Our guide to the best ski touring and Backcountry Bindings welcome to the Backcountry UK Binding Buyers Guide.

The world of Ski Touring and Freeride bindings is changing rapidly so here is our buyers guide to help introduce you to the best ski touring and freeride bindings on the market!

With new systems arriving and existing systems evolving our aim is to introduce the different types of Backcountry bindings and explain some of the differences.

When choosing which system is best for you it’s important to think about the different types of skiing you have planned and what you might want to do in the future. You might want a stand alone lightweight ski touring set up, you might want an off piste set up with limited touring, you might want the hen’s tooth 1 ski quiver that can do everything from the haute route to ripping up the piste! By thinking about the balance of your different skiing needs you can balance the compromises you make.

Binding Types

To start with it is useful useful to divide the types of binding out there in to several different groups, this way you can narrow down the type of binding that will be best suited to your needs. These groups can be subdivided again, some people may choose to split them in a different way but I find the divisions below a useful starting point.

Pin Tech Bindings

ATK pin tech bindings provide all the features you need for around 700gms per pair!

Light weight and with features designed for lots of time climbing up, there are subdivisions within this family that we will come to later and many of the modern Pin Tech bindings are very capable when skiing but generally these bindings are for people intending to do regular days where the only uplift is you legs!

Hybrid Pin Tech / Freeride / Free Touring Bindings

Salomon shift in touring mode

This is the newest family of Backcountry bindings and has been growing in popularity. These bindings feature some aspects of the pin tech system (usually at the toe) but will combine that with a more alpine style heel piece. Here the skiing is more of a priority than the skinning, they are designed for harder skiing, bigger skis or more days from the lift systems, they can still be used for full days of touring and can work well but they will often be heavier than the full pin tech bindings.

Frame Bindings

frame bindings in touring mode

Once very popular, frame bindings are heavier, clunky and hold you higher off the ski. They have now been largely superseded but can still be appropriate in a some situations. Particularly if you don’t have pin fittings in your boots.

GripWalk and MNC binidngs

The new alpine norm, classic alpine sole at the top, gripwalk at the bottom which allows a rocker sole

No touring functions here just traditional downhill bindings but they can be used with some Backcountry Ski boot sole types so are worth knowing about.

Now we’ve introduced the basics it’s time to delve a little further!

The Pin Tech Bindings  

The original design for these clever lightweight bindings was developed by Dynafit over 30 years ago, the design was so good that some some bindings on the market still closely resemble the original version.

Dynafit Rotation 10, an example of Dynafit’s classic system which has evolved over the years.

Pin Tech bindings have several significant advantages over frame bindings when touring. Other than the fact that these bindings are lighter in weight, they also have other advantages:

  • The pivot of the boot, when skinning, feels more natural and is almost free from mechanical resistance.
  • Unlike frame bindings, you don’t have to lift the weight of the binding with every step (zero lift weight) which makes them less tiring over the course of a day.
  • The lower stand height (the height that the binding holds your boot above the ski) gives a more stable feel whilst skiing, pin toes also generally have good lateral power transmission.
  • .. and of course they are much lighter than frame bindings, in some cases less than a quarter of the weight

Something to consider is that most pin binding systems safety releases work in a different way to that of Alpine downhill bindings with the lateral (sideways) release component being at the heel instead of the toe. There are some Pin Tech bindings available which do offer a lateral toe release, making their release characteristics more similar to those of Alpine Bindings but we have found that some of these bindings work more effectively than others and boot compatibility is a problem.

The debate about how much difference lateral toe and lateral heel release make to the safety of the skier is complicated, in essence both systems are generally safe, manufacturers who make both types say that there is no safety difference between the two systems, though be aware there are certain falls that you can have on either system which could still cause injury. My view is that bothe systems are safe to use for experienced off piste skiers but if you are a light skier or likely to have lots of low speed falls then on balance a lateral toe release can help to reduce the risk of some common leg injuries but your boot must work correctly with the bindings, this can be serious problem particularly for pin bindings with lateral toe release. As a rule I would aviod lateral toe release bindings that use the toe pins when skiing as the compatibility pitfalls are too great.

I consider bindings with lateral heel release to be safe but I think it’s true that they are better suited to competent off piste skiers who will be less likely to have lots of low speed falls.

The most important consideration is to get a binding that is compatible with your boot and make sure it is correctly set up.

A few years ago the patent on these pin tech binding systems lapsed and there was an explosion in development with most binding brands now having at least one offering. You can roughly divide them onwhether there is any adjustment in the vertical heel release. Those with adjustable release tend to be slightly heavier and those without use U springs at the heel which can work well but mean you can’t fine tune the settings for each skier.

U spring Pin Tech Bindings

Marker alpinist 9, brake option available but no vertical release adjustment

These are the lightest bindings available, (expect weights per pair of 300 to 700 grams per pair) some derived from Skimo race bindings, others have evolved from ski touring designs. These super light bindings are focused on shaving every gram off to help on the ascent and are in the most part suited to ski set ups that will be spending more time touring than anything else.

In the past these bindings would have no brakes, the adjustment of the releases would be limited to the lateral component and they would often have limited features like 1 climbing position and no means of adjusting the length for different boots.

Now though we are seeing some designs which have a brakes, adjustment in lateral release values and length setting an multiple climbing heights in this lightest class of bindings which makes some of them more suitable for a wider range of uses.

There is a big variety within this class so take care to choose a binding that is suitable for your skis and skiing activities, this section alone could turn into an essay but to keep things clear, for most people we recommend ski brakes and having some adjustment in the length will future proof your skis. We prefer fully adjustable releases in the horizontal and vertical but if you are buying a binding which just has horizontal adjustment (eg. Marker Alpinists, Salomon T MTN or Dynafit Superlite 2) make sure that the U springs that you are using are appropriate for you. For the fast and light tourers and alpinists bindings such as ATK Trofeo can do the job well and are less than 300gms / pair, they are not designed for hammering the resorts though!

The modern U spring bindings are often very clever, they can make a difference on long tours with big climbs and ski mountaineering objectives but they can be a bit limited and might not have all the features you want, so they are best suited to regular ski tourers and ski mountaineers on a dedicated lightweight touring set up.

The marker alpinist, ATK Kuluar and trofeo and dynafit superlight all fit in this class.

All Round Ski Touring Pin Bindings

ATK Raider 11 Evo, 0.7kg per pair with brakes and fully adjustable releases

This is the category for most recreational ski tourers as they generally offer more robust construction, reliability and functionality without getting too heavy for big days of touring.

Expect these bindings to have ski brakes, fully adjustable release setting in the horizontal and vertical with improved release characteristics such as AFD’s, sprung heel pieces to allow the ski to flex whilst maintaining the vertical release values, 3 stage climbing positions and good ski performance.

These bindings usually weigh between 600gms to 1.2KGs per pair and often have features which are designed to make them a bit easier to use when stepping in.

The line up of ski touring bindings is quite diverse with some great options out there. Most ski tourers will get years of service and everything they need from one of these bindings and most are suitable for doing most of your skiing on including some resort trips.

ATK Raiders and Crests, Dynafit rotations, G3 Ions etc all fit in this class.

Hybrid or Freeride, Freetour Bindings. Ski Performance pin bindings

Salomon shift hybrid touring bindings

This is the newest category of pin bindings and it has really gathered momentum in the last few seasons. They are touring binding systems which have been developed to give maximum ski performance and safety whilst still being light enough to do some touring.

These bindings feature a combination of a pin tech and a more conventional Alpine style heel which presses the boot down to the ski for improved ski performance, this can give the skier the best of both worlds.

They have lower ‘stand heights’ (the height of the boot above the ski) than older frame freeride bindings making them more stable and the safety releases will often have a higher DIN range than the normal Pin Tech touring bindings for harder skiing.

Some of these bindings feature lateral toe releases in the same style as alpine bindings (The Salomon Shift for example is a full alpine binding when skiing) and all will comfortably drive modern wide freeride skis and stand up to hard skiing making them suitable for lift served resort skiing as well as many ski touring trips. Typically these bindings will be a little heavier weighing in between 1.2KGs and 2.2KGs per pair so are more aimed at people skiing hard and doing shorter day tours from the lifts though they can still work well on the occasional multi day touring trip.

Everyone wants the best ski performance they can get and as the number of people wanting to go ski touring increases and the number of ski boots on the market which have pin tech fittings grows, we expect this category to continue to be the biggest growth area in the market.  

Marker Kingpin M-Werks Are a lighter version of markers famous kingpin, they are solid to ski and good to tour and also the lightest in this class.

Marker Duke PT are all about boot retention and elasticity but we feel these are too heavy and faffy for anyone doing any reasonable amount of touring, could be great for the hardest of chargers who won’t be hiking often though.

Frame Touring Bindings

These are the type of binding we were all using a few years ago, where the boot is clipped into a aluminium or plastic frame which is hinged at the toe. This frame is locked down at the heel to ski but unlocked to tour. When skinning the whole binding frame is lifted with the boot.

It’s fair to say that these frame bindings have reduced in sales massively over the last few of seasons as the weight saving of moving to pin tech bindings is dramatic and the ski performance a safety features of pin bindings has improved.

There is, however, still a place for these binding systems as their ease of use, reliability, safety performance and value for money can make them a good choice for people just getting started, they are the only touring bindings that can be used with a boot that doesn’t have tech inserts too.

GripWalk & MNC Touring Boot Compatible Alpine Bindings.

The final family of bindings we’ll look at in this article aren’t touring bindings at all, but they are of interest to the anyone who uses Backcountry Ski Boots.

Salomon, atomic and armarda strive bindings the latest high performace MNC alpine bindings

GripWalk is a system that allows people to use a GripWalk touring boot sole or a standard alpine boot sole in the same binding without making any adjustments. It is a good system that cleared up some of the mess caused by the competing multiple norms that emerged. The GripWalk boot soles aren’t as good as a ‘proper’ touring boot sole for hiking around off your skis but they are way better than an alpine sole. As many alpine bindings are now being produced GripWalk compatible expect to see more of this sole type around.

MNC or multi norm compatible bindings will work with normal alpine ISO5355 and touring boot ISO 9523. These bindings differ from ‘normal’ and Grip walk downhill bindings in 2 ways, they will have a system for adjusting the depth of the toe height, and they should have a moving AFD (Anti Friction Device) which is designed to reduce the friction against the binding caused by the rubber boot sole.


Hopefully this article is of help, please get in touch if you have any questions!