alternatives to the fritschis?

[parttimer]

anyone got any alternatives to the fritschis? i'd like to have a backcountry setup that doesn't require me to learn how to tele, but that still has a free heel for climbing.

any suggestions?

chris

[sgbass]

What's wrong with Fritschis? Climb with a free heel, then lock and ski alpine style. In terms of a bomber binding with downhill performance comparable to that of alpine bindings, Fritschis and Naxos are your best bet. The Fritschi Freeride is plenty bomber for most, the Naxo nx21 is arguably more bomber than the Fritschi Freeride, and it's distributed in the US by Backcountry Access bcaccess.com.

Otherwise, your options are Dynafit and Silvretta, both of which are substantially lighter than the Freeride or nx21 but still surprisingly heavy duty—just don't huck anything huge.

Have fun and be safe!

[El Flaco]

Just got the Naxo NX21 and put in one day, in-area. So far, so good- they feel like an alpine binding. I did dome research and the improvements to last year's NX21 appear to be substantial. I went with the Naxo because of the new reviews, the lock-down mechanism, and the fact that BCA is in Boulder, just in case there's ever a problem.

[Mike Harvey]

I don't know what you mean, "learn how to freeheel". Are you having trouble with them switching to tour mode while skiing? I have been skiing the Freerides since the begining of last season as my only bindings, in bounds, out of bounds, touring. I have had no problems really. I like to huck and so I have sent up to probably 25-30' high cliffs without the Freerides coming undone (in good conditions). I will say that the toe pressure is not very good and needs frequent tightening, especially if you ski them with Alpine boots. Have not skied the new Naxos I am very interested in people's reviews they look bomber.