• For more information on how to avoid pop-up ads and still support SkiTalk click HERE.

Advice Needed - Replace non-indemnified bindings on older skis in good condition?

Alexzn

Ski Squaw
Skier
Joined
Nov 13, 2015
Posts
1,956
Location
Bay Area and Truckee
I’m very curious now as well so I’m attaching some photos. I was also able to find my email receipt from backcountry back in April 2007 and the line item description calls it FFG 14 Driver binding.
This looks basically identical to a Salomon STH Driver binding, a progenitor of the current STH2, one of the best on the market.
But your problem is actually different: unless your new boot has radically shorter/longer sole than the old boot, redrilling will place the new holes too close to the old ones. In this case a new binding with a different hole pattern is a safer bet. This STH is a great binding though, I'd keep it.
 
Thread Starter
TS
J

Jerk85

Booting up
Skier
Joined
Dec 28, 2019
Posts
10
Location
Los Angeles
But your problem is actually different: unless your new boot has radically shorter/longer sole than the old boot, redrilling will place the new holes too close to the old ones. In this case a new binding with a different hole pattern is a safer bet. This STH is a great binding though, I'd keep it.

342mm (old) vs 325mm (new). Actually when I bought them, with bindings already mounted, they had to be remounted because the 342mm boot was too long. Is it possible to remount in the previously drilled holes? Or does this mean binding with different hole pattern would be required?
 

Alexzn

Ski Squaw
Skier
Joined
Nov 13, 2015
Posts
1,956
Location
Bay Area and Truckee
342mm (old) vs 325mm (new). Actually when I bought them, with bindings already mounted, they had to be remounted because the 342mm boot was too long. Is it possible to remount in the previously drilled holes? Or does this mean binding with different hole pattern would be required?
Wow, someone really screwed up your boots the first time....

my guess is that when they remounted, they moved the heel some extra space back to separate the holes, this is why you can’t adjust them now. I’d take the skis and boots to a shop, let them pull the bindings off and look at the holes. If the old ones were properly sealed after remount you may be in luck. If there were not sealed, chances are the ski is trashed anyway because of water damage to the core.
 
Thread Starter
TS
J

Jerk85

Booting up
Skier
Joined
Dec 28, 2019
Posts
10
Location
Los Angeles
Wow, someone really screwed up your boots the first time....

Tell me about it. Had them for a long time and learned about the importance of proper boot fit over time. I assumed since they fit snug and I could ski all day without pain I got lucky. Only recently with the new boots have I discovered what I was missing with my heel really locked in!
 
Thread Starter
TS
J

Jerk85

Booting up
Skier
Joined
Dec 28, 2019
Posts
10
Location
Los Angeles
Hi All, I found a shop that will service these bindings if I can find a marking that indicates they are in fact FFG 14 Drivers. The 614 decal is kinda messing things up. Anyone have an idea where I might find a model marking somewhere on this binding?
 

sdmay59

Booting up
Skier
Joined
Apr 17, 2021
Posts
14
Location
PA
What about replacing xentrix bindings on 2005 Atomic SX 10 Puls ti skis? Skis are still good but pretty sure these bindings no longer indemnified. Had the heel pieces replaced under recall issue back in 2010-11 or so. Wondering if there is a indemnified replacement available.
 

Philpug

Notorious P.U.G.
Admin
SkiTalk Tester
Joined
Nov 1, 2015
Posts
42,624
Location
Reno, eNVy
What about replacing xentrix bindings on 2005 Atomic SX 10 Puls ti skis? Skis are still good but pretty sure these bindings no longer indemnified. Had the heel pieces replaced under recall issue back in 2010-11 or so. Wondering if there is a indemnified replacement available.
A Neox should have the same pattern, I don't recall. Look for used Metrons, you should be able to find them for less than 100. But honestly, time to consider something form the last decade or so.
 

Uncle-A

In the words of Paul Simon "You can call me Al"
Skier
Joined
Dec 22, 2015
Posts
10,893
Location
NJ
I would just remount the heel myself. You can remove the heel plate, move it forward 1.5 CM and make sure you seal up the old holes. It is not very technical especially since you already know how to slide the heel on the base plate. Use graph paper over the old holes to make a template and just use your template to drill the new ones.
 

cantunamunch

Meh
Skier
Joined
Nov 17, 2015
Posts
21,882
Location
Behavioral sink
A Neox should have the same pattern, I don't recall. Look for used Metrons, you should be able to find them for less than 100. But honestly, time to consider something form the last decade or so.

They're not identical, but a lot of the plastic lifters had drillings or marks for both.
 

sdmay59

Booting up
Skier
Joined
Apr 17, 2021
Posts
14
Location
PA
A Neox should have the same pattern, I don't recall. Look for used Metrons, you should be able to find them for less than 100. But honestly, time to consider something form the last decade or so.
Thanks, I'll follow up on that. They are long in the tooth. I have some newer skis in my quiver but still pull out the good old SX 10s now and then for the "packed powder".
 
Thread Starter
TS
J

Jerk85

Booting up
Skier
Joined
Dec 28, 2019
Posts
10
Location
Los Angeles
How ironic that this thread has resurfaced after going dormant nearly two years ago. When I created this thread I was trying to figure out what to do with my now non-indemnified bindings on perfectly good skis. The experts on this board convinced me there was likely nothing wrong with my bindings. Alas, I was not comfortable trying to remount them myself so I figured, why not demo new skis and see how the newest models felt with my new boots? Just a couple weeks after my post, while on day three of demoing skis in my brand new boots, I fell on steep terrain in icy conditions. Wearing skis fresh from the factory with never-before used, fully indemnified bindings, my left binding failed to release as I slid and tumbled, unable to arrest my slide. I ended up with my first ever skiing injury: a compound tib/fib fracture. Three surgeries later, countless hours of PT, and with a lot of hopeful optimism, I’m preparing to finally return to skiing this winter. I’ve got some new hardware: titanium reinforcement in my lower leg and new skis that are about to be mounted (yes, new fully indemnified bindings).

It just makes me think how silly the whole indemnification thing is. I don’t think there was anything wrong with my old bindings. Nor do I think there was anything particularly wrong with the bindings that failed to release and caused my injury. This is a sport with certain inherent risks. Modern bindings are amazing safety devices that have prevented countless more serious injuries…. But they aren’t perfect. Sometimes your luck just runs out. Thank God for the amazing ski patrol, the paramedics, everyone in the ER, my incredible orthopedic and plastic surgeons, my physical therapists. I get to ski again! Perhaps a bit more cautiously at first.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Edit: most importantly, thanks to my wife who took care of me for months while I was non-weight bearing, and at the onset of pandemic lockdown no less. Somehow she has agreed to let me ski again, though she’s convinced I’m crazy ;-)
 
Last edited:

pchewn

Skiing the powder
Skier
Joined
Apr 24, 2017
Posts
2,607
Location
Beaverton OR USA
Heal quickly and completely, fellow ski brother. I too tested my marriage with my wife taking care of me for 8 weeks while I was in traction on a hospital bed in our family room.

I do want to make one point:
Nor do I think there was anything particularly wrong with the bindings that failed to release and caused my injury.

The bindings never cause an injury when they don't release. They can contribute to lessening an injury by releasing, or they can not release and fail to lessen the injury. The cause of the injury is the fall or the collision that puts lots of force on your body.

Think of it this way: Seat belts don't cause injuries. Car accidents cause injuries. Seat belts just help to reduce the severity of the injuries due to accidents (when they work properly). If the seat belt fails to keep you from flying through the windshield, it did not cause you to fly through the windshield.
 
Thread Starter
TS
J

Jerk85

Booting up
Skier
Joined
Dec 28, 2019
Posts
10
Location
Los Angeles
The bindings never cause an injury when they don't release. They can contribute to lessening an injury by releasing, or they can not release and fail to lessen the injury. The cause of the injury is the fall or the collision that puts lots of force on your body.

Very true. Physics wins every time. And to be clear, it was my own technical mistake that led to my uncontrolled slide. The binding had nothing to do with that. Actually I think I’m quite fortunate that the result was a couple clean bone breaks. My knee was unscathed. Also managed to avoid the rocks and it all occurred above timber line.
 

Rdputnam515

Getting off the lift
Skier
Joined
Feb 2, 2021
Posts
702
Location
Front Range, Colorado
Funny this thread popped up, I have an old pair of G3s I’d like to ski but the marker piston control bindings are not indemnified anymore.

i i should replace and use the skis for hardback/mogul days lol
 

Sponsor

Top