14ers.com

He only reviews Salomon due to his affiliation, but some helpful info in here besides all of the marketing.

https://youtu.be/BedSGuuLW58

Make sure whatever you get has the ability to mount ski crampons for spring crust!
I've got some old Dynafit Verticals that are at least 10 years old and still going strong. I just added some Dynafit Superlight 175s to my quiver too. I have never had a prerelease with either of them in the resort or backcountry. I only lock the toes uphill, and I keep the heel release settings around 6 or 7. Everything has always worked like it should. 6'2" tall and 165lb

nsaladin wrote: ↑Thu Feb 25, 2021 9:45 am He only reviews Salomon due to his affiliation, but some helpful info in here besides all of the marketing.

https://youtu.be/BedSGuuLW58

In this video, Cody does a pretty good job at highlighting some of the main issues with each binding category and it's good that he pointed out "you shouldn't ski tech bindings at the resort." How different types of bindings release (or don't) is really important and I think way too many people jump into tech bindings without realizing what they're getting. As hybrid bindings evolve (shift ), we will have more and more options to increase safety and better span both inbounds and backcountry skiing.

infinitexplorer wrote: ↑Wed Mar 10, 2021 4:39 pm Make sure whatever you get has the ability to mount ski crampons for spring crust!
I've got some old Dynafit Verticals that are at least 10 years old and still going strong. I just added some Dynafit Superlight 175s to my quiver too. I have never had a prerelease with either of them in the resort or backcountry. I only lock the toes uphill, and I keep the heel release settings around 6 or 7. Everything has always worked like it should. 6'2" tall and 165lb

I have never found ski crampons to be particularly useful in Colorado. I know people swear by them in icier locales, e.g., PNW and Sierra, but I have found that skins are sufficient in almost every skin track I have climbed in Colorado. And in instances where there is no skin track, if the slope is steep/icy enough to slip with skins on, it has been too steep for ski crampons to be useful so I have just booted instead of skied.

Curious what others think?

I think ski crampons are useful for spring mountaineering in CO. They are good for side-hilling on refrozen snow, which I think is about the most awkward thing you can do on skis. I have also had a few occasions where they came up huge for skinning steep crust that was supportable on skis, but not for booting. However, I recommend a "fixed" ski crampon, like this one from Voile: https://www.voile.com/voile-ski-crampon-96mm.html which I think is better than the ones that attach to your bindings as it doesn't raise off the ski when you are using the highest climbing bars.

Just picked up the Burton Hitchhikers, which are Sparks with Burton straps sold under the Burton name. Haven't had the chance to test them out yet but will definitely post again once I do. For anyone still looking for split bindings, Burton still has them in mediums on their site.

Bean wrote: ↑Wed Jan 13, 2021 3:44 pm Something else to consider is how sensitive you are to binding ramp. Some people aren't, at all. Turns out I am, quite a bit. The BD/ATK is pretty flat (0.5mm), and even with an adjustment plate is still pretty moderate and less ramp than most other bindings.

Marker Alpinist are something else to consider, I was skeptical of anything Marker but after a couple years they seem to be pretty good on the durability front. I picked up a pair this year, only have one day on them but was very happy with their ski performance.

Word! I picked up Marker Alpinist for my 2nd setup (supposed to be a winter powder setup), and got used to Alpinists (2-3mm delta) over winter, so when I went to Dynafit Superlites (7 mm delta) on my spring setup, the higher ramp was very noticeable. People at the shop looked at me like I'm crazy when I said Superlites now feel too high after 4 seasons. Gonna put some toe shims and see if that helps. In addition to the toe-heel delta, I also prefer how Alpinists ski. They are very damp compared to Dynafits, very noticeable bump absorption.

But this year I've noticed many people on a variety of ATKs - they look sweet for sure - lower ramp and multiple risers.

spoony wrote: ↑Thu Mar 11, 2021 9:10 am I have never found ski crampons to be particularly useful in Colorado. I know people swear by them in icier locales, e.g., PNW and Sierra, but I have found that skins are sufficient in almost every skin track I have climbed in Colorado. And in instances where there is no skin track, if the slope is steep/icy enough to slip with skins on, it has been too steep for ski crampons to be useful so I have just booted instead of skied.

Curious what others think?

lodgling wrote: ↑Thu Mar 11, 2021 9:21 am I think ski crampons are useful for spring mountaineering in CO. They are good for side-hilling on refrozen snow, which I think is about the most awkward thing you can do on skis. I have also had a few occasions where they came up huge for skinning steep crust that was supportable on skis, but not for booting. However, I recommend a "fixed" ski crampon, like this one from Voile: https://www.voile.com/voile-ski-crampon-96mm.html which I think is better than the ones that attach to your bindings as it doesn't raise off the ski when you are using the highest climbing bars.

I've used them a small handful of times. I think there's a narrow band of conditions and slope angle where they're useful. Generally if it's too steep to skin you're only getting another 5 degrees of steepness or so before it's booting/crampon time. Even on hard freeze conditions.

Jorts wrote: ↑Mon Apr 24, 2023 7:23 pmI've used them a small handful of times. I think there's a narrow band of conditions and slope angle where they're useful. Generally if it's too steep to skin you're only getting another 5 degrees of steepness or so before it's booting/crampon time. Even on hard freeze conditions.

They're most useful in CO on stout breakable crusts where it's too steep/slick to skin without them but unsupportive enough that trying to boot results in miserable wallowing. Mostly (but not only) an early-spring thing.