How to choose your ski touring bindings?
When you start looking more closely at ski touring bindings, you quickly realise the variety of models. Safety in terms of release, skiability and weight are the three major points that define the price of the bindings. Find our advice to make the right choice of ski touring bindings according to your budget and your practice.
The different types of ski touring bindings
In touring skiing, as in all gliding sports, bindings are an integral part of the equipment. And choosing your ski touring bindings well, is to ensure both comfort of practice and maximum safety. An overview of the different models available for ski touring: low tech insert bindings (also called PIN bindings), plate bindings and hybrid bindings.
Insert bindings were the first to arrive on the market. They are actually referred to as low tech ski touring bindings, so they are the equivalent of the Nokia 3310 compared to a modern smartphone: infinite battery, unbreakable screen and making phone calls, are its only utility. The low tech binding is as reliable as the Nokia, it can only be used for touring and is among the lightest on the market.
The new version of insert (PIN) bindings, which recently arrived on the market, attempts a better compromise between weight and safety. The bindings are generally equipped with a spring system at the front that allows lateral release at the front. This means that you gain in safety, even if you lose in weight. To go further, some touring ski bindings even offer a DIN adjustment at the front (in addition to the traditional heel part DIN adjustment). This offers more precision and therefore security.
The 3rd type of touring ski bindings is directly imported from alpine skiing. It is the plate binding. As in resort skiing, the toe-part and heel-part are linked together by a plate. This allows for easy adjustment, as you simply slide the heel piece along the rail to adapt it to any boot. If, in terms of safety, you can't do better, because you have the same release system as in alpine skiing, this additional safety has a real disadvantage in grams. We quickly exceed 1,600 g per pair, whereas PIN bindings does not reach 900 grams.
And finally, the latest bindings to arrive on the market: the Hybrids. This last technology brings a compromise between the Low-Tech binding, and the Alpine binding. Indeed these bindings will offer a classic insert front part with a heel part very similar to alpine bindings. The weight will be optimized compared to a plate binding, thanks to its separate toe-piece and heel-piece (about 800g / binding), all with maximum safety. This type of binding is often intended for people looking for comfort on the descent, freetourers, or people looking for optimal safety.
How to choose the right ski touring binding
While the budget generally makes it possible to decide between two models, it is above all on your practice that you will have to lean to choose the ski touring binding best adapted to your desires.
Fans of competition, timing their runs and ascending elevation freaks will prioritise weight as the number one criterion. In this case, low tech insert bindings and certain models dedicated to competition will finish at the top of the ranking with weights between 300 and 900 grams. To lighten the equipment even more, you can swap the ski stoppers for a leash to be attached to the boots. Count on about 200 grams more if you want to add knives/blades to your skis. These are the equivalent of crampons. They are placed between the toe piece and the heel piece and their main mission is to break the icy crust for optimal grip when going uphill.
In contrast, freetouring and short touring enthusiasts, who find in this sport the freedom of freeriding more than the pleasure of the uphill effort, will opt for hybrid or plate ski touring bindings. Admittedly, they are much heavier and therefore more suitable for short distances and reasonable ascending elevations. On the other hand, they offer maximum safety when descending, especially at high speed. These bindings allow for versatile use without having to invest in exclusive, dedicated ski touring equipment.
Finally, the new generation of low tech touring bindings are aimed at a well-informed public, who tour regularly but still want to keep the release safety offered by alpine bindings, even if it means a little more weight on the way up.
The DIN is a unit of measurement that allows you to set the release value according to several criteria including your height, weight and ski level. This means your boots will get released less often than with a pair of bindings without DIN settings.
Norms and standards in ski touring
In this discipline, there are two main standards issued by the European body ISO, as well as a multitude of standards devised by the manufacturers themselves. When choosing a touring ski binding, it is vital to ensure that it will be compatible with your current and future boots. For touring ski bindings, this is ISO 13992. Boots, on the other hand, are linked to ISO 9523. What do all these numbers mean? Well simply that any ISO 13992 binding will fit any ISO 9523 boot.
On the other hand, you'll probably see the "TÜV" logo on your gear. This is a certification body, short for Technischer ÜberwachungsVerein, which ensures that manufacturers comply with standards. It is therefore an additional guarantee of quality.
Choosing your ski touring bindings is very personal. Some people are ready to do anything to save a few grams, others are afraid of not having their boots released at the right time, and still others are worried about the versatility of the equipment. Making the right choice therefore means taking into account your desires, the frequency you use the equipment and your practice, as well as your physical abilities to equip yourself with suitable ski touring bindings.
- Low tech insert bindings are the lightest ones
- Plate bindings have the same release system safety as alpine bindings
- Ski stoppers and knives make the equipment heavier