Fritschi Vipec review thread

[cat in january]

Local shop Allspeed-pretty sure it was the last set. Hard to mix up the black with the earlier models due to the color.

Thom are you going to mount these yourself? I have done dynafits a number of times, but these seem different. Would be interested in any thoughts.

Mine also had just one pair of extra inserts and I too had seen these come in sizes.

[ex-powderbroker]

Has anyone seen a deal for Ion's lately?

[cat in january]

In store the Kingpins were also 40% off for both brake sizes. May be worth a call for anyone looking. Sorry no Ions.

http://store.allspeed.com/marker-kin...-binding-2016/

[galibier_numero_un]

Hard to mix up the black with the earlier models due to the color.

Thom are you going to mount these yourself? I have done dynafits a number of times, but these seem different. Would be interested in any thoughts.

Mine also had just one pair of extra inserts and I too had seen these come in sizes.

Yes, also the little button (black Vipecs) as opposed to the "wire" (white ones) on the toe's base plate.

I need to look at the difference between the two toe lever inserts.

Looks like a straight-forward mount. I'll probably do a quick 2x4 mount to test where the heel locates on the track (i.e. does it land in the middle of its adjustment range).

...Thom

[galibier_numero_un]

Has anyone seen a deal for Ion's lately?

I have a pair that's mounted on some 178 carbon Megawatts on gear swap. The only reason I'm selling them is 'coz of lack of interchangeable brakes (need something for an anticipated buy of 102 wide skis), and to sweeten the deal on the skis. Dunno if this works for you (price police me if you think they're out of line), but I had to mention it - super light use.

... Thom

[TrueNorth]

Today at Backcountry, Vipec black/TUV/3rd gen are 30% off + extra 20% with 2 eligible items + 10% AJ cashback...

[TrueNorth]

Today at Backcountry, Vipec black/TUV/3rd gen are 30% off + extra 20% with 2 eligible items + 10% AJ cashback...

and same deal on Ions

[cat in january]

Guess the benefit of backcountry skiing becoming so popular is that we are now seeing the deep spring discounts like the rest of the industry.

[galibier_numero_un]

On the topic of the confusing labeling of brake widths, I added the following edit to my April 14th post:

hhtele has it right. While fully deployed, the 108 brakes clear these 109 waisted skis easily, but while mounted, they don't spread out quickly enough to clear the ski as they deploy. As they spread out during deployment, they hit the top surface of the ski, and at that point, they're barely 100mm wide.

The good news is that you can change brakes in these bindings. One has to wonder if this is a new profit model for BD - to increase aftermarket brake sales

Cheers,
Thom

[Lee Murian]

I upgraded from the white to black this season and have about 3 months on the black version. This weekend while skiing laps on Shasta, I went to skin up for lap 2 and as I went to step into the binding discovered the pin was gone from one of the toe pieces.
Nothing catastrophic and I had a loaner pair of skis to finish the day, but WTF? I thought this issue was fixed. This may be the final straw for me and Vipecs, too bad cause I do like how they ski.
Anyone else see this as an issue still? Yes, it's my fault for not checking pin tightness and discovered the other to be loose as well...

[galibier_numero_un]

I upgraded from the white to black this season and have about 3 months on the black version. This weekend while skiing laps on Shasta, I went to skin up for lap 2 and as I went to step into the binding discovered the pin was gone from one of the toe pieces.
Nothing catastrophic and I had a loaner pair of skis to finish the day, but WTF? I thought this issue was fixed. This may be the final straw for me and Vipecs, too bad cause I do like how they ski.
Anyone else see this as an issue still? Yes, it's my fault for not checking pin tightness and discovered the other to be loose as well...

I'm wondering if they made an in-flight change in the Blacks. I'll snap a photo of mine tonight. I was impressed that (for the adjustable pin), they use a straight slot screw (which I normally don't like). A spring steel engages with the screw slot to keep it from rotating and either losing adjustment or worse, falling out.

Cheers,
Thom

[galibier_numero_un]

Here's a close-up photo of the retainer clip they designed for the adjustable toe pin. I can't envision a screw loosening with this implementation. I was mightily impressed with the Fritschi engineers' solution to the problem. No more "you didn't use Loctite" crap.

With all of the comments about loosening over the past 12 months, I'm surprised no one mentioned it before this. Maybe it was a mid model year enhancement and I got lucky?



Cheers,
Thom

[Lindahl]

My theory:

If the nut loosens, there will be slop in the pin and the pin can strip. Thats how it fell out?

Its important to keep slop in check by making sure the nut stays tight.

Perhaps getting the right pin width for your tech fittings can reduce the probability and rate of slop development?

[galibier_numero_un]

Interesting, something we'll all no doubt watch, moving forward.

[galibier_numero_un]

After the pair of "108's" I picked up were barely good for 100's, I ordered and received a pair of "XXL's" from Bckcountry.com.

Guess what? Same size brake.

I'm going to call Black Diamond to get resolution. I can imagine the degree of grief this has caused their retailers, and the way I look at it, this is the reason an importer/distributor gets a cut - to resolve problems.

I could just bend the brakes, but at that this point, I don't want to do so on principle.

... Thom

[LeeLau]

Anyone else see this as an issue still? Yes, it's my fault for not checking pin tightness and discovered the other to be loose as well...

That really sucks. Not an issue with my two pairs

[galibier_numero_un]

The photo almost says it all about the overlap between the Salomon Warden Heel and the Vipec-12. One point of clarification however ... The +2.5mm mount for the Vipec is not a typo. It's not +2.5cm.

I mounted the toe on the line for BSL=302, and this nets out to +2.5mm for a 297 BSL (my Maestrales). I then inserted my 297 Maestrale and located the end of the heel.

The templates for the Vipec are the most poorly documented I've seen to date. Dawson's is really close, but no cigar [edit - see below, download 2016 template]. The Powder Guide template says "Not yet verified - use with caution" ... for good reason. I made my own template on my CAD software ... 'coz I could

I'm not the least bit shy as far as hole proximity. The Quiver Killers for the Wardens are stronger than the ski. It appears as if I can just about finagle a pair of inserts in there if the mood strikes.



Cheers,
Thom

[HHTELE]

I asked BD to send me a template, and it worked perfectly.

[galibier_numero_un]

Try this one, Bobby, the Internet is your friend:
https://www.wildsnow.com/backcountry...6-template.pdf

I downloaded my template a while ago and noted that it has a 2014 date. It appears as if Lou corrected the error since then. On the 2016 version he slid the front pair of toe holes just a wee bit forward. As always, trust but verify (the 2016 version). I have not used this for a mount, since I now have my own template

One possibly useful note:

I measured the adjustment range on the heel track to be about 24mm.

If you position the edge of the boot heel (using a carpenter's square) so it's 18mm behind the front pair of heel holes, your mount will end up with the heel very close to the center of its adjustment range. Of course, if you're trying to accommodate two very different boots (like a TLT & a Maestrale), you may need to fiddle on a 2x4, but this is a good starting point for your experimentation.

Cheers,
Thom

[galibier_numero_un]

I did a second mount last night and verified the 18mm heel offset. It places the boot very close to the center of the adjustment range.

As beautifully engineered as these bindings are, is how terribly documented they are. I was searching high and low for documentation on the interchangeable toe clips.

This video shows how the clip facilitates toe release in a forward fall scenario while in ski mode. The alternate clip alows different boot toe ("nose") shapes to engage the toe piece.

Scroll to point #3 at 1:30 ("Nose").



Cheers,
Thom

[cat in january]

Wondering if any one has experience with the vipec crampon. Saw a short video showing putting it on/off and adjusting the depth. To be honest I am not too inspired by the video. Could you push in the clips when side hilling? Seems overly thought out-like the simple ones on Dynafit.

[cat in january]

Looked around the net a bit this morning. Saw the listed weight on the crampons is 363g/pair!!!!!

Not sure what Fritschi was thinking with this. Due to toe design looks like stuck with their crampons if I want them for this binding.

[galibier_numero_un]

I was wondering about choices as well. They do seem solid, at least.

[Cocximus]

Used them can't complain. They can be put on without taking the ski off but it's awkward.

[cat in january]

Thanks for the report on their functionality. Wish the weight was not so high.