Dynafit binding failures

[CascadeClimber]

My Dynafit Speed Radical bindings failed a couple weekends ago and Dynafit is denying the warranty claim since they are more than two years old, even though I have less that 30 days skiing on them. I've been asking around and so far everyone I've asked has either had the same problem or knows someone who has. It seems to me that Dynafit either chose an improper material or the design has severe stress risers causing premature failure.

 

If you or someone you know has had a failure like or similar to the issue below please post back here or contact me directly. I think Dynafit should be recalling or at least replacing these bindings when they fail.

 

Loren

loren@cascadeclimber.com

 

[DPS]

Shit, I literally just bought a pair of these yesterday.

[jakedouglas]

Dan, not to diminish how lame the problem is for those that have had it happen, but we have 4 pairs of Speed Radicals and I have found them very reliable. Based on my experience I would probably not stress this so much as to regret your purchase.

[AlpineK]

I've got a pair with 6 days use. Hopefully that doesn't happen.

[Jcweinsx]

I broke a top plate and had a toe piece with a defective wing. Salewa NA sent me replacements. I'd buy radicals again. I'm prob not the normal user profile - 200 lbs and I have a gift for breaking almost anything without trying. I even broke the heel riser mechanism on a pair of dukes. Most of my binding issues occurred skinning in shitty snow conditions with rocks. My gear lasts a lot longer now that I gave up on turns all year.

[astrov]

Yep, I have. I could get on this bandwagon.

[Linnaeus]

I think this is a result of the anti rotation pin that you can see (bronze colored) at the base of the heel, which was a new "feature" when they transitioned to the Radical line from the older Verticals. The new Dynafits are made to only rotate one direction, if you try to rotate it in the opposite direction you can blow up the plastic, as evidenced above. When they first noticed this problem, they supplied different bronze pins that were designed to fail before the plastic did; then they made brakes mandatory on the Radicals and incorporated an anti rotation mechanism into the brake in order to prevent these failures. There is some more info to this effect on WildSnow. I had a blown up heel from the very first year of the new Radicals and Dynafit NA sent me two new heels that had the slightly new design with reinforced plastic down there.

[chris]

+1 for Linaeus observations.

 

There was a voluntary recall in Fall 2015 for the 2011-2012 Radical 1.0 heel towers. Do a google search for "Dynafit radical recall" and you'll find a ton of information, including the Wild Snow post mentioned earlier. Give Mike Yost a call at Pro Ski and Mountain Services in North Bend and he'll probably know the latest.

 

UPDATE: I see you have a lot more to say about this over on TAY.

Edited February 19, 2016 by chris