NNN-BC choice: when are Magnums a real advantage?

[athabascae]

The autos get a bad rap on this forum.

I doubt Rotefella would have such a market for them for all these years if they were truely crap. In Canada, it seems most retailers I have encountered sell only magnums or autos, not so much manuals, which is peculiar to me. I would think if folks complained about the autos so much that reputable retailers would not carry or recommend them.

I have a couple of pairs of autos (and magnums) and use them on narrower waist skis in the middle of nowhere. I trust them as much as my magnums. I have had as much issue with magnums icing in crudy conditions and overflow as autos but nothing other than a minor inconvenience.

Autos are quite svelte and super easy to use compared to manuals or magnums.

For more XC pursuits in the backcountry, autos are a nice binding when matched with a ski with a narrower waist. I would not hesitate to use them on skis with a waist in the 50-57 mm range.

Here is a little thread from last season on the autos.

http://telemarktalk.com/viewtopic.php?f ... 11aea7a407

And, just for fun, here is a photo of autos on my beloved 210 cm Bonna Conquests (60-50-55 -- e89 class ski) near Old Crow, Yukon, from a while back.

[athabascae]

Thanks to you both. Magnums for my Gammes then. My other cheap option is worse: put the Magnums on my Nordic tour skates, NNN BC automatics on my Gammes.

I use magnums on my Lundhag nordic skates because I can use all the support I can get! I think (but don't know) that it is common io use magnums on nordic skates.

[athabascae]

Earlier generation NNN BC manuals were thinner, likely lighter, and probably not as robust as current models. But, they work well for more XCd applications. Here are some older NNN BC I mounted on my 48 mm waist MR 48. Magnums on my Ingstads for comparison.

They go together like peanut butter and jelly.

[FourthCoast]

The autos get a bad rap on this forum.

I doubt Rotefella would have such a market for them for all these years if they were truely crap. In Canada, it seems most retailers I have encountered sell only magnums or autos, not so much manuals, which is peculiar to me. I would think if folks complained about the autos so much that reputable retailers would not carry or recommend them.

Your post got me thinking about my opinion on the NNN-BC Autos. I realized my only experience was from getting someone else's boot and binding to connect, not my own. My review was not fair.

I just put my boots on and tried them in my wife's skis, with autos, a few times. I had no issues getting them to engage or disengage. So now I guess I need to withdraw my criticism until I can also try them on snow.

[FourthCoast]

The autos get a bad rap on this forum.

I doubt Rotefella would have such a market for them for all these years if they were truely crap. In Canada, it seems most retailers I have encountered sell only magnums or autos, not so much manuals, which is peculiar to me. I would think if folks complained about the autos so much that reputable retailers would not carry or recommend them.

Your post got me thinking about my opinion on the NNN-BC Autos. I realized my only experience was from getting someone else's boot and binding to connect, not my own. My review was not fair.

I just put my boots on and tried them in my wife's skis, with autos, a few times. I had no issues getting them to engage or disengage. So now I guess I need to withdraw my criticism until I can also try them on snow.

I wanted to share my recent experiences with NNN-BC Autos.

1. Inside on the carpet: Very easy to get it and out of the Autos.
2. In my back yard with air about 30 degrees and full daylight: Very easy to get in and out of the Autos.
3. At the XC area with air in the high 20s and full daylight: Very easy to get in and out of the Autos for both me and my wife.
4. At the XC area with air about 18 degrees at night on a lighted trail with strong wind: One ski went on fine. The other one I almost gave up. Cleaning the bindings, cleaning the the boots, trying my boots. The things would just not clip in. Eventually I held the binding up so I could see it (sort of) in the dim light. I used one hand the hold the release button down and the other one to dig around in the mechanism with my ski pole as much as I could. I followed this up with lots of quick puffs of air to try to blow the crap out of the binding. We finally got it attached, but I was freezing by this time and it was not good for overall marital harmony.

My manuals had some snow in them. I kicked them a couple times and then they went on the first try.

I think I am going to bring a bottle of RV anti-freeze or windshield washer fluid next time to de-ice the thing. Any other ideas?

[Greenhighlander]

The boot-binding interface is identical between all of the NNNBC bindings.
There is no difference in skiing performance between any of them.
The Magnum's wider manual lever makes them easier to get in/out of the binding.
In my local climate I have seen fellow skiers have significant trouble with the Auto freezing up.

I do "think" that the wider platform of the Magnum releives some stress on the binding mechanism. When I put my boot in the Manual/Magnum and put leverage on the boot sole- I think I can "see"/"feel"/"sense" more stress on the Manual.
I don't know if this fact.

I put the Magnum on my skis that I know I am going to be really stessing in steep terrain.
I have the Manual on my narrower touring skis that I tend to keep to more gentler-moderate lines (e.g. E99/Gamme 54).

Reading about the autos freezing up is why I went with the magnums. They have performed flawlessly for 2 years now.

[Lhartley]

Are these older generation nnn bc auto still at all useful? There's a pair of old school teles in my area that I'm trying to justify purchasing, help me reason myself into more skis

[Lhartley]

Earlier generation NNN BC manuals were thinner, likely lighter, and probably not as robust as current models. But, they work well for more XCd applications. Here are some older NNN BC I mounted on my 48 mm waist MR 48. Magnums on my Ingstads for comparison.

They go together like peanut butter and jelly.


MR48.jpg

Those look great on those mr48s, might do the same. This answers my previous post

[tkarhu]

Are these older generation nnn bc auto still at all useful? There's a pair of old school teles in my area that I'm trying to justify purchasing, help me reason myself into more skisScreenshot_20231203_213539_Facebook.jpg

I think those are manuals actually. The metal U shape part is the lever / handle. Or then the auto and manual look just the same.

I had those on a pair of 1990’s Karhu XCD GT’s. I liked them, they felt very sturdy. Yet the metal handle was a bit tricky to open at times, and I guess newer ones are lighter.

[Lhartley]

This is correct. It was my mistake when reading the above posting with the mr48s. I like the look of the mr48 with the older Gen nnn bc so much that I picked up two pairs of old teles with these bindings today. Cost me less than a couple pizzas so big whup right? The asnes super telemark will be passed on, the karhu 10th mountain will be mounted with voile 75mm and skied with leathers the way they should be. The old nnn bc's will be mounted on 190 mr48 skin and 210 mr48 wax. I love the look of those bindings on the vintage 80s looking graphic of the mountain race 48