AT Bindings For Big People

Yes, yes, I know the AT-review thread has been beaten to death, but most of the people who ski these are between 140-180 pounds. Since I'm much larger (230 right now, but my weight could fluctuate 20 pounds up or down), I was wondering which AT binding would work best.

Every time I've held either the freerides or the naxos in my hand they feel...flimsy. My first impression is "Holy shit if I actually ski on this I'm gonna break them." Now I'm not a particularly good skier, but what I make up for in lack of technical ability I make up for by forcing it.:rolleyes2 Will I put too much strain on these bindings?

I've decided that I'm going BC next year and was going to set up a dedicated AT ski. Right now I have mantras as my primary ski...good, but heavy, especially with my bindings (Rossi Axials). Using trekkers has crossed my mind, but since I have the Look-style heelpiece they seem like a difficult solution to implement.

I've heard a lot of debate about the freerides vs. naxos, most notably the instant-tele feature on the freerides and heel slop on old naxos. Someone who's skied the 21s, please chime in if they've solved this problem, and any new issues that may have come up. Which binding is better suited to someone who's huge? Which binding, regardless of skier weight, performs better?

The wild card is the Dynafit...am I too heavy for it? It looks tempting if I get over the fact that I have to buy a dedicated AT boot, but I've heard they are better suited for light- to middle-weight candidates.


In summary, can I get trekkers to work well with alpine boots and rossi bindings? Or should I just bite the bullet and get AT bindings? Which AT binding will hold up to a large guy with sloppy technique?

maybe i should just stick to groomers.:mad:

We're in the same large boat.
I've been sold on Freerides forever.
What kinda b/c you gonna do? Tour, dyna and naxo. Steep/gnarnia- freerides. Yeah you can use frees for touring and dynafit to huck but why take the chance. Weight is an issue. Go w/ phat shorter stiffies for skis,especially if you're just starting b/c. I've ridden 185 PR's w/ free's. No problem, just to soft on scary steeps.
Broke one 3 yrs ago, warranty right away. Broke a heel lifter last spring. Not bad for all the abuse/UV they've seen.
Never had an "insta tele" issue.
Been riding them on 190 Explosiv's.
New setup, new Big Daddy's w/ free's. Mounted 7mm forward of center.
So much better w/ forward mount. Though the flat AT binding, compared to alpine, issue is still there, not nearly as bad though. We'll see how it goes w/ AT boots.
I ride hard, not really hucking w/ free's. Have taken then thru the park. :FIREdevil
What's the problem w/ p18/trekkers? Just freakin put'em in there. They work fine.

Yeah, I'm about 215#s. I'm just getting started w/ BC and I'm gonna go the trekker route. First off, I want to be able to take different skis BC depending on the conditions. Also, I like to huck and those freerides just don't feel like they are gonna cut it. Plus, they are expensive and I don't really want to have 1 dedicated BC setup. People on here have talked about using trekkers w/ P14/18s so I know there is a way to do it. The whoe insta-tele thing really scares me too.

I'm not small (200-220 lbs) and carry fat packs up to 40-50lbs sometimes. I've not had problems with Freerides, Silvretta 555s or Dynafits. I ski them inbounds as well.

I'm down to 200 now but last winter I was 220. I toured on Naxos and Freerides without a problem. I even did a few 15 foot and smaller drops to consolidated snow and they were no worse for wear.

If I where you I would buy AT binding and boot because you are already going to be dragging your extra weight up the hill and you want to take advantage of every chance you have to lighten the load some where. Loosing some weight over the summer would help tremendously too.

I've a touring partner whos not gentle and still touring on Fritschi Titanal 1s and had no problems - 220 lber. Mind you he's not a hucker.

i have two pair of freerides and have NEVER gone into "tele" mode. one pair i have about 30 days BC and 15 days inbound the other pair 9 days inbound, we haven't had enough snow to ski BC this year on newer setup, new england

I have patrolled for a full season on Fritschi Titanal 1s and never had a problem. I am 6'3" and generally weigh around 215. I am not a hucker. I have also got about 10 days inbounds this year and 3 days bc on Dyanfits. Love and have not had a problem with them at all. You should be fine and if you got the cash the lighter the better.

I would look at the freeride plus which is coming out next year. They claim to have fixed the tele problem and its a little beefier. I have two pairs of freerides and have not had any problems with them, never going into tele mode or broken anything.

Cool, I'm glad to hear some positive things about them from some bigger folks. Like everything else it seems like you only hear from poeple when they have a complaint. I tore my ACL last season so I'm pretty picky about my bindings. I think I'll probably wait for next years plusses.

Ok, so the consensus is that I'm not too heavy. Phew.

I have the DIN of my current bindings set at 10...they're very solid bindings and take a fair amount of force to take them off. I doubt I will be going any higher due to past knee problems. I've heard that the freerides at 10 don't necessarily feel like an alpine binding at ten, but more like 8. If that's the case, does that limit me to the Nx21s/freerides? Or is Dynafit still a viable option?

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Originally Posted by Squatch

Ok, so the consensus is that I'm not too heavy. Phew.

I have the DIN of my current bindings set at 10...they're very solid bindings and take a fair amount of force to take them off. I doubt I will be going any higher due to past knee problems. I've heard that the freerides at 10 don't necessarily feel like an alpine binding at ten, but more like 8. If that's the case, does that limit me to the Nx21s/freerides? Or is Dynafit still a viable option?

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IMHO go Dynafit. I ski pretty aggressively and used them inbounds all over Snowbird and Alta for a week. Ya ain't gonna miss the weight. The only reason I wouldn't go Dynafits is if you are really into hucking.

I am 6'6", weigh 230, and have been skiing Naxo's mounted on Explosiv's for the past year and a half with great results. The NX21 seems like overkill, but the stride with the Naxo's is great. Been touring all over Wyoming and Colorado with them, taking them to Bariloche Argentina in august, not worried about durability. Friend is 6'3" 210 and rides last years Freerides and has never popped into insta-tour mode. Either way, Freerides and NX01's have been engineered to handle agressive skiing even from bigger people.

Squatch-go with the Naxo21.

They are so much more bomber than the freeride. When you ski them they feel like a downhill binding, and there really isn't that much more lift than my sollies. The touring mode feels so much smoother than the freeride due to the double pivot in the toe. Walk mode is impossible in the nx21. I hated insta-tele with the freeride. I'm looking for another pair of N21's, I want to put them on some Spats. :biggrin: