During testing I’ve ended up installing Beast boot-heel fittings about a dozen times. Doing so is a 2 on the WildSnow 10-wrench difficulty scale. But still, you don’t want to muck up your nice shiny beef boots. So head on over to our FAQ for a brief Beast boot fittings install tutorial.
The beefed up “Beast” boot heel fittings are actually my favorite part of the beastly system. A weak point with all tech bindings isn’t the bindings, but the minimal boot fittings that have remained virtually unchanged for several decades — especially the rear fitting, which in most boot models it is held essentially with one small screw.
Beauty of the Beast tech fitting is it could possibly work with any tech binding if you set things up correctly. Mainly, I’d run at a tight 6 mm or perhaps 5.5 mm tech gap, and file some steel from the corners of the Beast fitting to make sure it can’t jam up a lateral release if the ski is de-cambered (reverse arched), thus closing up the tech gap. Once the retail fittings come out, we’ll evaluate further and publish more photos. For now, keep the possibilities in mind with our teaser image below — and of course all mods are at your own risk. (Hint to aftermarket: make a similar fitting only with the corners rounded.)
You can install Beast heel fitting on most boots with tech fittings. Doing so is mandatory for Beast 16 binding, but could it be good for other tech bindings?
Oh, and with the “facts” over on the FAQ, some opinion from your’s truly? The question, can you use the Beast 16 boot fittings with other tech bindings, for increased reliability?
Official word from Dynafit is “we recommend switching heel inserts for proper release and spacing, with Beast 16 fitting only used for Beast.”
To be fair, I didn’t expect anything else from Dynafit, as it’s difficult enough to sell ski bindings that conform to few if any international standards, let alone approving user modifications that could get you in immersed in hot water. But over here at WildSnow.com we’re known as modders — and in this case I think a mod could be worthwhile. In theory, below is how you’d do it.
If using Beast boot heel fitting with other tech bindings, lateral release could bind as indicated by red arrow. We feel a small mod would be perhaps be necessary, basically removing some material as indicated by the red line to make the fitting conform to the arc of the boot heel (BEAR IN MIND SUCH A MOD WOULD NOT WORK WITH BEAST BINDING). All said, we feel strongly that the Beast tech boot heel-fitting or something similar might be a terrific 'in line' improvement for boots used by hard charging skiers on regular tech bindings -- provided it is correctly installed, modified, and the binding is adjusted and tested.
Also see our tutorial on re-installing existing tech fittings to increase reliability.
Oh, and through bolting for the ultimate in tech fitting strength. This is a good option if you’re not comfortable with swapping to Beast fittings.
WildSnow.com publisher emeritus and founder Lou (Louis Dawson) has a 50+ years career in climbing, backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering. He was the first person in history to ski down all 54 Colorado 14,000-foot peaks, has authored numerous books about about backcountry skiing, and has skied from the summit of Denali in Alaska, North America’s highest mountain.
