Bindings – recommendations and general help?

Think myself and OH have finally made a decision on new skis for this season. Blizzard black pearls for me and Stockli Y85 for him (skied the 77s in March and now doesn't want anything else, bloomin' expensive tastes!!) :shock:

Anyway, neither come with bindings included though can buy as part of a package if we want to (at additional cost).

I can get the Black Pearls supplied with Look PX 12s for an extra £130. A quick google gives mixed reviews, some saying brilliant others that they are a nightmare to get in and out of. Any thoughts?

The Marker Squire was also suggested by my local ski shop as a lightweight option and can pick them up for <£100. Anyone use these? Some of the reviews suggest they aren't that robust others say fine?

Or other options? I'm max 11 st and a decent intermediate skier.

The Stocklis can be supplied (imported) with Salomon KZ12 Ti s for an extra £186. He skied on these in March and they were fine but never really having thought about bindings before don't know if we could get away with spending a bit less? If so, what would be a good option? He is ~14 st, decent intermediate, skis are 85 mm wide. One problem may be getting the rail part of these mounted as my local ski shop aren't sure they have the correct jig (?) for Stockli skis? Could probably get this done in resort but would rather turn up ready to go if possible.

Would ideally prefer something as light as possible. Could he get away with Marker Squires too? Or Griffins? Weight and DIN range seem fine for both from specs but I'm out of my depth here.

Thanks in advance. :D

Something to consider would be the ramp (forward angle) of the bindings you choose. Ramp is how much higher the heel is, compared to the toe. This can affect your fore/aft balance considerably. If you were set up by a boot fitter for your previous skis, what was the ramp on those bindings.

Thanks Trencher.

No idea what angle my current ones are as they were set up for me when I picked them up from the shop. I wasn't asked (but being a beginner at the time wouldn't have had a clue anyway, still don't....)

Old skis have Salomon Z10 Ti s on them and my boots are Nordica SM 80s with 305 mm sole length. Beyond that........., anyone's guess....... Any way to find out without taking them to bits? I guess I need to see a qualified technician/boot fitter to assess which angle is most suitable for me now?

I've decided to go with the Look bindings for myself which are 5 +/- degrees (which I'm reliably informed is standard ish)? If things aren't set up to the optimum angle I'm sure I can get them adjusted (and now also know who to talk to if needed).

Also decided to go with Griffons for the Stocklis as managed to get them as part of a really good deal. Up to my husband if he wants to have them mounted or buy something else......

Thanks for your advice, much appreciated.

A few years ago I did some on snow experiments to see what effect changing the binding ramp angle had on the performance of my skis. I made some shims out of 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0mm thick hard plastic to put between the binding toe piece AFDs of my Head Freeflex Plus 14 bindings with a 3.5mm ramp angle and my boot soles, found a very wide gentle piste and did a series of runs increasing the thickness of the plastic by 0.5mm before each run. I didn't notice much difference until I put the 3.0mm shim in after which turns were much easier to initiate and the skis gripped much better. I carried on adding shims until I got to 4.0mm at which point the skis felt sluggish again. I was very surprised that the range was so small; the reason is probably due to my very small boots (size 23.5) I would expect that larger people with larger boots would have a greater range.

Some people reckon they can determine the optimum binding ramp angle statically using applied kinesiology muscle tests, as my optimum ramp angle range is very small (± 0.5mm) I'm very sceptical.

The terminology is a bit confusing, it's often called the binding delta but it is always given as the difference in stand height between the toe and the heel piece in mm as the angle varies according to the length of the boot.



Notice that the deltas on the bindings with higher DIN settings are less than those for the ones with lower settings, the opposite of what you would expect.

If you decide to do some on snow tests be aware that placing bits of plastic between the toe pieces and your boot soles is likely to impair release and might damage the bindings.

The Look PX 12 has a 6mm delta and the jib version weighs 2495g the Marker Griffon has a 4mm delta and weighs 1890g.

Thanks SwingBeep, that's really helpful (and interesting).

Going to go with the 'as they come' option and take it from there when I see how they behave.

I'll report back mid January. :D