Where's the beef: Marker introduces new AT binding

Not sure if anyone's seen this before but:

http://www.wildsnow.com/backcountry-ski-museum/marker-duke-07-08/marker-duke-ski-binding.html

It's not something for me I don't think. At a little over 160 lbs, my Freerides should be plenty strong for the gnarly five foot drops I throw at them.

The real reason I'm interested, is I wonder if we'll see a flood of used Freerides and other burly AT bindings from places like *GR () when these come out. Boy I hope so, and I hope people try and dump em cheap!

one word...HEAVY.........they recently did a group buy over at TGR on a bunch of these..don't know the price casue I didnt PM the guy running the group buy, but im sure cheaper than retail. I think you can still pick up a pair over at TGR if you pm a user called PTEX.

I personally use NAXO NX01's..12 DIN....im 225 6'3" still havent needed to crank em above 10....I have them on my whole quiver now, basically thats because I want to use one boot across all my skis...my AT boot is ONLY vibram soled so can't use in normal alpine binders..

Those new markers are "bomber" but a bit too much for touring imho.

M

SkiDog said:

one word...HEAVY.........they recently did a group buy over at TGR on a bunch of these..don't know the price casue I didnt PM the guy running the group buy, but im sure cheaper than retail. I think you can still pick up a pair over at TGR if you pm a user called PTEX.

I personally use NAXO NX01's..12 DIN....im 225 6'3" still havent needed to crank em above 10....I have them on my whole quiver now, basically thats because I want to use one boot across all my skis...my AT boot is ONLY vibram soled so can't use in normal alpine binders..

Those new markers are "bomber" but a bit too much for touring imho.

M

Click to expand...

Yeah, I'd say they're certainly encroaching more on the Trekker market than they are on say the Dynafit market. I certainly don't need that kind of weight to drag uphill. Especially if boot packing is required and the weight is on your back.

Marc said:

Yeah, I'd say they're certainly encroaching more on the Trekker market than they are on say the Dynafit market. I certainly don't need that kind of weight to drag uphill. Especially if boot packing is required and the weight is on your back.

Click to expand...

I look at it this way...I havent broken a binding yet.......I intend to keep it that way..

This is just a beefy binder...its an alpine binder that they "converted" with a plate to make it "touring capable"...this is decent I guess for slackcountry or VERY short tours.

M

Ugh, they look very clunky.

4lbs 9oz/pair - Freerides
5lbs 14oz/pair - Markers

Used Freerides a lot this season and was fine at high 170lbs (with gear and all). Especially with my AT boots' sticky soles, the release was extra sticky and almost dangerous a couple times.

I guess if you're hucking off huge cliffs then maybe it might make sense... but even then you'll be landing in powder... eh, whatever floats your boat... or boards...

Pretty cool if you ask me, though they do look horrible for touring. One very nice thing about them is that there is no stack height, which is one of the biggest complaints against freerides. Also, I skied on freerides and a vibram sole boot every day this season and didn't have any release problems and didn't break anything. Though I did go free heel about 5 times which sucks pretty bad, every time was in the bumps. I think I'll get some naxos next time if I get another touring binding, lower stack height and the heel is securely locked down.

awf170 said:

Pretty cool if you ask me, though they do look horrible for touring. One very nice thing about them is that there is no stack height, which is one of the biggest complaints against freerides. Also, I skied on freerides and a vibram sole boot every day this season and didn't have any release problems and didn't break anything. Though I did go free heel about 5 times which sucks pretty bad, every time was in the bumps. I think I'll get some naxos next time if I get another touring binding, lower stack height and the heel is securely locked down.

Click to expand...

Naxos rock and are VERY nice for touring...they have a very natural "gate"...

M

They're lighter than a regular Marker 14din Freeride binding and a helluva lot lighter than trekkers. The wide base...~10mm wider than a standard binding gives them better leverage over the edges of wider skis and the whole track slides forward when put into tour mode...so the tips don't dive in the pow as soon as you raise your heel to step. I skied them on a pair of Mantras and they were very responsive on hard snow...as solid as any other alpine clamp...felt surprisingly light on my feet when in tour mode ,and the 6-16 DIN should keep you in for sure. If you're looking to do some light skinning to get to the goods..including some air time, they're a better option than anything else I've seen...at 6'1 and 210 a 12 DIN won't always keep me in on a less than perfect landing...but a 16 DIN probably will...haven't had the full test drive yet If you're starting at the bottom of the Tetons and earning every turn, wearing AT boots and buying your skis from Black Diamond or Karhu...they are not the binding for you. If you're starting from the top of the lift, wearing alpine boots, on fat alpine skis, plan to make some laps, catch some air, prefer a higher DIN, and want a better option than trekkers or nothing, they're the ticket. I've got a pair of 189cm Seth Pistols that'll be sporting the Duke come winter.

Great info-
just want to add that the general idea behind the "duke" was to make a place like alta more accessible. I believe the goal was to give the market a free heel binding that was desgined to make getting from lift end to inbounds terrain easier while not compromising downhill feel. based on their weight I would not want to hike up with them.

ajl50 said:

Great info-
just want to add that the general idea behind the "duke" was to make a place like alta more accessible. I believe the goal was to give the market a free heel binding that was desgined to make getting from lift end to inbounds terrain easier while not compromising downhill feel. based on their weight I would not want to hike up with them.

Click to expand...

I dont know..i get by fine with NAXO 01's...though I dont go through equipment like apparently some do.....

m

ajl50 said:

Great info-
just want to add that the general idea behind the "duke" was to make a place like alta more accessible. I believe the goal was to give the market a free heel binding that was desgined to make getting from lift end to inbounds terrain easier while not compromising downhill feel. based on their weight I would not want to hike up with them.

Click to expand...

Huh? I have only been to Alta twice. But when people ever skin inbounds there?

I think of it more a side-country binding. Ride a lift 2,000 ft. then skin a 1,000 ft. sort of thing.