Shop for race bindings here.
Dynafit Speed Superlite is an excellent option for a race binding that pairs well with lightweight touring skis. Click images to enlarge.
There was a time where weight was the one reason for choosing a tech binding for your next pair of touring skis. Now, adjustable pins, dynamic heels, new designs in boot retention, and a dozen manufacturers bursting on the scene, have made purchasing your next touring binding seemingly as big a decision as buying your next car.
Amongst this craze of ever bigger, ever better bindings has emerged a diverging trend in the ski touring world back towards the light is right and “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” There is a whole array of race bindings being mounted to fatter yet super light boards and you no longer require a photo ID and a spandex suit to attain one.
Unfortunately, pairing your new ski mountaineering or speed touring skis with a race binding can still feel a little daunting with dozens of models with very subtle differences. After studying the inverse relationship of dollars spent versus grams purchased, there are a few other guidelines to choosing your next binder for big days beyond racing.
Release Value: It is common for race bindings to have fixed (non adjustable) safety release values. Knowing the estimated release value can be an important factor in picking a binding. What is more, if you can access a ski shop release testing rig it’s perhaps a good idea to test such bindings in case they’re way to stiff (or too loose) to be safe. Depending on brands, getting release value information can be more or less of a challenge. Retailers who deal with these bindings every day may have answers, and you can compare bindings side-by-side by twisting the heel units with your hand (yields a rough idea of differences in lateral release levels, but not recommended for final decision making). Overall, race binding release values tend to hover around what would be number “8” on a DIN calibrated binding, meaning averaged sized men will do ok with them but smaller skiers can end up with a binding that’s too stiff. But again, some bindings may have very high values, so consumer awareness is key.
Climbing Riser Heights: This is everyone’s biggest concern, but becomes shockingly unimportant when pairing a race binding with a modern lightweight touring boot. Their incredible range of cuff articulation compensates for only having one or two climbing positions. However, if you have a 6 mile approach to your favorite peak, a flat position can come in handy. Or, you live in a place where the skin track is a more like a tractor pull competition and you need that high riser height to leave your friends backsliding in the dust.
BSL Adjustability (BSL=boot sole length, printed on the side of the heel of ski boots shells, measured in mm): For most bindings you can purchase an additional mounting plate for adjustability at some added weight and cost. However, a few bindings have it built into their system, keeping it light and easier to use. This feature is especially important if you haven’t made a final decision on your next lightweight ski shoe or if you have achieved full weight weenie status and have to choose between your light 2 buckle boot and your super light 2-buckle race day boot.
Although many more models exist, especially in Europe, following is a list of race binders most commonly distributed in North America.
Dynafit Low Tech Race
Dynafit Low Tech Race means business, but be careful with its auto locking toe as you can end up skiing with no lateral safety release.
Dynafit Low Tech Race
128 grams
$799
Auto locking toe, titanium U-bar
1 climbing riser height
BSL adjustable with purchase of additional mounting plate
Hagan ZR
116 grams
$589
Not an auto locking toe
1 climbing riser height and flat. (Hard to turn at first but breaks in)
BSL adjustable with purchase of additional mounting plate
La Sportiva RSR
La Sportiva RSR is an ATK binding that is everything you need to hold you to your ski.
La Sportiva RSR
130 grams
$799
Not an auto locking toe
1 climbing riser height and flat.
BSL adjustable with purchase of additional mounting plate
Ski Trab TR Race and Ski Trab TR Adjustable
Ski Trab Race and Adjustable are as light as an binding out there. Notice the nonslip single screw for adjustment.
Ski Trab TR Race and Ski Trab TR Adjustable
180 grams
$539 standard, $569 adjustable
Non auto locking toe
1 climbing riser height and flat. (needs to be mounted with extra space to prevent rubbing in flat mode when ski is flexed)
Adjustable track
Dynafit Speed Superlite
Dynafit Speed Superlite featuring its two different riser heights.
Check out the 4-10 adjustable release setting for the heel!
Dynafit Speed Superlite is an incredible option for that race binding that will go great on a pair of lightweight skis.
198 grams
$549
Adjustable release 5-10, non auto locking toe
2 riser heights, no flat mode
BSL adjustable with purchase of additional mounting plate
Plum
The family of beautiful Plum race bindings. Although not pictured here the Plum 185 has even more adjustability for just a little more weight.
Plum 135, 145, 165, and 185 all possess the same toe with small tweaks to the heel unit. The 135 has a titanium heel spring while the 145 has steel; for a few more grams the 165 has 20 mm of adjustability in the heel while the 185 has 40 mm.
The weight in grams is in the model number.
$600 -$650
Non auto locking toe, but can be modified auto lock
1 riser height and flat
135 and 145 not adjustable, 165 20mm, 185 40mm
There are dozens more race bindings especially for the European market, but mounting a Pierre Gignoux to your next light and fast powder board might be a little excessive. As the freeride tech binding arms race rages on, receiving the majority of attention in the touring world, there is a strong trend toward minimalist bindings where weight — or lack thereof — is still king.
Shop for race bindings here.
(WildSnow guest contributor, Doug Stenclik is an avid skimo racer, ski tuner, and backcountry ski traveler. Doug co-owns our local ski shop with Randy Young, Cripple Creek Backcountry in Carbondale, Colorado. If it’s ski related, they do it.)
Doug Stenclik is an avid skimo racer and ski mountaineer who lives for sharing the amazing sports of ski touring and splitboarding. Since his first time on skins he was hooked and the obsession has taken him all over the United States and the world pursuing the human powered ski turn. He founded Cripple Creek Backcountry in 2012 and took over the Colorado Ski Mountaineering Race Cup in 2014 to spread knowledge and the love of the sport. In 2019 he took a step back from the ski shop and race promoter life to become a publishing partner with WildSnow.
