Diamir Vipec 12 AT Binding

[Quadzilla]

So boys and girls, what do you think? Light weight more features than Dynafit and BD marketing. A game changer or Not.......... BTW, stole this from Wild Snow Sorry

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=lSnX9RYI-h4

[televisionary]

Time will tell. Looks good on paper but I'm trying to avoid binding early-adoption these days.

Remember that Fritschi made the Skyhoy.

[chamonix]

Here is the full link on Wild Snow

http://www.wildsnow.com/11140/fritschi-tech-binding-diamir-vipec-review/


interesting, this binding is listed at 545 grams per binding with brakes. I just weighed some NIB Vertical ST binding with 100mm brakes. 544 grams per side (I included the screws for toe piece, but not for heel).

for 183 Euros this Dynafit TLT Speed Turn looks interesting. no weight listed

http://www.telemark-pyrenees.com/en/dynafittltspeedturn1314-p-146531.html

[repete]

In the comments section about the ability to switch modes without exiting the binding

OMG, that telemarker got 68 seconds ahead of me because I had to remove my tech bindings to get my heel to tour mode!!!! They’re going to drink up all the PBR!!!

[Nurse Ben]

It's not about the speed, it's about having to take off your damn skis to change modes!

My wife skis dynafiddles, she's not exactly a speed freak and she is certainly not a tech savvy skier, she simply wants to ski with the least amount of fuss. Having a toe piece with some lateral movement and an arm that folds out allowing a clean release, that is a nice feature for a few reasons, but then add in the ease of going in and out of tour mode...game changer.

Dynafit can try to go "novel" with the Beast, but this kind of binding is the bread and butter, and Fritschi just sold Dynafit the farm!

So now about cost, it looks production, so when can we expect to see this thing and how much will it cost me to try it for TTS

for 183 Euros this Dynafit TLT Speed Turn looks interesting. no weight listed
http://www.telemark-pyrenees.com/en/...-p-146531.html

That's not a new binding, it's just a restyled Speed, I got a set of those toes in Silver on a TTS rig.

[chamonix]

NB,
Hi from Vermont. The full article on Wildsnow lists a price; Official U.S. MSRP of $599.95 for the Vipec 12.

I mentioned the new (recycled?) TLT Speed Turn binding, for the low cost. 183 Euros is about $250 US.
That's a pretty good price for a lightweight Tech binding.

[Quadzilla]

For me the ability to change from ski to walk without removal is not a game changer. I guess unless the ski is a fishscale, then sure sometimes. What I see if the system proves to be reliable is a much improved release system and for me this is a game changer. IMO, there is a lot of good things about Dynafit bindings but the big drawback is the lack of consistent, reliable release. So when you ski them there is always a little question on wither or not they will release in a ski wreck or prerelease all of a sudden. If this system works as shown, your odds will increase and you can ski harder with a bit more confidence. Now, the abundance of plastic parts in this system makes me wonder how long the pivot points will last before things become sticky. Anyway, I have two AT rigs both with Speed Radicals, not too fiddley and pretty reliable, think I will stick with those.....

[Greg]

That Dynafit Speed Turn seems like the game changer to me. The Fritschi binding looks like some nice incremental improvements, along with the same (or higher) ridiculous price of the regular Dynafits. A light simple binding for $250 seems like a breakthrough.

FWIW, I typically ski short yo-yo runs and am a quick changeover"fanatic. I usually take my skins off with my skis on, and stuff the skins in my jacket to avoid taking my pack off. But, I have never wanted or needed to change from ski mode to tour mode without taking my skis off. I cannot put my skins on without taking my skis off (I am old, and was never that acrobatic anyway), and I never need to go to tour mode without having skins on. I can see how it would be different if I was using fishscale skis though, and touring in areas with a lot of flats. But for the roadside attractions of the Wasatch, it tends to be all up or down.

[Matt J]

The quick change dilemma baffles me too. I ski the Speed Radicals coming from the Axl's and I don't think there's much of a speed difference in transition. I think it's like with titanium bike parts how it's easier to drop a few pounds. If you're curious what you're doing wrong then google, "rando race transition." There are some awesome tutorials. I don't actually try and go as fast as they do because I usually like an opportunity to catch my breath, but I follow a lot of the same theory. Like start at the boot and work up. Seems like transitions are a good time to pull a group back together too.

[chamonix]

Not a rando race transition. Skiing with friends last March in the Vermont backcountry

[IMG]

[Dostie]

I don't do mode changes all that much since I'm tele most of the time in the BC. Part of the reason is 'cuz I can cross flat ground quickly with a free heel without having to stop and switch modes. If it is a long flat stretch, switching to tour mode is pretty easy. If I had to stop and click out of my binding just to free my heel - well, that would make me wish I were on tele gear.

I admit that to put skins on you pretty much need to step out of your bindings. To not do that would only be to prove you could put your skins ON while still attached to your skis. But to be able to switch to free heel mode without clicking out of your bindings...when you're able and used to it, that's a pretty convenient trick.

[Nails]

A friend just bought a pair of these, switched from Tele, on the first tour out he was constantly fiddling with them when trying to step in. Later he found that one of the toe pins was loose, it just fell out! Seemed to be stripped threads.

[Big Steve]

What? Nobody here does the Van Halen dyna DH-to-tour mode switch? Doesn't work with Radicals. IME, works best with Comfort or B&D volcanoes. Vipec mode switch looks simpler, probably better than the Van Halen method, but I'll let you guys try 'em and break 'em for a season before I think about plopping down $$.

[Mipado]

I posted this same message on Wildsnow, but thought it might be useful to folks here as well. I had the Vipecs mounted on K2 Hardsides and went for a first tour on Saturday using Scarpa Maestrale boots. I had read a post on Wildsnow about the pin loosening, so I asked the tech who mounted them about using Loctite. He assured me that it wasn’t necessary and that the opposing nut would keep the pin in place. The tour I chose for the shakedown cruise was pretty mellow (about 5 miles with a moderate amount of climbing). I had the same issues getting into the binding as others have described, but figured practice would take care of the issue. About 20 minutes in, I noticed one of the nuts had loosened. I tightened it with a multitool (the only thing I had) and kept going. It only got worse. Long story short..by the time I got back two hours later, one of the pins had completely stripped the threads in the toepiece wing and the other was headed that way. On the final climb, I had to tighten the nuts every 50 strides or so. Clearly, trying to do so with a multitool was not optimal, but it beat walking. There's another post on TGR talking about exactly the same thing happening to someone else on their first tour. The shop offered to replace the binding under warranty, but I’d seen enough. I switched back to Dynafits. I don’t know if the pin was originally adjusted correctly, but I assume that it was. I suspect this problem will be seen a lot in the coming months.

[skiesse]

I had a similar problem with the new Dyamir Vipec binding. Mounted on G3 Cake 110 skiis, tried some light touring with Scarpa GEA RS boots. Skiis/bindings great, boots too narrow, so had sport shop adjust the binding for Atomic Waymaker boots and skied on those for a few weeks. Did some climbing and downhill turns, even some turns on black mogul runs/powder runs at a resort in Alberta. No problem with the binding. Then I tried a Black Diamond Shiva boot, same size but did not take the skiis in to get the bindings adjusted as they seemed to fit just fine (same boot length and DIN, etc.). About 20 min into a climb, my toe binding on one ski kept releasing. The pins on the left side of each binding were loosening. One fell out but fortunately it was right under the ski. Looked like there was stripping of the threads inside hole that the pin goes in. The bolts were completely loose. The pins/bolts on the right side of each binding are held in differently (machined in solidly, not with just a loose bolt). I had to also use a multitool to put pin/bolt back on and had to kept tightening every 20 minutes. This could have been a disaster if this had happened on the way down a nice powder run. Went back to the sports store, they said that the toe binding has to be adjusted everytime a different boot is used, regardless of size, etc, and this can't be done by the skier. They use Loctite everytime they adjust the binding. Right bolt/nut is not adjustable but left bolt is adjusted when the binding is mounted. Black Diamond (owns Dyamir) should add a washer or 'O' ring to help keep the metal on metal tight. And they need to supply spare bolts/pins because the binding is useless if you loose the bolt or pin.