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jim23
Jan 17, 2008, 11:15 PM
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I am looking for a simple binding to go on some ~1m skis to use for skiing down fire roads in New England, mellow snowfields, etc.
I know Kong has their Grimper skiis of comparable length, but it seems the binding is quite heavy (as it has tour/climb modes, etc)- the rig weighs ~8lbs. i heard of a European ultralight mountaineering binding like this from Sk'alp, but alas it is not available in the USA and the company does not reply to my emails in my best French...
Is anyone familiar with a mountaineering binding like this available in the USA (Silvretta=overkill, too expensive/heavy for what I am after)? Has anyone had success modifying a tele binding or making something from scratch with a toe bail and heel clamp drilled into the ski (kind of lie the 'Bigfoot' skis)?
Thanks for any info or ideas!
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ryanb
Jan 17, 2008, 11:32 PM
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http://www.marmotoutlet.com/MMWmain.asp?Option=Detail&StyleID=10006365
haven't tried them though ...
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jgivens
Jan 18, 2008, 12:16 AM
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I am facing the same problem; Silvrettas are too expensive. I was considering these:
http://www.pikamtn.com/7wintergear.htm
but still expensive.
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summerprophet
Jan 18, 2008, 2:17 AM
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I know you said no silvretta's but what about the old 400's or 404's. They are low profile and fairly light. You should be able to find them used pretty cheap.
Otherwise, keep your eyes open for an old pair of snowboard hardboot bindings. If you go this method, you will have to do some mods to the bindings to adapt them to your boots.
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epoch
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Jan 18, 2008, 2:18 AM
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Do what I did and put some $$ aside and get a proper off piste setup. You won't regret it.
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jim23
Jan 18, 2008, 4:03 AM
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epoch wrote: Do what I did and put some $$ aside and get a proper off piste setup. You won't regret it.
thanks for the tips all. =)
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hacksaw
Jan 18, 2008, 4:08 AM
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jim23 wrote: Actually I have some skis w/fritschi AT bindings and some scarpa AT boots- I'm not looking for off-piste skiing per se, just fast, efficient, lightweight transportation down from peak climbs! thanks for the tips all. =)
Then why did you ask? What you got will be a hell of a lot "faster," then some stupid little 1 meter firn skis...
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epoch
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Jan 18, 2008, 4:14 AM
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hacksaw wrote: jim23 wrote: Actually I have some skis w/fritschi AT bindings and some scarpa AT boots- I'm not looking for off-piste skiing per se, just fast, efficient, lightweight transportation down from peak climbs! thanks for the tips all. =) Then why did you ask? What you got will be a hell of a lot "faster," then some stupid little 1 meter firn skis...
exactly...
If I'm climbing something that I will potentially be skiing off of I do it in my AT boots. I've got the same control in them as I do alpine boots, plus I also have the ability to crank some turns on the way down.
The alternative is glissading. Just be sure to remove them crampons.
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geogoddess
Jan 18, 2008, 4:22 AM
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Dynafit TLT
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stymingersfink
Jan 18, 2008, 4:49 AM
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geogoddess wrote: Dynafit TLT [image]http://static.backcountry.com/images/items/medium/DNF0006/WOB.jpg[/image]
I would guess he's looking for a binding that will accommodate a plastic mountaineering boot. Silveretta is pretty much the standard for that kind of work. There may be another company that makes a binding which will work with mountaineering boots, but they're not coming to mind right now...
not all mountaineering bindings are heavy, nor are they cheap. You might start at the consignment section of your local mountaineering gear store, various BBS For Sale/Wanted threads, or EBay. Gear swaps are a good place too, but not if you want them right now... most of the swaps happen in the fall, near the beginning of the season!
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jim23
Jan 18, 2008, 3:32 PM
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epoch wrote: hacksaw wrote: jim23 wrote: Actually I have some skis w/fritschi AT bindings and some scarpa AT boots- I'm not looking for off-piste skiing per se, just fast, efficient, lightweight transportation down from peak climbs! thanks for the tips all. =) Then why did you ask? What you got will be a hell of a lot "faster," then some stupid little 1 meter firn skis... exactly... If I'm climbing something that I will potentially be skiing off of I do it in my AT boots. I've got the same control in them as I do alpine boots, plus I also have the ability to crank some turns on the way down. The alternative is glissading. Just be sure to remove them crampons.
Guys- AT boots are much much heavier than my custom-fitted plastics (4lbs 3 oz per boot vs. ~4.5 lbs for the pair of my plastics!) and climb no where near as well. I also do not want to carry 10lbs of skis+bindings on my back during the ascent. I'm out for climbing and mountaineering- not trying to get elevation so I can carve turns on the way down. Just looking for something light to attach my little skis to my climbing boots so I can glide down easy terrain more rapidly. =)
silvrettas are typically what my friends use, but I would be perfectly satisfied with a non-releasable binding without the hardware for a touring mode- hardware that comprises much of the weight and cost in silvretta bindings. the sk'alp bindings are perfect but I can't seem to find them- they weight less than a pound so my little skis and a binding such as that would be ~5lbs total.
in summary:
5lb shorts skis + 4.5lb climbing boots will climb better and be lighter and meet my skiing needs vs. almost 20 lbs for AT rig which will hinder me on the climb (the most important part for me!) and be overkill for the terrain I want to descend (which isn't steep enough to glissade btw).
Sorry if I was not clear about what I was looking for- thanks anyway for the suggestions!
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jgloporto
Jan 18, 2008, 4:14 PM
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jim23 wrote: epoch wrote: Do what I did and put some $$ aside and get a proper off piste setup. You won't regret it. Actually I have some skis w/fritschi AT bindings and some scarpa AT boots- I'm not looking for off-piste skiing per se, just fast, efficient, lightweight transportation down from peak climbs! thanks for the tips all. =)
Karhu Meta or Karver skis. For 200 bucks you get light weight stubbies with universal bindings. I like 'em.
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stymingersfink
Jan 18, 2008, 10:30 PM
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well, one thing that kind of got me into the whole skiing thing was easy-garaded approaches to climbs up a snow-covered road in Maple.
The first time, I borrowed a pair of tele skis with an old chouinard binding on it, set the springs heavy and off I went. As long as I didn't try to turn too sharply, the toe welt would stay under the toe-piece pretty o.k., and they worked just fine on the hike up. You've gotta understand though that this was a FS grade road, so not too steep. I would think that with a little ingenuity and some mechanical prowess one could probably design something on the fairly cheap that would work passably well, provided one was looking for a better way to get around than snow-shoes and not down anything too knarly.
Best of luck on your problem.
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maldaly
Jan 18, 2008, 11:58 PM
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jm23, I get what you're trying to do. Kneissl used to make a stubby ski with clip bindings for just this purpose. Neptune's used to carry them and Clyde may still have some around.
Mal
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jim23
Jan 19, 2008, 5:19 AM
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maldaly wrote: jm23, I get what you're trying to do. Kneissl used to make a stubby ski with clip bindings for just this purpose. Neptune's used to carry them and Clyde may still have some around. Mal
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jim23
Jan 19, 2008, 5:24 AM
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stymingersfink wrote: well, one thing that kind of got me into the whole skiing thing was easy-garaded approaches to climbs up a snow-covered road in Maple. The first time, I borrowed a pair of tele skis with an old chouinard binding on it, set the springs heavy and off I went. As long as I didn't try to turn too sharply, the toe welt would stay under the toe-piece pretty o.k., and they worked just fine on the hike up. You've gotta understand though that this was a FS grade road, so not too steep. I would think that with a little ingenuity and some mechanical prowess one could probably design something on the fairly cheap that would work passably well, provided one was looking for a better way to get around than snow-shoes and not down anything too knarly. Best of luck on your problem.
I've seen some friends do that as well if i recall- maybe I will try and find an old tele binding- just hope it doesn't chew up the welt of my boots too much... thanks for the tip!
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mrtristan
Jan 19, 2008, 4:50 PM
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http://cgi.ebay.com/...QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
I have a pair similar to these that I got off of ebay and I use them for exactly what you're talking about.
Just search ebay for "snow blades" and lots of things will pop up.
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jim23
Jan 19, 2008, 7:50 PM
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mrtristan wrote: http://cgi.ebay.com/...QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem I have a pair similar to these that I got off of ebay and I use them for exactly what you're talking about. Just search ebay for "snow blades" and lots of things will pop up.
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