Thanks for releasing these! I'm a blister member, and I'd like to see more content on how to install ski bindings and stuff like that for enthusiastic beginners into the world of ski tech.
No one on the panel talked about switch landings and nose butters. Unwanted heel release is where freeride bindings differ the most. Every binding on the market has great toe retention. That’s never been an issue. Upward heel retention is the main reason people like Pivots. I can’t nose butter on my Shifts even on din 13. But I can do the same exact nose butter on my Pivots or Jesters at din 8 without releasing. I would really like to see this discussed. How come so many bindings have poor heel retention?
Great panel! I was hoping for better instructions on how to maintain my alpine bindings. The speaker said "keep [the bindings] clean". Okay, but don't bindings have factory grease that needs to be left in tact? This is a similar question to how to clean your bike. It's not as simple as "keep it clean" because there are certain areas where you want to be gentle (bearings) or may even need to reapply grease/lube. I drive to and from the mountain with my skis on top of the car. The inside of the heel piece often picks up a bunch of dirt. I'm still curious how exactly I'm supposed to clean the bindings without negatively affecting their performance.
@Blister, I know it's an old video already but is there is any downside to ski e.g. Shift 13 when I set my value on 7. This particular binding has a range of 6-13
Echoing a downstream comment: Isn’t this an attempt at what a Look Pivot already does? Great elasticity, short mounting pattern directly underfoot allowing more ski flex and low stack height for better feel? I say this because I’m interested in the Strive because cheaper option…..
Interesting. Given safety is a large element of what bindings are about - I was surprised nobody mentioned acl / knee injuries - given there have been no innovations from mainstream binding manufacturers to address this sadly too common bad outcome of ski accidents, despite the biomechanics of many knee ruining falls having been long understood. For some reason this has not become a desirable design spec to mitigate against knee injuries for bindings design. Why not ?
Don't know what else they can do. Bindings like Look spx toe piece release horizontally and vertically and the wings move independently - Nearly all directions possible. Look's Pivot adds a heel piece that does the same and releases in nearly every direction possible. Why no other companies make a similar alpine binding is beyond me but don't know what else they can do. Skiing is just a dangerous sport and the bindings seem pretty dialed in terms of releasing when necessary.
As a tech and salesperson in the industry I don't really understand why skis don't adopt a snowboard style universal binding mount system. I know the supposed "reasons", but I can tell you 90% of general population people run their bindings at the "recommended" mount point on the ski and they don't really care about binding weight or can even feel the nuances that differing ramp angles, hole patterns and all the rest make. Drilling holes in skis feels archaic to me and wasteful in the end. We could really streamline service and product lines with one or two low profile demo binding plate systems. And the headache retailers get dealing with demo bindings VS "retail" models and getting them sold is absurd. Most just want a "good deal" on skis and bindings. they don't care about the rest (since many people ski less than 10 or 5 times a year). Salomon/Atomic's Strive and Look's Metrix systems are pretty much there and should, in those terms, be emphasized more. Also, in the hybrid Alpine/AT binding world, why Salomon hasn't developed a Shift demo binding is beyond me. It would be one of the ultimate bindings for that category. And the barrier of entry into the AT world is steep. The goal should be like the bike industry: more people on skis. The more barriers we remove the better.
I heard that a shift demo binding will be released in the future. also, there should be demo options for skis as they are easier to sell, but the normal version is really lighter considerably and feels better when skiing so it's quite a big difference. the difference between a demo warden 13 and a regular warden 13 si about 1kg for the pair which is quite a lot in my opinion and as for my knowledge the demo bindings are also more expensive if i'm not making a mistake.
Thanks for releasing these! I'm a blister member, and I'd like to see more content on how to install ski bindings and stuff like that for enthusiastic beginners into the world of ski tech.
No one on the panel talked about switch landings and nose butters. Unwanted heel release is where freeride bindings differ the most. Every binding on the market has great toe retention. That’s never been an issue. Upward heel retention is the main reason people like Pivots. I can’t nose butter on my Shifts even on din 13. But I can do the same exact nose butter on my Pivots or Jesters at din 8 without releasing. I would really like to see this discussed. How come so many bindings have poor heel retention?
Thanks for sharing. As someone who has never nose-buttered and likely never will, I had no idea this was an issue. Interesting.
idk i just watched colby stevenson nose butter today at x games on tyrolia attack just fine
This was an awesome panel session! Thanks for posting it. Frankly, it was the one I was most interested in, but attended Summit B instead of A
This is exactly the kind of in depth content I crave from Blister. Keep up the amazing work !
Love to hear this material on alpine bindings. Would love for you guys to compare brands.
Great panel! I was hoping for better instructions on how to maintain my alpine bindings. The speaker said "keep [the bindings] clean". Okay, but don't bindings have factory grease that needs to be left in tact? This is a similar question to how to clean your bike. It's not as simple as "keep it clean" because there are certain areas where you want to be gentle (bearings) or may even need to reapply grease/lube. I drive to and from the mountain with my skis on top of the car. The inside of the heel piece often picks up a bunch of dirt. I'm still curious how exactly I'm supposed to clean the bindings without negatively affecting their performance.
@Blister, I know it's an old video already but is there is any downside to ski e.g. Shift 13 when I set my value on 7. This particular binding has a range of 6-13
Echoing a downstream comment: Isn’t this an attempt at what a Look Pivot already does? Great elasticity, short mounting pattern directly underfoot allowing more ski flex and low stack height for better feel? I say this because I’m interested in the Strive because cheaper option…..
No need to lessen the tension of the springs after end of season? My life was a lie.
Interesting. Given safety is a large element of what bindings are about - I was surprised nobody mentioned acl / knee injuries - given there have been no innovations from mainstream binding manufacturers to address this sadly too common bad outcome of ski accidents, despite the biomechanics of many knee ruining falls having been long understood. For some reason this has not become a desirable design spec to mitigate against knee injuries for bindings design. Why not ?
Don't know what else they can do. Bindings like Look spx toe piece release horizontally and vertically and the wings move independently - Nearly all directions possible. Look's Pivot adds a heel piece that does the same and releases in nearly every direction possible. Why no other companies make a similar alpine binding is beyond me but don't know what else they can do. Skiing is just a dangerous sport and the bindings seem pretty dialed in terms of releasing when necessary.
Paul's got less beard than I expect from an Alaskan Heli Guide.
Isn’t this just the Look SPX design or the STH?
No
As a tech and salesperson in the industry I don't really understand why skis don't adopt a snowboard style universal binding mount system. I know the supposed "reasons", but I can tell you 90% of general population people run their bindings at the "recommended" mount point on the ski and they don't really care about binding weight or can even feel the nuances that differing ramp angles, hole patterns and all the rest make. Drilling holes in skis feels archaic to me and wasteful in the end. We could really streamline service and product lines with one or two low profile demo binding plate systems. And the headache retailers get dealing with demo bindings VS "retail" models and getting them sold is absurd. Most just want a "good deal" on skis and bindings. they don't care about the rest (since many people ski less than 10 or 5 times a year).
Salomon/Atomic's Strive and Look's Metrix systems are pretty much there and should, in those terms, be emphasized more.
Also, in the hybrid Alpine/AT binding world, why Salomon hasn't developed a Shift demo binding is beyond me. It would be one of the ultimate bindings for that category. And the barrier of entry into the AT world is steep. The goal should be like the bike industry: more people on skis. The more barriers we remove the better.
I heard that a shift demo binding will be released in the future. also, there should be demo options for skis as they are easier to sell, but the normal version is really lighter considerably and feels better when skiing so it's quite a big difference. the difference between a demo warden 13 and a regular warden 13 si about 1kg for the pair which is quite a lot in my opinion and as for my knowledge the demo bindings are also more expensive if i'm not making a mistake.