Telemark Talk / Telemark Tips Forum

Whoa..this ex-patroller came upon a 10 year old at Sunday River with multiple injuries. Did my good deed, waited for a sled, and left the scene. Almost ten minutes later I finally got my Outlaws Xs back on.These guys are impossible to step in to when on a steep hill.

Felt like a fool trying to get back my skis back on..is there a trick?think in the future I’ll stick with my Freedoms… at least once the bill is in you can jam it down!

Freedoms are easier to get into, that's for sure. How long have you had the Outlaw X's?

I think the trick to getting into Outlaws is to plant both poles on either side of your ski just in front of your binding. The baskets of your poles will hit the front of your binding and keep it from sliding away from you as you step in.

That being said, step in is just on Outlaws than the Rottefellas.

I ski freedoms too. Just tried the outlaw x for the first time. I had no trouble with the 1st ski, but the 2nd one took forever. I was told the claw would break in. Love the way it skied. Thinking of getting the bandit for next year. Maybe the step in will be easier? Or maybe I just suck at it or just used to the freedoms. I love the way the freedom skis but dont likenthe binding itself. Lots of plastic and very complicated. Mounting pattern is also awkward. I'm thinking I may move on from it next season as my in bounds daily driver. It's okay for some touring, like resort up hill , but I never go too far from the road. If it broke, I'd be screwed if I was 6 miles from the trailhead. I like voile transit for longer tours.

With the Freedom (and Freeride) the distance between the toe and duck butt is big enough that it's easy to get your boot positioned. Then you can move the lever down to close the gap, so there's a significant amount of space available for errors in boot placement. For the Meidjo or Lynx, with tech fittings, you just apply downward pressure to engage and that holds the boot in a stable position to lower the duck butt into position.

With the OX, you have to push the toe as far forward as possible to have the space you need to lower the butt into position. If you don't get it fully forward, it won't engage. That makes it harder to get into the binding, as there is very little (like a mm or 2) space available for error. Adding in ski brakes complicates this somewhat.

If you are in and out of bindings a lot, especially if it's in varied terrain and/or deeper snow, the OX is just harder to get into. You learn to overcome that, but for an application like being a ski patrol, they aren't the best option.