telemark binding for resort skiing

A snowHead

My partner started telemark skiing not long ago - what's the best telemark binding for resort skiing? NTN? The step in function is a godsend. She's looking for a binding that will give her the ability to lock her heels so frankentele? But that'll make it quite heavy? I know moonlight tele rando or meidjo with tech toe could also do the job but not sure if those bindings are reliable for resort skiing...although it's probably okay as she's not really an aggressive skier.

A snowHead

If resort skiing then the short answer is to go with NTN Freedom.

The NTN Freeride is also an option but IMO doesn't ski quite as nicely as the Freedom - kind of hits a hard stop as you flex forward.

TTS systems such as Moonlight are great if you are touring but the lack of brakes / step in and the fact that release is not well controlled as it coupled to the tension of your heelpiece makes it less suited to the resort (although I ski mine for pretty much everything because I like the feel of the flex).

Meidjo has some issues which (from what I can tell) seem to come from the fact that the springs don't have enough travel, resulting in breakages.

Yes, you can use a tech heelpiece with the Moonlight (and in principle with any TTS system provided that you don't have the tele heel on as well). I have seen people use a tech heel with NTN as well but the tele 'claw' would mean that the release would be compromised when skiing with a locked heel.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

P.S. If you want the opportunity to switch to locked heels you could always mount the bindings on quiver killers for a quick switch, but obviously not easy to do while out for the day.

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@euanovsky, I just got some Freerides (actually from @BenA, )....I'd say get some of those, easy entry, easy exit, brakes and you can ski alpine on the easily without a heel piece.

Mrs Ski is still on Hammerheads and does not want to change - and just skied two weeks on them without change. Frankly I think "Frankentele" misses the point wink

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Glad you are enjoying them @ski!

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@euanovsky, +1 to most of what @BenA says but I would add

I ski both Freedom and Freeride (and cable) across a range of skis all fitted with QK's. I don't see a discernible difference in resort. Clearly the Freedoms are preferable for touring and any backcountry but the Freeride is more robust (and heavy) and ultimately would be choice in resort.

With correct screw sets it really is a five minute operation to switch bindings to alpine (but why would you!!!) with the QK's.

Regarding the Meidjo, the earlier versions were certainly susceptible to breakage, I saw a pair in Serre Chev last year with the plastic sheared off. However several changes have been made and the new version which I was fortunate to test at the FIS Telemark opener in Hintertux in November are quite superb. But be warned, they are a tech binding so maybe not for resort and they are very expensive!!!

Tele Ho

Cool

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@BenA, Oh yes --- they do fill up a bit with snow though -- don't they ? I can't wait to put them through a GS course Twisted Evil

@ski - snow underfoot? I used to have that issue and then it just sort of stopped happening. Not sure why but there was some chatter on the teleforums about it being technique dependent.

Some friends of mine had good success with putting some thin crushable foam underfoot to just prevent the snow getting in when the foot was up. Seemed to work well for them.

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@euanovsky, what a question!

All depends on what you (Mrs Euanovsky) likes and what you doesn't and of course that might change. The only way to find out is to suck it and see... which is notoriously difficult with tele bindings as (almost) nowhere has them to rent in any great variety (AFAIK).

What has she tried so far and what did she like / dislike? To what extent is price an issue?(1) Do you like dealing with broken bindings?(2) Do you tinker?(3) High stance?(4) Low?(5) Heavy(6)or light?(7) Does she really wants to fix her heel and is this a must have (if so why)( Cool

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1. If price is an issue get whatever you can that is reasonable on eBay - cobras, targas or hammerheads.

2. If you relish the challenge of dealing with broken rods and the gearfreakery of sourcing bits and bobs to carry round just in case then Rottefella Cobras are the way to go. Targas might also shed a screw or two (although they have a spare under the heel- nice) and Hammerhead heel pieces occasionally break.

3. Cobras are a tinkerers delight- not only do they break (and then need fixing) but with minimal effort and exactly the right screwdriver you can easily move bindings around- this is just about the most fun I ever have in my carport.

4. High stance- Hammerheads or similar or NTNs or Meijos or depending on weight lots of other cable bindings

5. Low- Targa Elle?

6. & 7. I'd guess is isn't likely to be an issue as female and so unlikely to be as lardy as me

8. If you/she really really wants a fixed heel on a binding you can actually buy in a shop somewhere it will a) cost loads b) not be available in many shops and c) be a meidjo I think.

Of course you could magic up some exotic home-brew designs (see Ben A's previous posts and drool).

(short fat (heavy) bloke- telemarking for about 7 years. Bindings owned: Rotefella Cobras, G3 Targas, Hammerheads. Bindings also skied - NTN freeride. Bindings drooled over- Meidjos (on some Rabbit on the roof skis- )

If money was no object I think I'd go for Medijos and cross fingers they didn't break.

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Lots of cheap cable bindings on ebay.
Mainly because serious / full time tele skiers seem to be on NTN these days.

2 thoughts

1) It generally seems to be accepted that Telemark bindings don't need a release function... Generally there is enough movement in free heel bindings to protect against most (but not all) falls. Ligament injuries seem to be lower for telemark skiers. However would be interested in hearing alternate views ?

2) On a stiff telemark binding you can happily alpine without locking the heel down.

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thanks all for your replies. I have got given a pair of moonlight tele rando binding as christmas present (I'd prefer meidjo for touring or NTN for resort but since I didn't pay I can't really complain!) It'll be the first telemark binding that I own and I think moonlight should be decent enough. I've not skied in them yet so don't know how they perform. I'll probably spend quite a lot of time in resort with them in the foreseeable future (unless I can find an excuse to ditch my girlfriend...)

As for her, I guess she wanted the lock heel feature really for the peace of mind that she could also ski alpine whenever she wants. I think releasibility is probably more important than anything else when learning (and/or in resort) so I'd probably get her to try on ntn or 7tm. TTS is attractive as we could eventually go touring together (and save the cost of buying another set of bindings in future) but not sure how it performs in groomed snow.

Interestingly enough lots of people suggested meidjo! That would obviously be my (her?!) choice since you could just add a tech heel to make it lockable although from the various reviews on the internet I really doubt meidjo can hold up high speed resort skiing...

@andyman, you mentioned QK - how does that work really? I thought it's more for having one binding for multiple skis rather than having multiple binding on one pair of skis? I too find having the option of using multiple binding in the same pair of skis attractive. Could I fit QKs retrospectively? Did you fit the QK yourself or did you get someone else to do it for you?

I realised after years of skiing, my technical knowledge of all the ski mechanics is still embarrassingly little! Embarassed

You know it makes sense.

@euanovsky, I've fitted numerous skis with QK's and you can easily remove current bindings and drill the existing holes for QKs.

I mainly use the option for multiple bindings per ski (eg alpine; tele; A.T)

Makes life easier if you use a pillar drill so you drill accurately perpendicular to the ski

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

@geoffers, does drilling multiple holes on the ski weaken the structure of the skis? Also wouldn't snow built up in the holes when they are not in used?

Also out of curiosity, why do you use multiple bindings per ski instead of one binding for multiple skis? I would probably do that too since I really like my blizzard brahma Very Happy

A snowHead

@haggistrap Personally I think that arguments that tele does not need release are not well founded. In particular, for those touring offpiste with the risk of getting caught in a slide with skis that won't come off then some level of release is definitely a benefit. NTN is not perfect but I'll take it over a binding with no release. With TTS I'm at least confident that it would come off in an avalanche.

@euanovsky - regarding your comment about TTS being attractive so that you can tour together, I'd say that touring on NTN freedoms is fine. Not quite dynafit, but you can do big multiday tours on them just fine. Ultimately if you are looking for TTS efficiency for the tour then you're are probably going to want matching lightweight skis which aren't the best in a resort anyway so I say start with an NTN resort setup which will do just fine for the occasional tour and then get a whole new TTS setup if you find yourself doing more than a week of touring /season.

A snowHead

@euanovsky - crossed with your last post.

Drilling extra holes won't weaken the skis provided that they are reasonably spaced.
Snow in the holes is not a problem

You can use QK's in both ways: to allow different bindings per ski or one binding to switch between skis. For example, I have 2 bindings (NTN and TTS) and I can put those on any of my 4 pairs of skis depending on what I'm going to be doing / snow conditions. (It helps that my TTS uses the same mount pattern as NTN so I reuse the holes Smile

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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

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@euanovsky, Others here may disagree -- but I've never seen anyone (especially beginners) ski that well on 7TM --- so ditto @BenA, NTN is the better way to go. In Tignes over Christmas I did some skinning with my Freerides -- yep they are heavy, and not nearly as efficient as a Tech toe -- but having brakes and not leashes made them much less faffy when taking skins off and on -- I always terrified when I take skins of a pair of skis with leashes that they will clear off down the hill without me !

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@spyderjon, these leashes look really long - will they drag in the snow when you ski down?

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I think a lot of the issues with the Meidjo were with the first version. I had a decent chat with the owner of Sport Pete in St Anton; he broke a pair of the first version of the Meidjo's, but was a lot happier with the reliability of the Meidjo 2. I had a chance to try them, and found they ski very similarly to the NTN Freeride, which I consider a good thing. As someone who's broken the toe-piece on 4 NTN bindings (and 2 Rottefella 412s and 1 7TM), the tech toe-piece of the Meidjo is very appealing as it has the potential to be more robust

After all it is free

@viv, how did you manage to break the toe piece of so many bindings?? Was it during going up or coming down?

@daredevil,

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telemark binding for resort skiing

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