Volkl BMT 94 - how good is it?

[Westcoaster]

On the line will make them do what they were born to do. Or......you could mount them at +4 - proclaim that they are ill conceived pieces of shit and sell them to me at a significant discount.....whereupon I will mount them on the line and live happily ever after. Best bet is to not try to make them something they are not and enjoy the fact that they are still a class leading ski for how they are intended to be skied. If standard Volkl is not how you like to ski it might be best to move on to something that better matches your description of perfect. YMMV IMO

Reasonable. I've not yet skied em, so I'm a blank slate!

[Sklimber]

Mine are mounted on the line for my light boots and -1 for the beefy ones. Can't tell the difference. I have Plum Guides on mine so a lot of ramp and my boots are set at 17 degree lean.

[Benneke10]

If you prefer forward mounted skis I wouldn't hesitate to go a bit forward. With their long, low rocker, relatively straight sidecut, and round, supportive flex they are probably one of the most forgiving touring skis for different mount points. Having said that, the tail will probably release/drift much easier in weird backcountry crusts if you are at the line or behind. Mine are mounted close to the line, they are great skis but I do notice the tails more than my other touring skis at times (Atomic UL85 and Voile Hyper V8). This can be a good thing because they are more supportive on steeps and skiing fast.

[riff]

I just had 2.5 weeks of excellent long corn runs and I wouldn’t change a thing about my 176’s. So fun for most everything.


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[meter-man]

Is there anything on the market now that is close to the BMT 94?

HL BC90 seems closest.

Is there anything else similar?

I’m on the reverse camber WNDR Intention 110 and loving them for pow and mixed conditions. (I go 132 for deep pow… also full RC.) Would love to try a similar RC shape but 90-98 underfoot. And preferably like 1500-1600g in a 185ish size.


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[Sklimber]

Mount question for all you BMT 94 folks. I got a set of Trab Varios I was thinking of mounting on mine. Currently I have them quiver killed for Plum Guides and the previous mount was for Dynafit STs, which are now plugged. The mounting points on the heel are a little close (see photo).
Option 1: Quiverkill them for the Trab heels (prefered).
Option 2: Mount the Trab heels permanently with wood screws.
Option 3: Mount the Trabs on a different pair of skis and quit drilling into the BMTs.
Option 4: Quiverkill the Trabs but put everything at +1.5 to avoid any conflicts but will have to drill 4 more toe holes.

[Jongle]

I’d go with option 1. I don’t think there’s likely to be any issue going that close to old holes if you’re using inserts. I’ve done this myself a few times in the past without any issue (but otherwise my opinion is entirely unscientific).

[jackattack]

Looks a little tight to the plugs to me.

[skis_the_trees]

I think you've got enough room to safely do inserts for the Trab heels. Another option is to use the Trab Gara Titan heels on a Kreuzspitze K-14 adjustment plate that will use the same holes as the Plum Guide.

[Sklimber]

I think you've got enough room to safely do inserts for the Trab heels. Another option is to use the Trab Gara Titan heels on a Kreuzspitze K-14 adjustment plate that will use the same holes as the Plum Guide.

Had no idea that existed. Good to know. I'm psyched on the Trab Vario heels because they're gapless and have some elasticity. I have some Gara Titans on my super light skis but they have a different adjustment plate.

[MagnificentUnicorn]

Option #[emoji639], don’t put anymore holes in them.


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[riff]

If you don’t want to do the heel adjustment plates I’d quiver kill for trab heels, (#1) but pull the plastic plugs and put epoxy in the old holes first to make them stronger.


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[singlecross]

^^^ This. Pull the plastic plugs and epoxy in some hardwood dowels.

[Sklimber]

^^^ This. Pull the plastic plugs and epoxy in some hardwood dowels.

If I decide to use wood screws would you guys still recommend replacing the plugs with wood / epoxy? Quite a bit of distance from the plugs with the screws compared to the inserts.

[Westcoaster]

https://www.widgetco.com/products/1-...ugs-face-grain

Face grain and relatively soft. Lob the top off with a chisel and seal with epoxy.

[riff]

If I decide to use wood screws would you guys still recommend replacing the plugs with wood / epoxy? Quite a bit of distance from the plugs with the screws compared to the inserts.

I would happily mount and ski that with wood screws, no problem- especially since it’s the heel. I worry more about toes because they have to hold on to the boot all alone with all kinds of torque and load when touring uphill, while heels are always sharing the load/torque with the toes while skiing. Anecdotal but I bet that spacing is fine!


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[skis_the_trees]

If I decide to use wood screws would you guys still recommend replacing the plugs with wood / epoxy? Quite a bit of distance from the plugs with the screws compared to the inserts.

Since we don’t have any actual scientific data about the relative strength of these options or their respective failure rates in use, there isn’t a compelling reason to favor one over the other. Everything on the forum is simply anecdotal. Wood/epoxy is a bigger hassle so I always just use epoxy and plastic binding plugs (including on 2 sets of Vwerks skis this season); I have no personal failures from this. I wouldn’t pull those plugs if they were glued or epoxied in, just mount and go (regardless of wood screws or inserts).


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[jackattack]

Out of curiosity, do you have a line on a template for Vario or are you free-handing? I have a pair of skis drilled for Vario (i think) and I'm trying to identify bsl.

[Cocximus]

Are wood plugs really stronger than "plastic" plugs? Nylon is plenty strong.

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[singlecross]

Are wood plugs really stronger than "plastic" plugs? Nylon is plenty strong.

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Nylon as a material is plenty strong, but epoxy doesn’t stick to it so if your new screw is right up against the plug, plastic plugs can pull out. It’s not about material strength, it’s about shear strength.

[Cocximus]

That's why I use nylon screws to plug holes. Mechanical connection.

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[Sklimber]

Out of curiosity, do you have a line on a template for Vario or are you free-handing? I have a pair of skis drilled for Vario (i think) and I'm trying to identify bsl.

I'm free handing because my toes are already drilled so only needing the heel drilled. My boots are 308 - 314 if you need a measurement. Also, heel spacing for the Vario heels are 45.5 mm wide by 37.5 mm long according to skimo. Definitely a unique hole pattern compared to other tech bindings.

[jackattack]

I'm free handing because my toes are already drilled so only needing the heel drilled. My boots are 308 - 314 if you need a measurement. Also, heel spacing for the Vario heels are 45.5 mm wide by 37.5 mm long according to skimo. Definitely a unique hole pattern compared to other tech bindings.

If you can measure the distance from boot center to toe holes for 314bsl that would be rad.

[Sklimber]

If you can measure the distance from boot center to toe holes for 314bsl that would be rad.

So for the trab binders, the holes are 272 mm apart for a 28.5 mondo / 314 bsl boot. The heel track has about 4 or 5 mm left until it's maxed out.

[jackattack]

So for the trab binders, the holes are 272 mm apart for a 28.5 mondo / 314 bsl boot. The heel track has about 4 or 5 mm left until it's maxed out.

So that puts the rearward toe holes at 136mm from boot center line?