22 / 76
rope, and none except the
original TTS showing
at the Outdoor Re-
tailer show. Moonlight
Mountain Gear, from
Norway, takes the TTS
concept and adds a heel
stabilizer and/or a
tech-style heel to lock
the heel. ATK from Ita-
ly created the Newmark,
a 2-pin version of a simple
3-pin binding with the
same lack of
activity
added, but even better touring. And then there’s the
Meidjo (pronounced: May’-joe) from The M Equipment
out of France, which combines a low-tech toe with an
NTN hook for use with NTN boots. It garnered a gold
award for innovation at last year’s ISPO, and this year
will deliver a binding with step-in simplicity, ski brakes,
safety release (uncalibrated), optional crampons and an
optional locking heel unit. Word from those who have
tried these year’s v2.0 is a unanimous two thumbs up.
The price of these new bindings might make
the old school telemarker’s choke, but as ABS and
Dynafit proved, price is no barrier if there’s value
behind it. Prices for NTN bindings range from
$375 to $600.
The important part of this adaption of Dynafit
technology to the telemark realm is a boot with tech
inserts. The discouraging news is that the available
models of NTN boots that work with these bindings is
limited to four models this year, all in need of revi-
sions. The encouraging news is that Scott will add
genuine Dynafit inserts to the Voodoo next year, and
Scarpa is gearing up for change, but not soon enough
to show this year.
If you’re thinking that this is just another attempt at
promoting the comatose cause of telemark, you might
be right. But paradigm shifts take time to build roots
and grow, and this has all the ingredients needed. The
antiquated 75mm norm has peaked in terms of interest
and ability. Even leading Nordic manufacturers realized
this decades ago, when the NNN and SNS systems were
created to provide a pivot rather than a flexible to sole
to allow more efficient striding.
To improve performance available in a telemark system
the boot binding combination needed to change, and
Rottefella spearheaded the New Telemark Norm eight
years ago. As with Dynafit, it might take another 10 for it
to catch fire with consumers, but the passion that drives
people to free their heels will not be denied, and it is show-
ing up with some very ingenious designs.
In addition, as the historical record shows, product
innovation drives consumer interest. The changes in the
alpine world are small compared to the shift that is oc-
curring in telemark bindings these days. But here’s the
unexpected, potential side benefit: the Dynafit 2-pin tech
toe could be used as the basis of a Nordic binding too, not
just for Nordic downhill, aka, telemark.
As a retailer, you need to stay abreast of the changes
in gear that affect what you’ll be selling next season.
Most everything at the show is a revision to existing
designs, refinements to better meet the demands of your
customers. There’s no better place to find out about that
than the annual trade shows, where you can put your
hands on the product, or your feet in them, and meet
the people involved face to face. But the other part is
finding out where things are headed. Unfortunately,
most of that is happening outside the boundaries of the
trade show, but that’s poetically appropriate for back-
country gear, doncha think?
Dynafit continues the light revolution with
the new TLT 7 Carbonio boot.
Photo courtesy Bergans of Norway; Osterrike
Inside
Outdoor
|
Winter
2016
22