NNN BC bindings: Auto or Manual?

[Lars_Danner]

Auto. It's not really close.

[CwmRaider]

Manual/magnum advantages
- not reliant on hidden mechanisms for functionality
- Easier to remove when upside down; with the autos it is easier to support the ski against something (this COULD be a scenario after a crash in deep powder etc.)
- the entire mechanism is visible when the bail is open --> ice can be cleared mechanically from the whole binding.
Cons:
- Best to close the bail for transport and overnight, so no ice freezes in (it CAN be cleared but it can also be avoided)

Auto pros
- Easy to step in, provided the ski is on a stable enough surface
- generally functional

Cons:
- Hard to use the mechanism without the ski on some kind of support. Step in in deep powder? hmmpf...
- potential for water to freeze under the button and render it inoperable; either unable to step in or remove skis without applying warm liquid. Mechanical ice clearing impossible.

Obviously the bindings all function, but the auto freezing up issue can, and does happen. On the other hand it is easy to realize that this requires some pretty specific circumstances.

[Lars_Danner]

If you are skiing laps around the Nordic center then there might be some fashion benefit to manual bindings. But if you are actually doing backcountry skiing, I can assure you there is absolutely no benefit whatsoever to manual bindings. They are just as likely to ice up as auto bindings, but require you to bend over repeatedly to take them off and put them on every time you get to an unskiable section--which can be exhausting in difficult terrain with a full pack. My guess is that manual bindings were invented by the same guy in marketing who invented nylon skins.

[randoskier]

I prefer the manuals because they're easier to get off when you're upside down.

Edit: also, I really like the clunk you get when you close them.

That is a salient point!

[randoskier]

to clarify:
Rottefella makes *three* NNN-BC Bindings:
Manual
Auto
Magnum

Auto and Manual are about the same dimensions, and differ for how you engage binding to boot.

The Magnum is a base plate that is a handful of mm wider - to help control wider skiis.

Think of the Magnum as a wider Manual. Both with the same attachment to boot.

The Auto, is more of a “step-in” boot engagement. Convenient because you can engage/release the binding without the need to bend over and control the binding by hand. But some report this binding can “freeze-up” under certain conditions.

For the TR78, Ive installed Magnums.
They are a very good match.

I have Magnums on my Fischer 88s and on my dust-collecting Eons. I worry about icing up problems with the Auto, the Magnum is easy to clear. The new Auto looks a lot more robust than my 2004 version.

[randoskier]

Is there any reason at all to mount magnums on the T78's? I have both manual and magnums in front of me.

Because the ski costs 369 with them mounted and costs 369 with no binding at all, that is the only reason I am considering them.

[randoskier]

If you are going to push the 78 hard downhill I personally would mount the magnum- especially if you plan on being many miles from the trailhead.

No difference in skiing performance between them.

In Norway you are often far from a trailhead and the trailhead is often far from anywhere else (very low population density, and most of that density is in 4 urban cities). The 78s I am getting for more pace on the long remote tours which is what we are mostly doing. I have a pair of Fischer 88s with Magnums on them but I wanted more length and more camber but still able to descend. Glad the Easyskin has returned to the 78 after a year's vacation in China.

[randoskier]

Thanks everyone for your input. I think I will pass on the deal with the Auto. Too many question marks about it. I'll put a Magnum on it, worth the 70 EUR for the assurance. I would go Xplore but don't want to put it on three different skis, and Tom M has a point about green bananas. . My wife loves the Xplore!