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In article ,
Jonathan Shefftz wrote:
The Silvretta 400/404/500/505/555 all lack a lateral release at the
toe (instead placing it at the heel). No recent alpine downhill
binding has ever lacked a lateral toe release.

_ Very few alpine bindings have a lateral heel release.

This strikes me as a
significant Silvretta disadvantage.

_ I said "ski mountaineering" not skiing. There is no standard
for AT binding release, so it's all smoke and mirrors anyway.
The Diamir lacks a lateral heal release, so it's less "safe". My
ancient Marker beartraps had a "toe release", I suspect the 500's
are much safer.... Show me a test the one passes that the other
doesn't. The silvretta uses a different engineering technique to
solve the same problem, you haven't demonstrated that it's an
inferior solution. Why is a lateral toe release superior to
a lateral heel release? If the Diamir's had an upward toe release
you might have an argument, but they don't.

Silvretta advantages? The 500 is a few ounces lighter than the Diamir
III, but lacks a true step-in heel. The 505 has a step-in heel, but
is almost exactly the same weight as the DIII.
So other than climbing boot compatibility, I can’t think of any
reasons to buy a Silvretta.

_ Try using a pair. They require a careful install and getting
them adjusted properly takes some time, but once things are set
up properly they are incredibly easy to switch modes with, the
pivot point is in the right place to make skating easy and the
crampon is simple to take on/off, you can do it without taking the
boot out of the binding. You don't hear stories of toe pieces or
rails breaking[1]. IMHO, durability and ease of use are just as
important as any perceived safety advantage. Sometimes
"simpler is better".

_ If you want a binding to ride the lifts then the Diamir is
probably beefier, but if you're looking for backcountry only
I don't see any obvious reason to not look at the Silvretta.

_ Booker C. Bense

[1]- This may have more to do with who buys the bindings rather
than anything inherent to their design. I suspect people that
"huck" don't buy Silvretta's.


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