Fritschi Vipec review thread

[cat in january]

Sent a message to Cocximus, but sounds great on the split to me. Are you guys close enough one mailing works?

[LeeLau]

Sent a message to Cocximus, but sounds great on the split to me. Are you guys close enough one mailing works?

Oh for sure. We can work that out. What a good idea to have a split pair of toes though . Was your wear just through use?

[Cocximus]

Splitting works for me. I was going to ship these to a buddy near seattle and drive to pick them up. I am in van.

[LeeLau]

Splitting works for me. I was going to ship these to a buddy near seattle and drive to pick them up. I am in van.

ok. No rush as I'm NV Whistler

[cat in january]

Hey guys handing off local to a friend.

[LeeLau]

Hey guys handing off local to a friend.

No problem. Thx!

[~mikey b]

can I put these in a Tecton?

[tomh79]

Hello, I'm unsure which binding is mounted on my ski. I guess Fritschi Vipec Evo 12? Can anybody identify the bindings?

Front:

Back:

[Cocximus]

8-32 1-1/2" screw with two nuts. I filled the worm screw with gflex and ground the screw to prevent it from turning in the worm screw. Since the nuts are slightly bigger than the original screw it does not loosen itself back. This could be a fix for those with loosening heel pieces.

[RAB3]

Hello, I'm unsure which binding is mounted on my ski. I guess Fritschi Vipec Evo 12? Can anybody identify the bindings?

Front:

Back:

yeah, those look like Vipec Evos to me

[mr_pretzel]

So years later what is the gist on the vipec. Does toe release actually work?

[LeeLau]

So years later what is the gist on the vipec. Does toe release actually work?

Yup. Tomahawked, Backslapped pillows. Plain old skiing like an idiot and it's released when I want and stayed on when I want

[Cocximus]

The latest version should not mess up the boots and release in a forward fall while locked.

The gen before can punch the boot depending on the boot. It punched my mercuries, but released with the zero g.

[NorCalNomad]

So years later what is the gist on the vipec. Does toe release actually work?

Yup, ridden my pre evo toe gens for like 6-7 seasons (forget exactly what year they are) both inbounds (for only like 1-2 seasons) and bc. Saved my MCL from a complete tear that would have needed surgery. Ski'd sierra cement on powder skies and boilerplate no fall zones with a 86 waist ski them. Never had a prerelease over multiple boots.

Crampons still suck balls tho and not many places carry them. Had to rent skis for a guided objective in the Tetons since the guide insisted that we had ski crampons and no one in town carried them.

[singlesline]

Looking for some Vipec spare parts. Anyone have either bits they won't use or retired bindings they can pull from?

I have what I think is the second revision (the "black"). Not the evo.

Need a pair of the "tall" inserts for the toe lever.

I only have the short insert which is too low for my boots. Happy to trade mine for yours as well if you want the short piece.

Pair of the upper heel risers. Apparently these can just fall off or break and the guy I bought the skis from didn't have them.

From pictures, it looks like the riser from the older "white" model is the same and would also work.

Not sure if the Vipec Evo heel risers would work. Wildsnow has a comparison and they look close but the shaping is slightly different so I can't say they will fit. Willing to try if that's all I can find. BD warranty department was unable to source parts.

Anyone holding?

[NorCalNomad]

Better skin tracks = no need for the high riser

[Joni]

Yessss, please train skiers in Wasatch to put in friendlier up tracks.

Fritschi heel risers not high enough, even for someone 5’6” & my SO is 6’ 6” so he built his own heel risers!

Wrote Fritschi to tell them to build stoutier
heel risers. Sick of mine breaking & BDs slow response to repair.

Sure miss the days when you could just walk in to BD Warranty Dept & get a repair done for a six pack or bottle of whiskey. Warranty Dept is all remote now, they told me.

Anyhoo, long story short, after I posted, BD W wrote back to say they’d send me parts. Could be coincidence …. but being fixed soon…..now will it just snow some more …. please ….

[fool]

I broke up off a piece of my Vipec Evo 12s - see circled plastic in picture. Now my brakes are unable to stay down. I purchased them in the spring of 2021 from BD.

Does anyone know if this part is replaceable and how to track that part down? Skimo has Fristchi Binding Parts - would those work? (If I need the Tecton piece on that page, they're out of stock, so open to other channels).

I've read through the last few pages of the thread but certainly not all 35 pages. Thanks in advance.

[LeeLau]

I broke up off a piece of my Vipec Evo 12s - see circled plastic in picture. Now my brakes are unable to stay down. I purchased them in the spring of 2021 from BD.

Does anyone know if this part is replaceable and how to track that part down? Skimo has Fristchi Binding Parts - would those work? (If I need the Tecton piece on that page, they're out of stock, so open to other channels).

I've read through the last few pages of the thread but certainly not all 35 pages. Thanks in advance.

Yes. That part works.

I wrote a Tecton review which discussed how to avoid the breakage. To recap: hold the brake down then only thereafter deploy the part of your heel (works for Vipec or Tecton) which locks down the brakes

[frorider]

In other words, at the bottom of your ski run use your pole to move the heel into tour mode while you’re still standing on the ski with your boot. Then release the toe, put on your climbing skins.

[fool]

Yes. That part works.

I wrote a Tecton review which discussed how to avoid the breakage. To recap: hold the brake down then only thereafter deploy the part of your heel (works for Vipec or Tecton) which locks down the brakes

In other words, at the bottom of your ski run use your pole to move the heel into tour mode while you’re still standing on the ski with your boot. Then release the toe, put on your climbing skins.

Thanks, Lee and frorider. Now I know what to do for the future. A local shop in Truckee - Backcountry - had the piece in stock, so they replaced it quickly and only charged $15 total. Great service.

[~mikey b]

broke the plastic tab in front of the toe a week ago

skis fine but won’t release properly, correct?

still waiting to hear back from BD - they say 3 weeks wait for a response

[MagnificentUnicorn]

broke the plastic tab in front of the toe a week ago

skis fine but won’t release properly, correct?

still waiting to hear back from BD - they say 3 weeks wait for a response

You might not release in a forward fall after your heel releases vertically. Doesn’t affect lateral release in the toe.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[fool]

The latest version should not mess up the boots and release in a forward fall while locked.

So I have an earlier gen version - which did indent my boots this weekend after a forward fall - is it possible to replace the plastic piece that indented the boots to bring the Vipec Evo 12s to a modern design (and prevent further incidents)? My local shop mentioned reaching out to Fritschi to ask but figure the collective would know as well. If not, I'm considering replacing them with something like the Speed Radical.

[geoffski]

Wrote Fritschi to tell them to build stoutier
heel risers. Sick of mine breaking & BDs slow response to repair.
.....
Anyhoo, long story short, after I posted, BD W wrote back to say they’d send me parts. Could be coincidence …. but being fixed soon…..now will it just snow some more …. please ….

So I went through the same interaction with BD back in March; heard nothing and assumed nothing would happen; then, in october - hey presto - a package with a high heel riser arrived Thank you, BD.

But now I have no idea how to fit them. I'm scared to try and force them open enough to insert the pins in case it snaps. Maybe I have to press the pin out and then in again (but worried I might break them this way too) - Anyone know the secret to attaching the new riser?