Plum Bindings

Posted: Friday, December 16th, 2011 at 11:25 am

Plum Bindings Image

The funny thing about patents is that while yours is active everyone else is engineering their own version of your product to be ready when your patent expires. Mousetrap factories if you will. Dynafit has been the top dog for years in the light weight AT market. You couldn’t really get a lighter binding that was also durable and skied well. A couple years ago Dynafits patent expired and G3 was quick to release their “tech” binding (we could no longer call them Dynafit bindings or fittings). The G3 had some nice improvements, easier to switch between tour and ski mode. A more positive retention mode. But it wasn’t significantly lighter.

Enter the Plum bindings. French company Plum, previously known in Europe for its stripped-down fixed-release  rando race bindings. The Plum Guide weighs roughly the same as the Dynafit Speed but is lower overall in height. It also offers 30mm of adjustment vs. 6mm from Dynafit. Another nice feature is the lack of plastic plates under the main binding, as well as incorporating the ski crampon mounting slot into the metal of the binding. Less stuff to break! A couple other key differences, great retention value, at only 4mm space between heel unit and boot heel (vs. Dynafit 5mm & 6mm spacing) – more heel pin insertion, while still allowing full ski flex.  Allows for greater boot retention, with minimal ‘pre-release’ or ‘boot-out’ occurrences, or potential. Lower ‘ramp angle’ than Dynafit Vert./Radical series — less ‘high-heel’ feeling when in “ski” mode.  Improves skier stability.  Allows for more balanced, upright stance.

Come on down or call if you have questions or would like to see the newest entry into the “tech” binding world.