The Dynafit Beast 16 TÜV certificate.
On the heels of Marker’s Kingpin tech binding launch, Dynafit is announcing the TÜV certification of their Beast 16 binding. Both products now meet DIN ISO 13992:2007, the TÜV certification standard for safety release in alpine touring bindings. And while the Kingpin and Beast are the only tech bindings with this certification, the Beast is the sole DIN-certified tech binding currently available. (The Marker Kingpin will reportedly be available this December.)
“We passed laboratory and practical test for the TÜV certification according to the DIN ISO 13992 last autumn and this year January/March,” says Edwin Lehner, lead binding designer with Dynafit. According to Lehner, the receipt of Dynafit’s certification paper (at right) was delayed due to administrative work with their user manual and technical manual. “But as already spoken, the tests are done and passed,” Lehner says, “so we can say the same like Marker.”
What does all this mean for skiers? We’ll see more tech bindings that offer a higher standard of safety. Dynafit plans to release their Radical 2.0 and Beast 14 bindings—all of which are currently undergoing TÜV testing—to consumers on January 1, 2015.
It’s easy to pass ISO 13992 due to a provision in the standard that exempts release-tests and lab-retention tests if the binding has the capability to allow the boot to pivot freely up to 45° above the ski surface: the tests that ‘alpine bindings’ must pass are not included when this provision applies to a given, specific, binding. Read the standards: read ISO 13992 for AT-bindings then read ISO 9462 for alpine bindings. Don’t be tricked by this provision.