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Thread: Converting alpine bindings to AT

  1. #1
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    Question Converting alpine bindings to AT

    I am just getting into BC skiing through an OEC class and the class went up to practice some senarios and do a little skiing. Once it was time to ski, some of the people in the class were left in the dust (myself included) because we did not have at or tele skiis with skins so we had to bootpack up to ski. I was wondering if there were any attachments that i could get so i could skin up like i had AT bindings without actually replacing the bindings themselfs. thanks...

  2. #2
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    alpine tour wreckers work for a little while. aka bca alpine trekkers.

  3. #3
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    May 2002
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    "Alpine Trekker".

    Look it up, then make sure to visit the Tech Talk forum and use the Search Function for it to read people's thoughts on performance.

    EDIT: I am slow.
    Thrutchworthy Production Services

  4. #4
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    Alpine Trekkers worked fine for me for a couple of years. They can be tricky on steep, slick climbs when your feet want to slide out from under you. That's an almost guaranteed way to break them, as my friend proved on two instances, though I never had that problem.

    I have a set I haven't used in years just sitting in my garage. They are in great shape. Sell 'em to ya pretty cheap...

    If you want to make climbing easy, you pretty much have to get AT stuff and skins, or approach skis, but that's a stretch.
    Last edited by AKBckntry; 11-01-2004 at 10:59 AM.
    -Thomas

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by AKBckntry
    Alpine Trekkers worked fine for me for a couple of years. They can be tricky on steep, slick climbs when your feet want to slide out from under you. That's an almost guaranteed way to break them, as my friend proved on two instances, though I never had that problem.

    I have a set I haven't used in years just sitting in my garage. They are in great shape. Sell 'em to ya pretty cheap...

    If you want to make climbing easy, you pretty much have to get AT stuff and skins, or approach skis, but that's a stretch.
    check your pms

  6. #6
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    door hinge.

  7. #7
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    Securafix are much like trekkers.

    I used a gate hinge briefly. I welded the metal closed where it wraps around the hinge pin so it would not bend, open up and fall apart. The hinge still hinged like normal. Then I attached a piece of plywood to one side and a custon cut to fit the binder 2x4 to the other side of hte hinge. I used a bent piece of wire for a bail on the toe and an old tele binder heel clamp on the heel. It worked well but then I bought some binders after about 2 months. Ultra cheap option.
    You are what you eat.
    ---------------------------------------------------
    There's no such thing as bad snow, just shitty skiers.

  8. #8
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    but the real question here should be....how can we rig a set of real bindings (i.e. look binders) into a real deal touring binding. screw the alpine trekkers, and flimsy touring bindings. c'mon engineers, let's get going.
    god created man. winchester and baseball bats made them equal - evel kenievel

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Zeedashbo
    but the real question here should be....how can we rig a set of real bindings (i.e. look binders) into a real deal touring binding. screw the alpine trekkers, and flimsy touring bindings. c'mon engineers, let's get going.
    I thought about doing that. A couple of the problems are weight (because you would probably want to mount them to a steel plate underfoot & because alpine binders are heavy), you would need some kind of bomber system to fix the heel of the plate to the ski and then there is the problem of the pivot point being at the tip of the toepiece (3-4 inches infront of your toe).

    Fuck it, just go buy some dynafits, they weigh nothing and can take much abuse.
    You are what you eat.
    ---------------------------------------------------
    There's no such thing as bad snow, just shitty skiers.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
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    Zeedash: you mean this, right?

    http://www.linken.com/rd_picture.asp?artikkelid=12
    http://www.linken.com/rd.asp?artikkelid=15

    Let's hope they get it to market soon.

    Quote Originally Posted by Beaver
    Fuck it, just go buy some dynafits, they weigh nothing and can take much abuse.
    And new boots -- which are very $, not carried in US shops, and unlikely to fit my feet without lots more bootfitting $.

  11. #11
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    What I think would be a great idea is something like an alpine binder in terms of durability and contruction (i.e. metal and DIN to 14+), with the ability to switch to tour mode for short tours. The key would be making them work and release properly with AT boots. That way for people who do short tours, BC laps from a resort, or patrollers who need bomber bindings and rubber sole (AT) boots, they could use them without compromising. The bc lappers could get a durable binding that is more secure than normal AT ones, and the trollers could have alpine durability and safety while still using a boot that allows them to hike easily. Why someone hasn't come up with this I don't know.

  12. #12
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    Didnt Marker make a MRR touring version back in the 80's that had just an inch or two of heel lift?
    "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."
    Ben Franklin

  13. #13
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    To AKBckntry:

    If we want to know what you're skiing on, or what kind of jacket you decided to wear today, we'll ask, ok?
    It's idomatic, beatch.

  14. #14
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    I saw a guy at Alta who had rigged up some old Spademans onto his tele boots. This struck me as a good concept that someone in the industry (or at least with a mechanical engineering background) could improve upon and market successfully.

    EDIT:
    Oh, yeah. TECH TALK, BIATCHES!!!
    "There is a hell of a huge difference between skiing as a sport- or even as a lifestyle- and skiing as an industry"
    Hunter S. Thompson, 1970 (RIP)

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by fez
    Didnt Marker make a MRR touring version back in the 80's that had just an inch or two of heel lift?
    Yes... Ska'alp bindings... crazy to mount... you could use whatever toepiece you want with some mods... have to use the DIN 15 MRR heel... cool idea though they are all metal and look bomber.
    Quote Originally Posted by blurred
    skiing is hiking all day so that you can ski on shitty gear for 5 minutes.

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