The M Equipment MEIDJO 2.1 NTN Telemark Binding Review

[fisheater]

@SibrenDevos I apologize, I don’t even ski NTN, yet I made a foolish assumption. My only defense is it would be nice to see these manufacturers perfect these bindings for touring, and a releasable binding for Telemark skiing.
As far as more pressure alpine touring being harder on the binding, my hypothesis is that when you are skiing with your weight mostly on one foot, my supposition is that would equate to greater force on the binding. Your avatar photo indicates that you can pressure a ski and a binding. MSU would be more knowledgeable as I believe he skis Meidjo.
Good luck getting parts to repair your bindings. I was kind of a jerk, again I apologize.

[SibrenDevos]

There is no need for apologies I did not feel offended in any way. Each person has his own favorite method of getting down the mountain (or up the mountain) and that's absolutely fine.
Your concerns about these bindings may be different than mine indeed.

I am truly wondering if the use of the term 'Very reliable, durable' by M Equipment, is a bit ... ambitious. Or is it because I put too much stress on these bindings with the way that I use them, ergo , those bindings really are reliable

Anyhow, I am considering other bindings. But it's also guessing if these can endure the beating I give them
And just pierced a new pair of ski's with 13 holes each for those meidjo's. If I have to mount other bindings, I'll be all holes in those Armada's

[Stephen]

@SibrenDevos, are you using inserts to mount bindings, so you can swap between different skis?

I’m not an engineer, but think analytically.
I’m looking at your picture of the failed part and see two things:
First, the part that failed has ridges and valleys. As the part flexes, these become hinges and also look like they would be areas of stress concentration (Finite Element Analysis / FEA). Sort of like bending a coat hanger in the same spot over and over and it will break there.
Second is that the piece looks torn from one side, which makes me think that a torsional or lateral force is causing the failure.
Your avatar picture shows pretty strong edging which seems like it wold apply that sort of force.
It seems like a reliable binding SHOULD be able to handle years of that sort of thing, but maybe this is a shortcoming of the binding. It is designed to be lightweight as one of its main design targets, so maybe the failure is not too surprising (observation, not a justification).

I think these bindings are used by pro skiers in competitive events.
It would be interesting to know if replacing this part is part of routine maintenance for them.

At the same time, it doesn’t seem like LOTS of people are having this issue, so possibly you are applying forces in a somewhat unique way?
As only one example, it seems @Montana St Alum is skiing these frequently and fairly aggressively, without reporting problems.

[SibrenDevos]

First of all, thank you for these interesting points of view. I'm always eager to learn more about the art of skiing and materials used.
I used to be a semi professional downhill / super G skier. Now looking for new challenges (telemark). But the aggressive downhill will always be a part of my day. Maybe I should just switch to regular bindings indeed... 230 pounds heavy, maybe that's the problem
Too bad, cause I really enjoy being able to switch between the two types of ski on the slope.

I'm using inserts (QuiverKiller). I can swap them on different ski's. (Armada declivity's, radius 24 for general purposes & Stockli laser SL for short turn carving)

[Stephen]

No judgement at all, but the 230 (+ skill level) might be part of it.
I’m guessing the female racer I posted has you by about 100 pounds!

Regardless, I would guess that, on the chart of “stress applied by skier,” you are at the high side of “lots.”
I would be on the low side.

Let us know if you hear anything from Meidjo on this.

[Montana St Alum]

I am truly wondering if the use of the term 'Very reliable, durable' by M Equipment, is a bit ... ambitious. Or is it because I put too much stress on these bindings with the way that I use them, ergo , those bindings really are reliable

Anyhow, I am considering other bindings. But it's also guessing if these can endure the beating I give them
And just pierced a new pair of ski's with 13 holes each for those meidjo's. If I have to mount other bindings, I'll be all holes in those Armada's

If you have drilled for Meidjo's and haven't put inserts in yet, don't do so until you've touched base with someone in a shop who is familiar with mounting. It may be possible to plug the holes and redrill - maybe not, but it's worth an inquiry. The forces on top of the ski are mostly compressive as it flexes, so there may be a way to plug them and redrill for a different binding. Regardless, you can download the drill pattern for the Outlaw X and see how much you need to offset the holes to redrill.

As I mentioned, the Outlaw X is more robust. But, if you use the Meidjo's, you'll have to get the replacement part that broke. They come in pairs and are now made of a different material - Pebax - which is said to be stronger. Replace both with the new Pebax flex plate (just make sure that's the material). I know Freeheel Life in Salt Lake carries them because I broke one of mine after around 150 days or so on them.

It seems unlikely that you broke them while (flat footed) in an alpine stance, as that is pretty low stress. I'm guessing you went hard knee-to-ski to do that kind of damage. It may just be that your weight/height/power (and big feet = more stress!) is too much for the Meidjo, but I know some big guys on the Outlaw X that can't seem to break them. I've got 4 skis/sets of Meidjo's and have had some failures, always in the bumps or powder over bumps. I actually bent a ski a couple weeks ago in set up bumps but the bindings held, so they're fairly robust.

My son is light, but he's 6'2" tall, big feet and skis hard on the Meidjo as well, mostly backcountry in Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons with no problems. But he's not a bumpaholic.

Let us know how it goes.

Also, as a bit of an afterthought, are your Meidjo's mounted boot center over the recommended mounting point? If not, that could give you some leeway on how much you can move another binding in order to get there.

[Stephen]

@Montana St Alum, have your binding failures been the same part that broke for @SibrenDevos?

That would make me think that part is (not should be, but is) a maintenance part.
Will be interesting to see if the new material fixes the problem.
Not expecting transparency from The M, so probably just antidotal evidence filtering in over time.

[Montana St Alum]

@Montana St Alum, have your binding failures been the same part that broke for @SibrenDevos?

That would make me think that part is (not should be, but is) a maintenance part.
Will be interesting to see if the new material fixes the problem.
Not expecting transparency from The M, so probably just antidotal evidence filtering in over time.

The failure I had was the plastic piece (the springbox) that grips the duckbutt. That actually broke across the width of the box and as a result it tore the flexor plate - I expect as my foot came of to the side. I've had some interesting failures, but they've been associated with mogul skiing. Apparently, my technique leaves something to be desired! Before that, I'd never had a problem with that piece, but the guys at Freeheel Life seemed to think the Pebax material was a big improvement.
I have a large friend who uses the Outlaw X trouble free, but I haven't tried it. I do like the edge grip the tech fittings give, and I love the neutrality of the Meidjo, but as they age they're getting kind of breakage prone, much like me. The only part I've had more than one failure on is the base plate, again, impact related.

[SibrenDevos]

Unfortunately, haven't got any feedback or answer whatsoever.
After sending pictures, explaining what happened, they did not respond at all