

Ah, that makes sense! I strongly dislike K&G in Ski mode in SB, but even more so with the X2s. If you don't mind K&G with SB's in Ski mode, you should love the HW's or even the BMD Spikes. So do you EVER use the Tour mode on your SB's?Or just for skinning?

Yes I do K&G in tour mode once in a while. It takes a minute or two to get used to the little extra effort to get the bellows to bend in tour mode for the kick and then I'll end up sidestepping or doing some other move that requires lifting my ski off of the snow and I put them back to ski mode. When I'm doing laps on open terrain I do a lot of sidestepping traverses and tour mode doesn't work.

Thisis what a lot of my climbing looks like.

Harris wrote:

EvanTrem wrote:

TomH wrote: I love the Bishops, hard to find though. I snagged mine for a good price on Ebay but even used they aren't cheap. Sometimes I worry about the total lack of release (I'm sure my knee/leg would give out before the binding even budged), but otherwise they are amazing.

Have you tried those new Bishop BMF3's? Wondering how they compare feel-wise to the 22 Designs AXL and Vice.

I haven't yet, but they have a nearly identical configuration with the bishops, with the exception of a captured/ramped toe in place of the toe bail, so I would assume they ski every bit or better than the bishop 2.0.

With the HH/Axl you could set the pivot further back than the bishop, so could presumably get a little more tip pressure out of the HH/Axl if you like them set that way. The bishops are definitely more precise to the edge with the full plate though. The HH/Axl still has a little lateral twist between the binding cables and the toe bar height.

If I had to guess, I'd say the BMF's are going to ski more similar to the Outlaw than the AXL. I prefer the edge to edge precision of NTN to 75mm myself, so unsure if I'll ever give the BMF (with the NT toe) a try or not. I'm pretty sure my next binding will be Outlaws if my Freerides ever give up the ghost, but the Lynx is also intriguing (but would mean new boots for me).

TomH wrote: If I had to guess, I'd say the BMF's are going to ski more similar to the Outlaw than the AXL. I prefer the edge to edge precision of NTN to 75mm myself, so unsure if I'll ever give the BMF (with the NT toe) a try or not. I'm pretty sure my next binding will be Outlaws if my Freerides ever give up the ghost, but the Lynx is also intriguing (but would mean new boots for me).

Good info. Thanks.