riser plates in the backcountry?

[lilcliffy]

Thanks fir the post iBjorn! Very helpful.

What are your thoughts on the 3-pin cable versus hardwire on the Kom + T4?

[Johnny]

The only advantage with riser plates is when edging skinny skis (sub-70 waist) in icy conditions (and that can be a life-threating thing in delicate situations when the binding hits the ice and the next thing is that you are going down the icy sloope at 50mph on your gore-tex ass...). But otherwise it would only add bulk, weight and most importantly, you will loose contact with your ski. The closer the binding is to the ski, the better control you will have.

This has been discussed several times but what iBjorn said is *exactly* my opinion too. I have several skis with risers to prevent lifting, but there is not other use for XCD. They do offer more leverage for carving but that's another story, not relevant for XCD.

I wouldn't bother with HWs, that's overkill. You don't even need cables at all. T4's are more than enough to drive the Koms... On both steeps and difficult snow... The only situation I can think where cables (and risers) would be useful is for carving groomers... ST+T4, no need for fancy cables... No need for extra weight or the extra dough...

I had a couple pairs of TeleBulldogs and they would be perfect for your situation... They are slightly heavier than Super Telemarks but they offer better control... And they are step-in too...

Cables:

[STG]

iBjorn:

Think you are right on about the risers. Not needed except in limited circumstances.

[iBjorn]

I forget to mention one advantage with riser plates, it is that you will get a stronger 4-hole mount for the binding to the ski.

I am not familiar with your the (snow) conditions you are going to use the Koms within, neither am I familiar with the Kom ski. But 162cm is fairly short for a Telemark ski, and there is a risk for the uphill skis tip to dive under the snow - and this risk/effect increases the more active the binding is. On the other hand the Koms seems to be a rather wide ski, and wide skis usually needs active bindings.

I think that simple 3-pins, carefully mounted with epoxy, would be a good shot if the skis were slightly more narrow, partly due to their length. So therefore, my advice would be the 3-pin cable, then you can try it as a simple 3-pin and if it is to passive you can hook up the cable. If you want stronger springs it might be possible to modify hardwires springs to fit (I dont think they fit straight up), but I think there might be problem with tip dive with more active bindings.

Telebulldogs are otherwise a very good option, especially if you can get one of the older LiteDogz (out of production nowadays). The LiteDogz are my favorite Tele binding ever.

Nonetheless, since I am not familiar with the Altai Kom ski, or your snow conditions - perhaps other here at the forum could confirm or critize my advice!

[lowangle al]

I don't think riser plates will help you or hyrt you. You will probably be fine with just a cable but I think the toe box and bail on the HW is beefier, while at the same time offering real good ROM for K&G without the heel throws and with the bail only clicked down once. You will ever need more binding than the HW IMO. They can also be skied very inactive because you can adjust the HWs loose and not worry about loosing a ski.

As far as using cables I can ski with or without them but I enjoy skiing more with them. I like that I have more control over an unweighted ski with them. This can be either in turn transitions or herrinboning and sidestepping.

[Harris]

As far as flex- again you are right- this is a more important question- and I really am not experienced enough with modern Telemark bindings to know the differences.

I read reviews that say active bindings, NTN included, "give you better edge control." Call me wild or stupid, but I've skied a lot of iterations of the tele binding/boot and my opinion is that more active bindings give you only two major advantages: it isn't necessarily that they turn better, but they do do straight-line run better, especially when the snow is shit, chunked or chopped-up powder pile and... And they help save gas on groomers and or powder packed powder because they are spring-loaded to heel down, which means they help the thighs by doing work for them. But as for turning feel, I prefer a lot less active than other-wise. I went to NTN because I wanted the sales pitch and modernity. I went back to duckbill because I think it actually turns in telemark better. The whole thing is rob Peter to pay Paul. IMO.

[Harris]

As far as flex- again you are right- this is a more important question- and I really am not experienced enough with modern Telemark bindings to know the differences.

I read reviews that say active bindings, NTN included, "give you better edge control." Call me wild or stupid, but I've skied a lot of iterations of the tele binding/boot and my opinion is that more active bindings give you only two major advantages: it isn't necessarily that they turn better, but they do do straight-line run better, especially when the snow is shit, chunked or chopped-up powder pile and... And they help save gas on groomers and or powder packed powder because they are spring-loaded to heel down, which means they help the thighs by doing work for them. But as for turning feel, I prefer a lot less active than other-wise. I went to NTN because I wanted the sales pitch and modernity. I went back to duckbill because I think it actually turns in telemark better. Also, a guy skiing park, switch or dropping cliffs will probably be a NTN guy; they require the heel down resistance. But as for executing the turn, the whole thing is rob Peter to pay Paul, and I think you gain more control with active when not turning but gain much better actual, telemark turning ability the less active your setup. IMO.

[lowangle al]

An active binding will get the rear ski to turn even if not properly weighted through tip pressure.

[Johnny]

An active binding will get the rear ski to turn even if not properly weighted through tip pressure.

True... That's what I meant by training wheels... And exactly what Harris meant by "they help save gas on groomers and or powder"... Simply put, cables do the job for you...

Human power and technique, not cables...!

[Woodserson]

I'm an ol' weak muscled girly-man wuss and therefor I enjoy active bindings and cables.