Dynafit bindings- leash or brakes?

[philfort]

Leashes have saved me from walking down at least one large steep run. And I have yet (knock on wood) to be lacerated by skis-on-a-rope. I've had dynafit leashes break under large forces (e.g. falls in deep wet snow), so I hope they'd do that in an avalanche too - although if I'm using my brain in avy terrain, I often just tuck the leashes in my pant cuffs.

 

Note: I'm now leashless because Sturtevants lost my leashes when they tuned my skis.

[Bug]

I did get whacked in the head once by a ski pinwheeling on the fulcrum created by my sturdy lease. It was in the sixties when leases were required in-area. I was going really fast on hard-packed bumps.

I know, explains a lot.

But I can still tie my shoes and count to four backwards from 5.

 

I woke up on my back with several people looking down at me. Some wore looks of horror due to the red snow. My brothers were laughing and encouraged me to do it again.

[korup]

The brakes are terrible. Dynafits are not always that easy to get into, esp in the snow is wet and/or very deep (no, you do not simply step in); the brakes make a bad problem worse. The level of enginnering of the bindings is amazing, but the brakes are way behind. Last but not least, why add weight? The whole point of Dynafit is that they are light; brakes weigh 100 g, the whole bindng is only 450 g.

[snoboy]

After railing against leashes, I now realize that since they don't make brakes >100mm, I'll be using some sort of leash system for the new PowderBillyBroBrah setup.

 

I've bent the crap out of my Freeride brakes to make them fit bigger skis - anybody know how how pliable/resiliant Dynafit brakes are?

 

Dunno, but apperently you can fit Salomon brake arms into Dynafit brakes with a wee bit o' dtillin'!

[AlpineK]

Safety straps, Safety straps, Safety straps.

 

Safety straps put the fear of god in you, and that's a good thing. I remember as a teen seeing folks that needed stitches after a released ski kicked back and hit them in the face. You need to respect what you're doing.

 

My big bow to safety this year is to wear a helmet. I've never worn one before, but it sounds like something I should take seriously.

[BigSteve]

I know about the crampon attachment failures, which is no concern to me because I use Voile crampons. I have not heard of the other issue. I'll be careful. So far, I love the Comforts.

[BigSteve]

I know about the crampon attachment failures, which is no concern to me because I use Voile crampons. I have not heard of the other issue. I'll be careful. So far, I love the Comforts.

[jordop]

Feck said:

My big bow to safety this year is to wear a helmet. I've never worn one before, but it sounds like something I should take seriously.

 

After seeing my fiance almost get creamed in the head by a stoned nihilist on a snowboard (yes, when there's no snow in the Alps you see some crazy things at Whistler), I think I'm joining the bucket club this year too.

Edited June 4, 2021 by jordop

[hafilax]

I've stopped wearing mine because of neck strain and it's a PITA in the back country. Maybe I should look for a lighter one.

 

Are you sure it wasn't a german nihilist?

'We belief in nossing Lebowski'

[AlpineK]

Yeah I expect the helmet to be a PITA in the backcountry, but after 1 head injury I'd rather whine about an annoying helmet than suffer the down side of head injury again.

[lightD]

I second the vote for the Voile crampons. They were a good solution for my Reverends, which needed about a 100MM crampon.

 

Leashes vs. Brakes - I went with brakes on my Dynafits after being locked into tele biners for the last 15 years or so. Just like BigSteve. I went with the brakes because I was thinking about avy safety, maybe because I hadn't had a choice before with the tele gear.

 

The brakes are a bit sticky. I will try removing one of the springs. No problems with the bindings so far (got about 15 or 20 days on them now?)

[AlpineK]

Fuck breaks; straps straps straps

[G-spotter]

Make sure the helmet you get is a colour other than white, so the rescuers can see it when its the only thing sticking out of the debris.

[hafilax]

I used to wear a forest green jacket with black pants and helmet. The only way my buddies could spot me in the trees was by the orange whistle on my jacket. I guess I'd better replace the white boots in case I go head first into a tree well.

[jport]

Bringing this thread full-circle...

I've decided to get the Dynafit Verticals without brakes. We'll see how the season goes with leashes.

Thanks for all the advice and opinions!

[letsroll]

oh snap, he did it. He getting ready to hang with the "D" Guess I better get my sh%t together so we can fire sh%t off.