3-pin limit

[anemic]

Super cool adventure photos - thanks for sharing! I hope you continue to pursue Nordic Touring minimalism and continue to share your findings with us.

[iBjorn]

I do agree that the Voile 3-pin hardwire or 3-pin cable is a good option. When conditions is rough the ability to quickly mount the cable makes things a little easier, as well as sparing the 3-pin interface of both the boot and binding from the rather high forces of rough and steep conditions.

However, the boots are more of a matter of taste, I prefer the freedom with the lower shaft of the T4. It gives me better stride length and more upright angle of the ankle, the freedom of the ankle also gives me better balance. I actually ski better in the T4s than in the T2s. The Scott/Garmont Excursions, however, gives too much freedom for the ankle - even for my taste. I have tried T2s several times, as well as other boots, but always go back to T3/T4, I am on my sixth pair of T3/T4s at the moment since I have worn out the first five of them.

The weight penalty for the older T4s vs. T2eco I agree is not too much. 3.4kgs for T2ecos and 3kgs for T4s, however the current version of the T4s have intuition liners as well as some other improvement and weights in at 2,7kgs.

[lowangle al]

^^^^ Wow 7 tenths of a Kg is a huge difference. I tried a pair on last week and they did feel much lighter(and softer) than the ecos. I would really like a pair because I think they would work for most of my skiing. I think that their drawback would be getting wide skis on edge in hard snow because of the low cuff. My impression was that they were lighter and softer than either my Merril Ultras or Asolo Extremes, but might ski dh as good or better because of a more tortionally rigid sole.

[merak]

Thanks so much for answering.
You have to sacrifice something: either lightness, downhill performance or money. But probably the skill is the most important. My conclusion is that I need more practice on piste. I haven't skied that way for more then 10 years. When you take to the mountains the snow conditions are so different between trips that you don't really have time to learn.
It's nice to know that there are people that have made it with this minimalistic gear or even less.

[droppinloads]

Does anyone here think the Garmont Syner-g is too much boot for a 3pin Cable binding (on Madshus Epochs). I have T4's but they're the older ones & the liners are killing my feet. I'm ordering some intuitions for them but in the meantime I'm doing a Bolton-Trapps ski in VT this weekend & want to go back to my old Syner-g's. I would imagine they'll work just fine, just a bit heavier

[lowangle al]

Does anyone here think the Garmont Syner-g is too much boot for a 3pin Cable binding (on Madshus Epochs). I have T4's but they're the older ones & the liners are killing my feet. I'm ordering some intuitions for them but in the meantime I'm doing a Bolton-Trapps ski in VT this weekend & want to go back to my old Syner-g's. I would imagine they'll work just fine, just a bit heavier

I have skied 4 buckle boots with light Riva cable bindings with no problem and the riva also has a three hole pattern. It probably depends on the ski but I was surprised I never pulled a binding out.

[iBjorn]

Does anyone here think the Garmont Syner-g is too much boot for a 3pin Cable binding (on Madshus Epochs). I have T4's but they're the older ones & the liners are killing my feet. I'm ordering some intuitions for them but in the meantime I'm doing a Bolton-Trapps ski in VT this weekend & want to go back to my old Syner-g's. I would imagine they'll work just fine, just a bit heavier

I havent skied Syner-Gs, but if the bellow flex is soft and there is not to much toe rocker, They will do just fine. I have skied 3-pins in Garmont Kenais, and they worked fine with their soft bellow flex.

[dnt_upton]

Does anyone here think the Garmont Syner-g is too much boot for a 3pin Cable binding (on Madshus Epochs).

I pretty much agree with what the others have said. I have used T4s (suck, sold them but also older version), T2s, and T1s in 3 pin bindings. Activity helps flex the boot, but it's not needed. If you don't try to flex from the toe but drive from the hip/knee through the cuff of the boot, you can use the stiffest of boots in a 3-pin binding.

Does that marriage make sense? Generally, no. But if you have some boots that are far more comfortable than others, I'd always put comfort first. And, I really like stiff boots for control. I like getting that control more from my boots than my bindings (I don't really like any thing stiffer than Axl 1), so I tend to use T1s for 3-pins unless I'm going meadow skipping.

And I don't own skis as skinny as the Epochs. Voile Vector BCs is the skinniest I got.

[connyro]

Does anyone here think the Garmont Syner-g is too much boot for a 3pin Cable binding (on Madshus Epochs). I have T4's but they're the older ones & the liners are killing my feet. I'm ordering some intuitions for them but in the meantime I'm doing a Bolton-Trapps ski in VT this weekend & want to go back to my old Syner-g's. I would imagine they'll work just fine, just a bit heavier

I've skied 3-pins with Syner-g's. They are made from soft plastic similar to the Excursions. The cuff is lowish and the bellows are soft. IIMO, they work fine with 3-pins.

[merak]

Now that I have removed two staples from my inner boot, my Scarpa T4's are perfect in terms of comfortability.

About telemark turns: I tried this weekend in my back country on hard pack - perfect conditions for learning on easy slopes... unfortunately not long enough. I have too much years behind with the alpine technique. It's way easier for me to just ski. However blocking the heel is something I didn't do much often even on AT bindings.

In my opinion these are the best all-round bindings and combined with T4's they rock. On the other hand I would very much like a TLT binding with Dynafit PDG boots but they are extremely expensive so for now I'm happy with what I have.

So for me it's either lowest tech or highest one: 3-pin or TLT. The rest sucks.

...

It's hard to find telemark gear in my country but somehow I managed to buy a pair of Rottefella Chili from some guy: very cheap - $20. So now I have 2 pairs of Voile 3-pin with wires (I don't use them cause I don't feel any difference - so why complicate things?) and this Chili... very anxious to test them.