Question: I'm confuzzled about bindings

[SquidWeaselYay]

Hello! So, my fiance gave me an early xmas gift....159 BP's! He is a boarder, so he had no clue what bindings to choose, and frankly this is something that has always puzzled me as well. Currently I have a set of Attack 12's on my Kenjas, but I think I want to keep the BPs lightweight. Here is where I get confused:

Bindings are listed for beginners-expert. Higher DIN options & beefier materials = advanced/expert. Beginner/intermediate bindings have lower DIN settings, and a lot more plastic than metal. For somebody who is smaller but advanced/aggressive, would intermediate bindings perform as well as advanced bindings for me? Are there any losses in going with a less beefy binding when you are petite? My thought pattern is telling me that if you are a smaller skier, you won't be exerting the forces of larger skiers, so you wouldn't need the extra strength of the metal and higher DIN you will never use. But I'm wondering if it affects anything else, like power transmission in some subtle way I haven't considered.

I asked a few skier friends, but they are all dudes who advocated getting the strongest binding possible. Not because of ability....rather because of testosterone, I think.

I'm an aggressive advanced skier, tend to hard charge a lot, but I'm 5'1" and ~125lbs, muscular. I never have my DIN set above 7, and currently have them set to 6 with no complaints. I ski on the east coast, resort skiing only. No park, but occasional rock drops/jumps. I tend to end up beating my gear pretty hard, but I have never broken a binding in the past. Poles and core shots, yes. Ugh.

I'm looking at the Attack 11's or the Marker Squires. But I've seen a lot of mixed reviews on the Squires.

 

[mustski]

Welcome! Just say no to the Squires! While some have found them to be trouble free, many of us have had a wildly difficult experience. As to the rest of the bindings our there ... here is my .2 which is about everything I know. The main issues are DIN, weight, delta angle, and sturdiness. Since you are not a big park rat, you can ignore the latter- beefy doesn’t matter for petite ladies. As long as your DIN setting is within the bindings listed range, you are good to go. I prefer light weight binding for those chairs with no foot rest. Now Delta angle is tougher and I don’t fully understand it, but some bindings “raise” the heel and thus can affect stance. Since I don’t understand that, I try to buy flat. I also like that Attack bindings. Go with those again if you can find them for a good price.

 

[Jilly]

Your binding should have your DIN setting near the middle of the range. But sometimes that can't happen. If you're already at 7 then you're going to need a better binding than a beginner. The DIN settings for the 11 are good.

What's the waist on the BP's. The 11 is for 90mm brakes. And SkiEssentials has them on SALE!!

 

[SquidWeaselYay]

Welcome! Just say no to the Squires! While some have found them to be trouble free, many of us have had a wildly difficult experience. As to the rest of the bindings our there ... here is my .2 which is about everything I know. The main issues are DIN, weight, delta angle, and sturdiness. Since you are not a big park rat, you can ignore the latter. As long as your DIN setting is within the bindings listed range, you are good to go. I prefer light weight binding for those chairs with no foot rest. Now Delta angle is tougher and I fon’t Fully understand it, but some bindings “raise” the heel and thus can affect stance. Since I don’t understand that, I try to buy flat. I also like that Attack bindings. Go with those again if you cans find them.

That is what I am thinking, that I don't need a bulletproof tank of a binding when I never take my DIN above 7. I currently have them at 6 on my Kenjas, which seems to be my sweet spot with my current weight. I don't fully "get" the delta angle either. I understand that the Attack 11's are more plastic than metal, and the 12's that I have are pretty much like the 13's. 11's are listed as a beginner though, but again, I don't think I need all that metal for my size.

 

[mustski]

That is what I am thinking, that I don't need a bulletproof tank of a binding when I never take my DIN above 7. I currently have them at 6 on my Kenjas, which seems to be my sweet spot with my current weight. I don't fully "get" the delta angle either. I understand that the Attack 11's are more plastic than metal, and the 12's that I have are pretty much like the 13's. 11's are listed as a beginner though, but again, I don't think I need all that metal for my size.

I’m no expert but it seems that binding are for the purpose of connecting our boots to the skis. Somehow the concept of “beginner” binding makes no sense to me! Expert binding - yes, that I can understand. The main thing is make sure the brakes are no more than 10 mm larger than the waist of the ski.

 

[SquidWeaselYay]

Your binding should have your DIN setting near the middle of the range. But sometimes that can't happen. If you're already at 7 then you're going to need a better binding than a beginner. The DIN settings for the 11 are good.

What's the waist on the BP's. The 11 is for 90mm brakes. And SkiEssentials has them on SALE!![/Q

Yeah, being in the middle of the DIN settings seems to be the thing to look for, from what I have read. But gah, I keep wondering if there is something I am missing about this whole thing. The BPs are 88 WW, so I'm looking for a 90. I'll check out that sale! Thanks for the tip! I'm also going out today to a few ski shops to see what they recommend, but I find that it is mostly guys selling ski gear. Not trying to be sexist, but in my experience, they either try to upsell me to big, beefy stuff, OR in the opposite direction, take one look at me and try to give me a junior binding. Grr.

Yeah, being in the middle of the DIN settings seems to be the thing to look for, from what I have read. But gah, I keep wondering if there is something I am missing about this whole thing. The BPs are 88 WW, so I'm looking for a 90. I'll check out that sale! Thanks for the tip! I'm also going out today to a few ski shops to see what they recommend, but I find that it is mostly guys selling ski gear. Not trying to be sexist, but in my experience, they either try to upsell me to big, beefy stuff, OR in the opposite direction, take one look at me and try to give me a junior binding. Grr.

 

[mustski]

Yes. We have all experienced that ^^^! If they try to sell you a junior binding, mess with them! Insust in seeing all the colors available!

 

[SquidWeaselYay]

I’m no expert but it seems that binding are for the purpose of connecting our boots to the skis. Somehow the concept of “beginner” binding makes no sense to me! Expert binding - yes, that I can understand. The main thing is make sure the brakes are no more than 10 mm larger than the waist of the ski.

I'm starting to wonder if it is mostly a marketing ploy. "Custom fit your binding to the needs of your skiing ability for a better experience! Makes a world of difference!" Really....?

Like you said, I can see an EXPERT needing more in a binding, but I'm no pro.

 

[SquidWeaselYay]

Yes. We have all experienced that ^^^! If they try to sell you a junior binding, mess with them! Insust in seeing all the colors available!

Hahahaha!!! I should pitch a diva fit if they don't show me one that has pink glitter! Tears, wailing, the whole nine yards! Or maybe I'll just deadpan tell them I plan to bedazzle the heel piece, and insist they show me one where the swavorski crystals won't get dirty and fall off when I ski.

If I ever do this, I'll wear a gopro to film the reactions and post the link to the video so we can all share the laughs.

 

[SquidWeaselYay]

I wanted to also ask if anybody has last year's Squires? I heard that Marker fixed a lot of the issues, so last year's model behaved more like the Griffon. But I'm wary....

 

[mustski]

Quite a few folks have had similar issue with the Griffons. They are extremely picky about snow on the boot and hard to lock into. @bounceswoosh and @volklgirl can probably comment on this

 

[SquidWeaselYay]

Hm...When I demoed last year, all the bindings were the Marker demo bindings. I literally had to have one of the demo guys push down on my shoulders to help me click in on a few of them. I chalked it up to just "crappy demo bindings," but maybe not. I even knocked the snow off my boots beforehand. :/

 

[Jilly]

Hahahaha!!! I should pitch a diva fit if they don't show me one that has pink glitter! Tears, wailing, the whole nine yards! Or maybe I'll just deadpan tell them I plan to bedazzle the heel piece, and insist they show me one where the swavorski crystals won't get dirty and fall off when I ski.

If I ever do this, I'll wear a gopro to film the reactions and post the link to the video so we can all share the laughs.

And they MUST match the colour of your boots, or pants, or your helmet...whatever right!!

 

[santacruz skier]

I wanted to also ask if anybody has last year's Squires? I heard that Marker fixed a lot of the issues, so last year's model behaved more like the Griffon. But I'm wary....

I have 2016 Marker Squires on my Blizzard Sambas and have never had an issue..... I believe earlier models were the ones with problems stepping in .... BTW I am also your height but weigh <105 and just had my new Salomon Z10 titanium bindings(I like those and this is my 3rd pair) mounted to my new Black Crows. The guy in the shop said 3.5 DIN setting .... I said no way. Please set at 4.5 and I will sign the liability...

 

[SquidWeaselYay]

I have 2016 Marker Squires on my Blizzard Sambas and have never had an issue..... I believe earlier models were the ones with problems stepping in .... BTW I am also your height but weigh <105 and just had my new Salomon Z10 titanium bindings(I like those and this is my 3rd pair) mounted to my new Black Crows. The guy in the shop said 3.5 DIN setting .... I said no way. Please set at 4.5 and I will sign the liability...

Haha! School them, lady!

I've heard good things about the z10 as well, but after trying the Attacks, I like the bindings made for wider skis. How do the Z10s perform in that regard?

I bet the demo bindings I had issues with were pretty old, they looked pretty beat up.

 

[santacruz skier]

I also had the Z10's on my Kenjas and on my Rossi Saffron 7's (98m). No problem whatsoever but I have heard really good things about the Attacks.

 

[WaterGirl]

I'm an outlier. I have squires on DD's and my skis. 7 yes 7 pair, no issues, some from 4 years ago thru 2107. We are similar size and simlar DIN to you and ski the entire mountain, park and 22 foot half pipe. They are light weight I have them on skis ranging from 85 to 115. The only issue I have had is when I went down in boot size and made the mistake of putting my real age last year. Realzied I need to keep the din up. My most used pair 120+ days is a little stiff at times. I know that for 17/18 they changed the toe to allow WTR? not sure about that new feature. For that reason you can find last years for pretty cheap. As far as the aatack, I beleive the 11 had a different ramp angle and you would be better off with the 12 or 13. If you like the aatack 12 I think they would be fine for the BP.

I also think that yor boot tread plays into how much snow is stuck on when your tryig to click in in powder, therefore I don't buy into the "this binding is hard to get into in deep snow."

I would check the weight difference between the aatack and squire if the weight is a real issue.

 

[marzNC]

I'm an aggressive advanced skier, tend to hard charge a lot, but I'm 5'1" and ~125lbs, muscular. I never have my DIN set above 7, and currently have them set to 6 with no complaints. I ski on the east coast, resort skiing only. No park, but occasional rock drops/jumps. I tend to end up beating my gear pretty hard, but I have never broken a binding in the past. Poles and core shots, yes. Ugh.

I'm just about your size, an inch shorter, 10 pounds lighter, probably at least a couple decades older. My standard DIN is 5 as an advanced skier over 50. While I've heard that the Marker Squire is better than before, I would never buy it. Have trouble getting into Squires when they are on demo skis.

My skis have Look bindings.

There is more than you need to know about bindings in this thread started in 2015. Of course, like all gear bindings evolve so the recommendations of specific bindings may or may not apply to your situation.

https://www.theskidiva.com/forums/index.php?threads/bindings.19842/

 

[MrsPlow]

I have Salomon STH12's on a couple of pairs of skis (90 and 110 under foot) - super-easy to step into, and I've had no problems. Also have a pair with Look Pivot 12's - supposedly a 'safer' option because of the pivot-y heel piece, but not quite as easy for the step in/out.

 

[SquidWeaselYay]

Glad you mentioned stack height, just looked it up. 17mm for the 13s, 21mm for the 11s. I wonder how much that would change the feel.