7TM

[Rodbelan]

Lovejohnny, I would like to know if you had some 7TM before... Do not know how these ski... Some say there are lacking lateral rigidity. I guess they refer to the first generation... I read some of your post about that, but can't exactly remember... I would also like to know what's everybody thoughts about that too... Thanks.

[Bri7]

Hey salut Rodrigue

Content de te voir ici. Are you done with your ski season yet? There must be a lot of snow remaining in your area but no lift to ski it.

[wayne]

I used 7tms for years, before I needed new boots and decided to try NTN. I liked the 7tms and would still use them if I had 75mm boots. They released reliably and the tours had great range.

[Rodbelan]

Hello Bri7,
La saison n'est pas finie! There is Jay Peak, poaching some closed ski resort (Stoneham & Mont-Sainte-Anne) and Mines Madelaine later in May... I'll try to post pictures.

Wayne,
Could you develop a bit? How do qualify (or quantify) the difference between the two? Thanks very much...

[wayne]

Much more control with NTN. This analogy doesn't work well with people younger than me, but I say it's likes the first time you drove a car with power bakes. You need to back way off on the pressure you apply. I continually over turned on NTN until I got the feel. And I had to learn that feel in each new snow condition.

[Johnny]

Hey Rod,

Yeah I had several pairs of 7TM... To me they're still the finest bindings on the market. Release system is perfect, and so is the true step-in system. Of course they're not as active as NTNs but lateral rigidity is not everything.

The Power model (The one with a removable pin) is a bit more active than the original All-Mountain (Red) model. I still have a pair of Powers, and I'm seriously considering going back to 7TM...

Speaking of analogy, I would say that NTN is like driving a car with an automatic gearbox, while 7TM (And all NN stuff) is more like using a standard transmission. They (bindings and cars) are both great. You definitely get more feeling on standard/NN, but it's easier to use automatic/NTN.

Again and again, easier never meant more fun...!

[Rodbelan]

Thanks LoveJohnny,
Another question: how would you compare them—7TM— with Cobras for exemple or BD 02? I've never tried a binding with cables running under the boot soles... Thanks again... Rod

[Johnny]

There's not a big difference about where the cables run. It's more in the design itself. I would say the 7TMs are about as stiff (or soft!) as the Cobras or Mid-Stiff BDs. You don't buy 7TM for the stiffness, you buy them because of the DIN certified release and the true step-in ability, as it's THE only binding on the market with those features.

If you're looking for super active bindings and you don't care about release, go for NTN or 22Designs... If you want a good all-around binding and you wanna protect those knees, 7TM is the best way to go...!

But hey, you know what... I see a lot of super fast (and good!) skiers on 75mm bindings... But I don't see as much good skiers on NTN... Seriously... Oh here I go again...

[TomH]

They ski fine. The power version is a bit more active and probably HH 3-ish. Biggest problem is they're no longer made, so you'll be dealing with used bindings and not much for parts availability. I seem to remember some having toe-bar breakage problems - but I think those were the early ones - didn't hear much for problems with the late-model ones so long as you had the release set correctly to not pre-release.

And in reality, NTN's about as active/neutral as the 7tm if you look at where the pivot points are. NTN is more laterally rigid however, so ime translates power to the edge better.

[tree7sheep]

7TM is alive and well .

http://www.telemark-pyrenees.com/en/7tm ... 93f1cb0233

Maybe there is just currently a lack of a us distributor ... ?

Love my Power-tours , bought a second ski kit last season ,
to switch the binding between my powder boards and my xcd skis.

They are plenty stiff for my taste .


Erik K.