Official ATK Binding Thread

Don't know how strong the toe springs are in your bindings.

I have mtn bindings, very strong springs, but after 50+days i noticed that in tour mode, 8 could twist out of them a lot easier.

It wasn't just in my head, because i tried my wife's skis, same binding, and it took significantly more force to twist out of the toe.

So i went and bought new mtn bindings, problem solved.

So it's very possible that the toe springs have gotten weaker, or done funky wear happened.

I couldn't trust these bindings, which it's why got new ones.


I ski pretty steep couloirs, and peace of mind is really important.


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I read this TR where the guy's Trofeo heelpieces stopped rotating, has that happened to anyone else?

https://climberkyle.com/2021/05/22/t...e-haute-route/

I've noticed one of the heelpieces on my Crests has been getting really hard to rotate recently, and I've been skiing a lot of dirty spring snow. Is it possible to take it apart and clean it to make it rotate like it used to?

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Originally Posted by Benneke10

I read this TR where the guy's Trofeo heelpieces stopped rotating, has that happened to anyone else?

https://climberkyle.com/2021/05/22/t...e-haute-route/

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Yes. This happened to me (Helio 180) on top of a line last weekend. My heel pins were facing backwards (highest riser position) so I had to remove the heel piece from the adjustment plate and re-attach at 180deg to complete the tour. Mine have always been a little hard to turn (#10 spring), and usually manage to take some skin off of my fingers if attempting to turn w/o gloves.

First race style heel for me, but this event coupled with a potential insta tele scenario related to the heelpiece sliding backwards in the track after some big compressions (bobsled exit) on a previous outing has left me unimpressed so far.

Coincidentally, I ran into the Wasatch duo from that Haute Route TR on Baker last weekend. One of them had forgotten skins, but still managed to summit (at least 1hr ahead of my fully appointed crew) by bootpacking the entire route. Total crushers.

Where's that picture of the dude that forgot his skins in some AK(?) town?
Rocking Hellbents or somesuch.
Voile straps and pine tree branches FTW!

spraying white lithium grease into the heel pieces can help smooth out the rotation

during the day I've gotten into the habit of rotating the heel back and forth a few times during transitions, to feel for any changes in rotation resistance and maybe pre-empt whatever stiffening/binding might be building up. If I do notice the rotation becoming more difficult I leave the binding in race mode the rest of the day - normal position, pins forward, only the heel flap up & down to go from ski to tour and back.

definitely my biggest, and only serious, complaint about the binding (BD 145, but had it on ATK branded too)

hard to tell what causes it - that haute route TR thinks it might be road sand, but I have it happen in cold mid-winter powder, & my skis travel inside the car

Not a tech but ado does recommend annual greasing

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Originally Posted by North

Yes. This happened to me (Helio 180) on top of a line last weekend. My heel pins were facing backwards (highest riser position) so I had to remove the heel piece from the adjustment plate and re-attach at 180deg to complete the tour. Mine have always been a little hard to turn (#10 spring), and usually manage to take some skin off of my fingers if attempting to turn w/o gloves.

First race style heel for me, but this event coupled with a potential insta tele scenario related to the heelpiece sliding backwards in the track after some big compressions (bobsled exit) on a previous outing has left me unimpressed so far.

Coincidentally, I ran into the Wasatch duo from that Haute Route TR on Baker last weekend. One of them had forgotten skins, but still managed to summit (at least 1hr ahead of my fully appointed crew) by bootpacking the entire route. Total crushers.

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Never had an issue with heelpiece sliding even with big packs. Are you torquing the four screws to spec on the track? Red loctite also is not the worst idea if you infrequently change bsl.

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Originally Posted by Westcoaster

Never had an issue with heelpiece sliding even with big packs. Are you torquing the four screws to spec on the track? Red loctite also is not the worst idea if you infrequently change bsl.

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Torque spec was "pretty dang tight," and increased to "real fuggin tight" after the heel slid. I also added blue loctite to the heel fasteners. Dis-assembling in the field to flip the stuck heel was difficult enough with the blue loctite that I think I'll stick with that.

I put a cut plastic part behind the base of the heel pedestal on a different pair of tech heels after they slipped in the track. It's not a lot of extra weight and I figure it binds up before the heel could slip. There's a chance I didn't think about picture before I did that though.


Edit: the heels in question are pretty hammered and may have been overtightened in the past.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by North

Coincidentally, I ran into the Wasatch duo from that Haute Route TR on Baker last weekend. One of them had forgotten skins, but still managed to summit (at least 1hr ahead of my fully appointed crew) by bootpacking the entire route. Total crushers.

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+1 those guys are crushers.

The trofeo heel is super stiff. It rotates with a ball in a groove - not sure if the ball rolls or if it's just a fixed sphere if that makes sense.

North, did you figure out the cause of the problem?

RE: heel sliding - how much do you weigh? I weigh 155 + pack, no problems.

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Originally Posted by CirqueScaler

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North, did you figure out the cause of the problem?

RE: heel sliding - how much do you weigh? I weigh 155 + pack, no problems.

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Not really. Got the heel piece rotated using a bench vice. Blasted both heels with silicone spray, then noticed some schmutz in the ball detents. Cleaned that off with simple green and a toothbrush. "Good" heel was noticeably harder to move after applying simple green. "Bad heel" was not movable by hand. Another round of silicone and the good heel is moveable with moderate force. I can rotate the bad heel by hand now, but it requires significant force to do so. Don't think I trust it enough to take out of ski mode on a tour.

I weigh ~160lbs w/o pack. Another minor gripe is that my boot heels catch the heel piece in flat mode when moving through BTL bumps/lumps that flex out the skis (Down CD104L. Yes, they are mounted in the correct orientation). Maybe that's par for the course on race heels but I find it annoying.

So, this but add a flushing step, plus completely drying it out before lubing?

Something doesn't make sense. Perhaps you did this?

https://www.atkbindings.com/en/news-...e-and-storage/
I'm curious what @spyderjon has to say.

I have Haute Routes (Helio 200s), so not race binders, but no heel interference in flat mode.

... Thom

Very odd. Hope you work it out. I've never had a problem with my bindings. Don't see how any of the problems you describe would be endemic to race bindings.

Big thanks to @spyderjon. I wanted 2 sets of crampons and front binding shims for my Raider 2’s. He explained the options, I chose what I wanted, and he shipped immediately.
My wife says the crampons were a game changer. This is highest praise from her. Why’d I wait?
Attachment 375959
Crampon photo op:
Attachment 375960

When are you kool-aid drinkers going to realize that there is nothing special about these bindings? This thread is 90% complaining about all the flaws with these bindings, but somehow that reality is overshadowed by a handful of fanbois screaming about how great they are.

ATK needs to get rid of about 2/3rd's of it's product offerings, then figure out how to make bindings that actually work consistently in the real world, instead of just looking pretty. (Although, I'm not too impressed with the quality of the machining on my pair, given how people gush about the stupid fucking things, TBH).

And don't even get me started on the private labeling bullshit they do. Nothing screams "we're money grubbing whores who place profit above all else" quite like that does.

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Originally Posted by glademaster

When are you kool-aid drinkers going to realize that there is nothing special about these bindings? This thread is 90% complaining about all the flaws with these bindings, but somehow that reality is overshadowed by a handful of fanbois screaming about how great they are.

ATK needs to get rid of about 2/3rd's of it's product offerings, then figure out how to make bindings that actually work consistently in the real world, instead of just looking pretty. (Although, I'm not too impressed with the quality of the machining on my pair, given how people gush about the stupid fucking things, TBH).

And don't even get me started on the private labeling bullshit they do. Nothing screams "we're money grubbing whores who place profit above all else" quite like that does.

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Woah

I took a peek at the website, they do have a lot of models, it doesnt look like there are dealers up narth, i would probably need to take out a bank loan to buy one

They're not perfect but they offer the best performance for their weight, especially in the 300g category. I ran into a Dynafit-sponsored pro skier using Raiders last week, I think that says a lot.

Yeah, I think they are the best in the game for lightweight tech binders. Nothing is perfect, hell I've broken a P18. Don't tell the CAST fanboys.

What's wrong with koolaid?

BTW the heel spring in my trofeos broke today but damn they looked so pretty while I was booting

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Originally Posted by CirqueScaler

What's wrong with koolaid?

BTW the heel spring in my trofeos broke today but damn they looked so pretty while I was booting

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Pics

Yes, I want to see pics as well. Was it the flap, or actually the spring?

I was making fun of the poster who randomly flamed all of us for liking ATK bindings. Trofeo heels don't have springs afaik. The heel rotation maybe, but it feels more like a fixed piece in there. Forgot my /s

In other news, Skimo.Co has a new, unlisted page for the ATK Trofeo for $445 with what looks like a subtly different heel piece:

Attachment 376335

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CirqueScaler

[...]Trofeo heels don't have springs afaik.[...]

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I know what you mean, but often the heel U-fork in skimo race bindings is referred to as a spring, since it's essentially performing in a spring-like function for the forward release.

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Originally Posted by CirqueScaler

[...]In other news, Skimo.Co has a new, unlisted page for the ATK Trofeo for $445 with what looks like a subtly different heel piece: [...][/ATTACH]

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Oooh, good eye, I didn't ever realize what you were referencing at first!
So the retention screw for the U-fork has shifted from a vertical to horizontal orientation, and the slots on the sides are now entirely open.
Looks like that change was already implemented for this past season, even though BD's rebranded version still uses the older design.