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Doug Briggs

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On Marker frame bindings, the pivot point moves back but so does the boot so the movement of the binding from ski to walk doesn't affect the actual location of the pivot point relative to the binding, but the balance of the tip and tail.
 

Doug Briggs

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Thanks @Royal , I looked it up and as we are carrying brands that offer pin bindings, I hope I can get the shop to get this. It will be interesting to see the difference in torque values with the adaptor.
 
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Lauren

Lauren

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Well, bought 'em and skied 'em for the first time this past weekend. It was just a quick few runs on the resort to try out the new AT boots and bindings, make sure I didn't make the mistake of putting the Kingpin on my beloved Santa Anas (too late now if it was a mistake).

Love them! They're SO light compared to anything I've skied before. I didn't lose any performance in the Santa Anas, they feel and ski just the way they did before. It took a couple runs to really trust the binding, but each run was better than the last. I'm actually excited to hike with them now, rather than tolerate the hike in order to ski down, as I did before. :yahoo:
 

Gettes

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Just wanted to say thanks(without starting a new thread and hopefully not de-railing this one) for the advice on this thread and the "East Coast AT Setup" it was helpful in me finally pulling the trigger on my first touring setup. Went with the Kingpin 13's on Line Sick Day 114's and a pair of Scarpa Freedom RS(most likely to become my daily driver boots as I'm not a big fan of the ones I have now). I know the 114's are a bit wide for my location but I wanted something to work as a powder ski too and they had a pretty good rep as an all mountain ski for a wide board especially in the 190.
 

Gettes

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Just wanted to say thanks(without starting a new thread and hopefully not de-railing this one) for the advice on this thread and the "East Coast AT Setup" it was helpful in me finally pulling the trigger on my first touring setup. Went with the Kingpin 13's on Line Sick Day 114's and a pair of Scarpa Freedom RS(most likely to become my daily driver boots as I'm not a big fan of the ones I have now).
 

BoofHead

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I have only done a few uphills on my Kingpins and obviuosly a huge improvement over my Dukes. As far as downhill goes, this last week I’ve really put them through the ringer here at AspenSnowmass; hardpack, heavy boot high “pow”, bumps and I am very happy with them. Given the early season conditions, I mounted them on to my 2010 Mantras. A stiff ski which likes to be skied fast.

One issue that I’ve encountered is that the toe piece can ice up. Apart from that, a big thumbs up for the Kingpins from me.
Last day in US today. Off to Japan in a month so I’ll get too test them on my fatties in some deep stuff.
 

bodhi

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This thread has provided a lot of useful information and insight on what to look for in a binding.

I am making the change from tele to AT with the hope of skiing harder at the resort and BC. Looking for a binding that
is most suited to hard pack/ice Previously, someone alluded to a potential issue in the way AT pin bindings handle
such hard pack/icy conditions in terms of chatter/dampening when compared to frame bindings.

Will a frame binding ski smoother than a pin binding while skiing hard pack/ice?

Based on what I've read here and on a few other forums, I am leaning towards the Kingpins. However, if a frame binding such
as Salomons Guardian where to ski smoother in the above mentioned conditions, I might consider that option.

Thoughts / comments / concerns greatly appreciated.

Skis most likely will be Atomic Vantage 90 cti with Scarpa Maestrale RS boots.


Another question, is it a concern that the toe does not release on the Kingpins like an alpine binding?
 

Doug Briggs

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The Kingpins are a solid AT binding. The toe doesn't release like a regular alpine binding but the heel is designed to permit lateral release. When that happens, the toe will come out of the pins.

The advantage of the Kingpins and Fritschi Tecton is the alpine style heel. The heel provides a much more effective contact point with the ski than pin heels.

I have been using my Ranger 98s with Kingpin 13s a fair bit in the resort. I have encountered ice, hard pack and powder. The bindings performed exceptionally well and were indistinguishable from regular alpine bindings in their ability to get my skis up on edge and carve with big angles.
 

Slim

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@bodhi Yes it’s a concern that the toe of tech bindings(except for the Fritschi’s) doesn’t release laterally at the toe.
This is what that video mentioned earlier is talking about.
However, the flip side of that is that it’s a concern that all other bindings(except kneebinding) don’t release laterallay at the heel...

Pick your poison ;-)

here is one view in favor of lateral release at the toe:
https://blisterreview.com/gear-reviews/2016-2017-black-diamond-fritschi-diamir-vipec-12

And as usual, I find myself agreeing with @Analisa , if this is mainly for inbounds use with some touring, that’s the home of the Shift binding.
 
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BoofHead

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The Kingpins are a solid AT binding. The toe doesn't release like a regular alpine binding but the heel is designed to permit lateral release. When that happens, the toe will come out of the pins.

The advantage of the Kingpins and Fritschi Tecton is the alpine style heel. The heel provides a much more effective contact point with the ski than pin heels.

I have been using my Ranger 98s with Kingpin 13s a fair bit in the resort. I have encountered ice, hard pack and powder. The bindings performed exceptionally well and were indistinguishable from regular alpine bindings in their ability to get my skis up on edge and carve with big angles.
Agree. Have just put another 3 weeks on mine and can’t fault them. Rock solid and release when they have to. Have spent a few days on some Fischer Ranger 98’s here in Japan last week and if I can score a pair cheap my Kingpins will be mounted on them.
Great binding, great ski even in deep Hokkaido pow.
 

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