Chouinard Tele Binding

[fgd135]

That Chouinard cable with the front throw lever was the first cable binding sold by Chouinard (aka "The Coonyard"); it was a stock Rottefella cable design, the Junior Cable, with a plate for 75mm tele boots. Nothing is really new when it comes to cable bindings; even the Rivas, Riva IIs, et al., were just re-scaled versions of older binding designs, with new plates specifically built to accommodate the thicker soles of 1980's leather tele boots.

[TallGrass]

What year are those from?

You tell me!
https://www.telemarktalk.com/viewtopic. ... =10#p54112

[Lhartley]

What year are those from?

You tell me!
https://www.telemarktalk.com/viewtopic. ... =10#p54112

Sorry, my realm of knowledge was in splitboards and AT gear the last 15 years, it's all new to me still. My maiden voyage in this strange niche

[Manney]

3 pins go back 101 years. Cable throw almost as old So old, it’s not really fair to say it’s “technology” any more.

The reason they’re still made has a lot to do with intellectual property… patent expired decades ago. Nobody needs to pay the patent holders anything. Spool up the metal press, drill press, and wire bender… and you’re in the binding business.

[Jurassien]

A bit off-topic, but relating to the same vintage. My first nordic touring binding was a 3-pin 50mm Touring Norm (anyone remember those?), purchased in 1983. It was paired with a waxable Fischer without steel edges which, I think, was called "Super Glass" or something similar. The boots were almost useless, from a touring point of view, as you could twist the soles like a rag.

To my astonishment, I travelled the whole length of the Jura in that rig (270km). I was young, enthusiastic and afraid of nothing, but looking back on that now, from the perspective of age and acquired wisdom (!), the very thought of doing that tour with that kind of gear has me shitting myself.

I distinctly remember doing some early-morning traverses along steepish south-facing slopes where the snow was almost as hard as a board. Factor in the floppy-soled boots and the lack of steel edges and you have a recipe for soiled underwear (unless you're young, fearless.......and clueless).

The 3-Pin 50mm Touring Norm went the way of the Dodo. Here are some pics of similar gear, randomly pulled from the Net:

[fgd135]

Yeah, those 50mm NN bindings and related boots had a very very short retail life span, come and gone in just a few years, mebbe mid 1970's to about 1981, never popular, quickly superseded by the much better early Adidas and Solomon systems, and NNN. 1983 was probably the last year or so of their commercial existence, at least in the US. I was working in a very busy nordic shop and I think we stopped stocking that gear in 1981 or 2. No substantial boots were ever made, as it was intended as a racing/light touring binding from the beginning.
The only good idea in that design was as a 3-pin toebail binding with a universal fit, i.e., same binding fitting both left and right boot. I don't know how well it would've worked, but it's a shame that 75mm bindings and boots were not re-designed with that in mind. If it had worked out, it would be possible to carry only one spare binding on long tours, instead of needing to carry a spare left and a right, and not have to be too concerned about long term edge wear, or for that matter having to figure out left/right bindings when putting on skis in a snowstorm or deep snow.
Of course, NNNBC solves that issue quite well; no left or right bindings, and substantial, supportive, boots. By 1984, Asolo was producing demo models of Snowfields and Extremes with NNNBC soles.

[TallGrass]

A bit off-topic, but relating to the same vintage. My first nordic touring binding was a 3-pin 50mm Touring Norm (anyone remember those?), purchased in 1983. It was paired with a waxable Fischer without steel edges which, I think, was called "Super Glass" or something similar. The boots were almost useless, from a touring point of view, as you could twist the soles like a rag.

To my astonishment, I travelled the whole length of the Jura in that rig (270km). I was young, enthusiastic and afraid of nothing, but looking back on that now, from the perspective of age and acquired wisdom (!), the very thought of doing that tour with that kind of gear has me shitting myself.

I distinctly remember doing some early-morning traverses along steepish south-facing slopes where the snow was almost as hard as a board. Factor in the floppy-soled boots and the lack of steel edges and you have a recipe for soiled underwear (unless you're young, fearless.......and clueless).

The 3-Pin 50mm Touring Norm went the way of the Dodo. Here are some pics of similar gear, randomly pulled from the Net:

Yeah, those 50mm NN bindings and related boots had a very very short retail life span, ... The only good idea in that design was as a 3-pin toebail binding with a universal fit,

I'm not so sure. I think the way the laces magically go from white to black when you turn the shoe over is pretty cool, and very helpful to locate your shoe if you ever drop it in snow!