22-23 - New Atomic Bindings for DIN 24/30?

[Snuckerpooks]

Went to pick up a fancy sidewall cutter from my local sports shop that has some staff currently on the demonstration scene here in Japan. They chatted me up as usual being the only foreigner guy that ski races in addition to Japow. But they brought out some skis from out back that were being specially held for the sponsored college kids when they get back from races to do some testing.

I had seen skis from Atomic for next year but this is the first time I've seen a new binding. Some rumors about partnering with Marker through years with Mikaela and Hirscher. And this is the supposed result.

Left is being called ICON 24 and ICON 30 due to their respective DIN's. VAR on the right is still available up to 16, but beyond that is ICON.
The plate changes as well. The rear binding also looks like a marker shape.

Is this something that went under the radar? I haven't heard a thing about it. I can't find anything in English about it, only Japanese.

 

[Philpug]

I played with it about a month ago ... well the blue version. It is very burly and very expensive.

And of course the Atomic version.

 

[tch]

DIN 30 ?!?!?!
Holy F*ck! What kind of crash do you have to experience before that thing releases? Head-on collision with a freight train?

 

[Philpug]

DIN 30 ?!?!?!
Holy F*ck! What kind of crash do you have to experience before that thing releases? Head-on collision with a freight train?

For when the 24's are too warm and fuzzy. Have you ever flexed a WC downhill ski? If so, you know how stiff they are. Then watch this video...
...and around the 2:00 mark you will see a DH ski flop around like it is a $199 package ski.

 

[Rudi Riet]

This binding has been in development for years - only now is it being openly acknowledged by Atomic and Salomon as an actual catalog item.

But as they say: if you need this binding Atomic/Salomon will find you. In other words: it'll go to their top sponsored alpine racers and given the DIN range will certainly not be available to mere mortals.

 

[slowrider]

That Blue Solomon toe piece looks huge or Phil has small hands.

 

[Philpug]

But as they say: if you need this binding Atomic/Salomon will find you.

B-I-N-G-O

That Blue Solomon toe piece looks huge or Phil has small hands.

I said it was pretty burly.

 

[Andy Mink]

DIN 30 ?!?!?!
Holy F*ck! What kind of crash do you have to experience before that thing releases? Head-on collision with a freight train?

At some point you'd think the screws would just pull out of the ski before the binding releases. Just weld them shut after the boots are in.

 

[Primoz]

DIN 30 ?!?!?!
Holy F*ck! What kind of crash do you have to experience before that thing releases? Head-on collision with a freight train?

I honestly doubt Marker has/had these values based on DIN. There's not a single binding out of Marker that has DIN more then 20, and they are used to race exactly same WC courses, normally with more success then Marker. Every other bindings (Look, Tyrolia...) are up to 20 (for DH and up to 16 or 18 for tech), while Marker starts at 20. If these values would be same and comparable, there's simply no way you would ever see any kind of release (not even wanted one) with Marker, which makes me think these are not DIN values but a value that Marker put out.

 

[Rudi Riet]

Yup. Basically any DIN above 10 is in a weird zone. Binding calibration tests can officially handle settings up to around 14 or so, but after that it's basically "I don't want this thing to release."

So the upper limit settings are basically slight variations on "super tight, ski shouldn't chatter off, etc." Yet still you'll see athletes release from their skis at inopportune times. As I say to my athletes: a binding is a dumb clamp. It doesn't really know anything, it's not judgemental. It's just a spring-loaded clamp that should release when enough pressure is applied a certain way.

Often it works well.

Sometimes it doesn't.

When racing at 130km/hr, you want it to simply keep that ski on your foot - nothing more, nothing less.

 

[Philpug]

I honestly doubt Marker has/had these values based on DIN. There's not a single binding out of Marker that has DIN more then 20, and they are used to race exactly same WC courses, normally with more success then Marker. Every other bindings (Look, Tyrolia...) are up to 20 (for DH and up to 16 or 18 for tech), while Marker starts at 20. If these values would be same and comparable, there's simply no way you would ever see any kind of release (not even wanted one) with Marker, which makes me think these are not DIN values but a value that Marker put out.

I agree, the numbers here are really irrelevant. I doubt there are too many conversations that start "Coach, I don't really feel confident as 23... I think you need to crank it up to 27..."

What will blow the minds of some here is the heel body of these is a composite and not fully metal. Building this all new binding from scratch, Amer could have used anything from Unobtainuim to Transparent Aluminum but they chose a composite material to hold a spring that will have genetically enhanced gorilla like power.

 

[Toddski13]

At some point you'd think the screws would just pull out of the ski before the binding releases. Just weld them shut after the boots are in.

When I was 17 I got my first non-coaching industry job working in the Dynastar/Lange service center, which was in Colchester, VT then. My first day I noticed a pair of Deflex plates with Salomon bindings still attached mounted on the wall over one of the service benches. When I asked about them I learned that they had been attached to Chad Fleischer when he crashed off the finish jump at Kitzbuhel. I say attached to Fleischer because the bindings stayed attached to his boots and the plates - but the Deflex plates peeled off his skis. If you ever removed a pair of properly installed Deflex plates you can imagine what that took to rip out the screws and break the glue loose. Apparently some of the Salomon guys in the finish area ran out on course and removed the screws from the bindings before anyone could really see what was going on.

 

[Philpug]

A downhill ski exploding

 

[Snuckerpooks]

When I was 17 I got my first non-coaching industry job working in the Dynastar/Lange service center, which was in Colchester, VT then. My first day I noticed a pair of Deflex plates with Salomon bindings still attached mounted on the wall over one of the service benches. When I asked about them I learned that they had been attached to Chad Fleischer when he crashed off the finish jump at Kitzbuhel. I say attached to Fleischer because the bindings stayed attached to his boots and the plates - but the Deflex plates peeled off his skis. If you ever removed a pair of properly installed Deflex plates you can imagine what that took to rip out the screws and break the glue loose. Apparently some of the Salomon guys in the finish area ran out on course and removed the screws from the bindings before anyone could really see what was going on.

I remember watching a youtube video on it with Chad Fleischer being interviewed.

Why did some Salomon guys supposedly remove the screws from the bindings? It seems like the damage and assessment could be viewed in plain sight.
And also, how did the plates and bindings for Salomon find their way to a Dynastar/Lange facility?

 

[Toddski13]

I remember watching a youtube video on it with Chad Fleischer being interviewed.

Why did some Salomon guys supposedly remove the screws from the bindings? It seems like the damage and assessment could be viewed in plain sight.
And also, how did the plates and bindings for Salomon find their way to a Dynastar/Lange facility?

I think they were aiming to keep it quiet just how aggressive the springs that were in the housings were. He was a Dynastar athlete at the time, so they came back to the service center as a souvenir.

 

[Ivan]

I just stumbled upon a pair of Salomon GS skis with Icon 30 bindings on Sidelineswap a couple of days ago. Honestly, though, other than a very high level athlete (who would probably be sponsored anyway), I cannot imagine anyone who would want to actually ski in these bindings; only have them as a souvenir.

 

[bbbradley]

I just stumbled upon a pair of Salomon GS skis with Icon 30 bindings on Sidelineswap a couple of days ago. Honestly, though, other than a very high level athlete (who would probably be sponsored anyway), I cannot imagine anyone who would want to actually ski in these bindings; only have them as a souvenir.

If I were in the market for a 193/30, I'd have no issue with a 30 DIN binding. They'd make a decent SG ski for the courses I've run on the East Coast where some of the 40m skis are more of a liability than anything else.

 

[Ivan]

If I were in the market for a 193/30, I'd have no issue with a 30 DIN binding. They'd make a decent SG ski for the courses I've run on the East Coast where some of the 40m skis are more of a liability than anything else.

I guess there are two potential issues here. First, the problem is not that they run up to 30; the problem is that they start at 20. Even for SG, that's a lot.

Second, as @Primoz and @Philpug noted above, it's not clear how relevant these numbers are. From recent Van Deer-related Instagram posts, it is clear that their athletes are using Look PX 18 bindings:

Pic from this Instagram post; sorry, couldn't just normally share the Instagarm post inside my post because the link wasn't workin.

I highly doubt that one brand would be supplying 11-18 DIN bindings, while another one would be supplying 20-30 DIN bindings for the same level of competition. But then, if these numbers are just irrelevant or arbitrary, how exactly would one know what they are getting?

 

[Philpug]

Numbers? We don't need no stinking numbers!!

 

[bbbradley]

I guess there are two potential issues here. First, the problem is not that they run up to 30; the problem is that they start at 20. Even for SG, that's a lot.

On my race skis I generally have DIN set at ~16-18, at that point, popping up another few clicks is grey vs gray.

FWIW, I am 6'1, ~185, then throw in all the gear and my bindings feel ~200+ lb worth of skier knocking them into hard, east coast snow.