Sorry we missed your comment, Claire! I think you’ll be happy whichever route you go. The Vipecs are a little easier on the switch, and lighter, but the Tectons do ski a bit better.

Thanks for your comment and compliments Ben! So far, the durability of this binding has been great. Yes, it’s a lot of plastic. But, traditional alpine bindings are made of the same material as these and withstand exceptional use over many years. The older Fritschi Freerides were also made with a similar plastic. We used several pairs over many years and I we only had one break in the field – and that binding was probably close to ten years old. As far as forces incurred by climbing risers – haven’t had a problem. Remember that when you use risers, still only a fraction of your weight actually ends up on these risers. The rest of the force is distributed through the foot/boot to the front of the binding, and the majority of the time most people tour, more force is usually near the toe rather than the heel – despite the fact that sometimes you feel you need to put more pressure on your heel to help with traction while skinning up steep slopes. Plus, the forces of touring are nowhere near the forces encountered while skiing, when you start using centripetal forces to engage and really bend your ski. So, I don’t see the use of the climbing risers while skinning to have a negative impact on the durability of the binding and have not seen any signs that would indicate otherwise! Hope that helps!

Hope you guys have a great season in the Swiss Alps. Much snow there yet?

I used to live in the Gunnison Valley and dabbled in touring (on heavy freeride skis and dukes) while I was there. My friends mentioned your blog and I’ve been following it since I lived in the valley! Your trip reports and honest reviews of gear like this provide some informative reading. I’ve since moved to the Swiss Alps and have embraced the tech binding lifestyle but I’m less keen on the harshness I feel from my atk freeraider bindings so I’m quite interested in a binding that absorbs some vibration, but I also want something that is durable.

Thanks for creating this awesome content,