Announcing the 2016 Editors’ Choice Awards, selected from more than 400 skis, splitboards, bindings and boots tested at Powder Mountain, Utah and Crested Butte, Colo. For more than 100 additional gear reviews, plus in-depth tester feedback on each of these Editors’ Choice winners, check out the 2016 Gear Guide. And if you subscribe now, you’ll be entered to win more than $3,000 in prizes from Salomon, Strafe & Electric.
SUBSCRIBE | RENEW
—
22 DESIGNS OUTLAW NTN
$399 – twentytwodesigns.com
WEIGHT/PAIR: 3 lbs. 8 oz. (large)
BRAKES (mm): 110, 125
Bottom Line: NTN precision from the leader in telemark performance and durability.
DYNAFIT RADICAL 2.0 FT
$650 – dynafit.com
DIN: 5-12 | WEIGHT/PAIR: 2 lbs. 11 oz. (w/105mm brake)
BRAKES (mm): 105, 120, 135 | CRAMPONS (mm): 80-130 (5 sizes, $75)
Bottom Line: Excellent skiability, safety and touring utility with only slightly more weight.
MARKER KINGPIN 13
$649 – markerusa.com
DIN: 6-13 | WEIGHT/PAIR: 3 lbs. 5 oz.
BRAKES (mm): 75, 100 ($55), 100, 125 ($65) | CRAMPONS (mm): 75-120 (3 sizes, $99)
Bottom Line: A new bc freeride King(pin) that combines tech efficiency and true alpine-binding elasticity and safety.
Tell those knuckleheads at Dynafit they need to make a 90mm brake.
So, I just read the boot and binding reviews in the magazine and struggled to identify a non NTN boot or binding. I have Black diamond 01 bindings and need to replace my Scarpa T1s. Of all the boots reviewed, I can’t find one that clearly identifies as a telemark boot. What kind of marketing is that?
Paul, The Scott Synergy is a 75mm boot reviewed on p. 86 of the Gear Guide. It was the only boot of that category manufacturers provided to the test, mainly because there are no new 75mm boots coming to market these days (and therefore, there isn’t great interest among brands to market these boots). For more reviews of telemark boots, check out our back issues available in our online store:
http://shop.holpublications.com/collections/backcountry
Just three bindings, and two are AT? That’s a “review”?
Jay, There’s just one new telemark binding this year——that’s the TwentyTwo Designs Outlaw and it’s well deserving of the Editors’ Choice Award. You can read full reviews of these three bindings, as well as a dozen others, in our Gear Guide, which is on newsstands now and available in our online store:
http://shop.holpublications.com/collections/backcountry/products/backcountry-magazine-september-2015
Where’s the tele tech Meidjo?
Eric, We weren’t able to get a sample in for testing, but profiled Pierre Mouyade, the guy behind the Meidjo, on p. 34 of the Gear Guide.
http://shop.holpublications.com/collections/backcountry/products/backcountry-magazine-september-2015
Backcountry lost interest in telemark years ago. Its not the cool thing.
Should chosen a non freeride binding for diversity
HayDen,
You can find 10 more bindings, plus the full reviews of these three, in the Gear Guide. Those selections include everything from the six-pound Atomic Tracker 16 to the 1.5-pound Dynafit Speed Turn. The Gear Guide is available on newsstands now and through our online store:
http://shop.holpublications.com/collections/backcountry/products/backcountry-magazine-september-2015
What’s really needed on the tele side – yes, there are still people who telemark – is some boot development. Even on the NTN front, there’s really no innovation for a T2 level [or lighter] backcountry boot.
BTW, I just did a skimo race at Wolf Creek [CO] a couple weeks ago and was the ONLY person [of ~75 entrants] on tele gear. So, sad.
Can I jump off the cliffs with a Kingpin? What is the best backcountry binding for freeride jumps? The Kingpin or something like the Salomon Guardian? Please just don’t tell me that simply I can’t jump with backcountry bindings!
Thanks
With plenty of heft and a DIN to 16, the Salomon Guardian is your best bet for security when sending it. The Marker Kingpin is DIN certified, too, (up to 13), so depending on how big you’re going and how much you weigh, it may do the job.
Check out the Dynafit Beast 16 if you are looking for a tough tech binding. I ride the Marker Duke EPF frame binding. A little heavy for long ascents but solid for drops.