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#1
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Alpine bindings on Telemark skis?
My principal gripe is that my skis are heavier than I'd like
for carrying from my car to the lift. Long ago I noticed that Telemark and AT (alpine touring) skis weigh less than downhill skis of any type. What would happen if I put downhill bindings (e.g. Marker 13.0) on good telemark skis such as Atomic TM:X or Fischer Stingrays? One bonus is that these models cost less than most downhill skis. Or what about an AT ski such as the K2 Shuksan? I've seen those at Kirkwood, but neglected to ask the owners about them. |
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#2
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The Universe would implode on itself.
I advise against doing it. |
#3
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Bill Tuthill wrote:
My principal gripe is that my skis are heavier than I'd like for carrying from my car to the lift. Put lighter bindings on them. If you heft a pair of downhill skis without bindings on, you'll be amazed at how light they are. I've never noticed the weight of skis when walking. Do you put them on your shoulder? ant |
#4
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Bill Tuthill wrote:
My principal gripe is that my skis are heavier than I'd like for carrying from my car to the lift. Long ago I noticed that Telemark and AT (alpine touring) skis weigh less than downhill skis of any type. What would happen if I put downhill bindings (e.g. Marker 13.0) on good telemark skis such as Atomic TM:X or Fischer Stingrays? One bonus is that these models cost less than most downhill skis. Or what about an AT ski such as the K2 Shuksan? I've seen those at Kirkwood, but neglected to ask the owners about them. In my experience, binding have more to do with weight even than skis. I have a nice light rig in pair of Salomon 1080's (not specifically AT but not too bad for weight) with Fritchie Free Ride bindings. DIN to 12 so beefy enough for eastern ice and nice and light. VtSkier |
#5
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Bill Tuthill wrote:
My principal gripe is that my skis are heavier than I'd like for carrying from my car to the lift. Silly. How much time do you spend walking with skis compared to skiing on a given ski day. (FWIW, you should be more worried about your boot soles wearing on the pavement than your ski weight - sole wear will prematurely wreck your boots.) Long ago I noticed that Telemark and AT (alpine touring) skis weigh less than downhill skis of any type. What would happen if I put downhill bindings (e.g. Marker 13.0) on good telemark skis such as Atomic TM:X or Fischer Stingrays? One bonus is that these models cost less than most downhill skis. Or what about an AT ski such as the K2 Shuksan? I've seen those at Kirkwood, but neglected to ask the owners about them. I've got telemark skis (Piste Stinx) mounted with AT bindings (Fritschi FreeRides) with no trouble. Lots of combinations work. If you're uncertain of a particular combination, ask your carefully curried shop technician for guidance (you know the tech I mean - the guy you bring beer to in the spring as a token of your appreciation throughout the year.) |
#6
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The reason why many tele skis are lighter than their alpine counterpart
is that the tele skis are made without a metal plate to go under the foot for alpine binding mounting. If you are not an agressive, expert skier you can probably get away with mounting alpine bindings on a tele ski. snoig |
#7
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lal_truckee wrote:
Bill Tuthill wrote: My principal gripe is that my skis are heavier than I'd like for carrying from my car to the lift. Silly. How much time do you spend walking with skis compared to skiing on a given ski day. (FWIW, you should be more worried about your boot soles wearing on the pavement than your ski weight - sole wear will prematurely wreck your boots.) Ah yes, sole wear. A number of boots have replaceable parts or complete toe and heel pieces. Many of the SureFoot boots have this feature of complete toe/heel replacement. A few other brands have a replaceable wear plate. Some, most notably Salomon, have no replaceable parts. My AT boots have a Vibram sole which can be replaced by sending them to Lowa. Now, there is a correlation between sole wear and release function. Professional ski shops have a "jig" to measure boot sole thickness at critical areas and also have parameters for the amount the vertical parts of the boot sole can be worn away and still be effective. Having said all of that, most binding toe pieces accomplish their retainage of the boot at the top of the toe of the boot and the vertical part of the boot just above the sole. This suggests that boot sole *bottom* wear may not be as critical as sometimes suggested. A release check will determine the limits. Now I wear AT boots with vibram soles a lot because I have cause to get out of my skis and walk around a lot during the course of a "working" ski day. The vibram sole may be the worst thing to put between your leg and your binding. Maybe even worse than a severely worn alpine boot sole. To lessen this effect, I'm a FIRM believer in active AFD devices. So far, only Marker and Tyrolia (and maybe Atomic) have devices that I feel comfortable with. Every body else cheaps out with teflon devices which can accumulate dirt and not work as advertised, but plenty good enough for newish alpine boots. It's a bit late to try this now, but I am planning to take my AT boots and various skis into my favorite ski shop and use their release check equipment to test my theories. So far, and as usual, the only release function I've had occasion to need, is vertical release (heel) in the last several seasons, so the boot sole doesn't have much to do with this function. I do note that my Fritchie FreeRides don't have an active AFD but are made to use with AT boots. Perhaps the active function isn't as necessary as I suspect, or maybe the use profile of AT bindings (no parking lots) makes it so they don't lose their function as readily as alpine bindings. Long ago I noticed that Telemark and AT (alpine touring) skis weigh less than downhill skis of any type. What would happen if I put downhill bindings (e.g. Marker 13.0) on good telemark skis such as Atomic TM:X or Fischer Stingrays? One bonus is that these models cost less than most downhill skis. Or what about an AT ski such as the K2 Shuksan? I've seen those at Kirkwood, but neglected to ask the owners about them. I've got telemark skis (Piste Stinx) mounted with AT bindings (Fritschi FreeRides) with no trouble. Lots of combinations work. If you're uncertain of a particular combination, ask your carefully curried shop technician for guidance (you know the tech I mean - the guy you bring beer to in the spring as a token of your appreciation throughout the year.) I pointed out earlier that I had a pair of Salomon 1080's with FreeRides and thought they were pretty light, especially as compared to my Volkl 6stars. VtSkier (Oh, and Fred, I do get a little verbose from time to time an earlier message) |
#8
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"VtSkier" wrote SNIP This suggests that boot sole *bottom* wear may not be as critical as sometimes suggested. A release check will determine the limits. Now I wear AT boots with vibram soles a lot because I have cause to get out of my skis and walk around a lot during the course of a "working" ski day. The vibram sole may be the worst thing to put between your leg and your binding. Maybe even worse than a severely worn alpine boot sole. To lessen this effect, I'm a FIRM believer in active AFD devices. So far, only Marker and Tyrolia (and maybe Atomic) have devices that I feel comfortable with. Every body else cheaps out with teflon devices which can accumulate dirt and not work as advertised, but plenty good enough for newish alpine boots. SNIP VT, Have you really seen Teflon strips collect dirt and grime so they stop working? Wouldn't this same dirt and grime cause more havoc in the active AFD devices? I am sure you have heard of the KISS principle, the Teflon sounds allot simpler to me. I admit I have not paid attention to active AFD devices so I would be very interested in your reasoning, and description of them. Stephen B. |
#9
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VtSkier wrote:
Ah yes, sole wear. A number of boots have replaceable parts or complete toe and heel pieces. Many of the SureFoot boots have this feature of complete toe/heel replacement. A few other brands have a replaceable wear plate. Some, most notably Salomon, have no replaceable parts. Jeez I hope my Atomics soles are replaceable, as they are completely rooted. I have had 2 full sesaons on them; in Oz the walk to/from the locker room was mainly over snow, in the US it was a longish hike across the village. in my last couple of weeks, I grabbed the boots off the boot dryer by their heels, and the black parts moved! They are screwed on so I'm assuming they are replaceable. I never got to test my bindings' release capabilities this season, somewhat to my shame. ant |
#10
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Stephen B. wrote:
I am sure you have heard of the KISS principle, the Teflon sounds allot simpler to me. I am an Salomon binding fan, but I do get annoyed by the ease with which the white AFDs fall out. Getting them replaced can be a real rigmarole. ant |
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