Marker and hiking fixing
Marker and hiking fixing
Marker founded 66 years ago is one of the world’s leading alpine skiing brands. The brand started a long time ago in the touring bindings industry with the M-Tour 35 years ago. It was not until the late 2000s that Marker returned to the touring market with their famous Duke and all its variations, Baron, F10 Tour, … Good material but heavy and more focused on touring-freeride rather than pure touring.
In 2014 Marker arrives in the segment of insert bindings with the King Pin (Pin-insert in English) but always with a rando-Freeride orientation, very popular in the Nordic countries and the USA but shunned in Latin countries by pure tourers because of its weight. In this segment the King Pin competes with the G3 Ion and other Dynafit Beast.
For the 2018-2019 season, Marker is finally embarking on pure touring with
the Alpinist,
Word game with the PIN to remind that it is indeed an insert binding. The aim
is to break into Latin countries where weight is paramount and to compete with
the current leaders, Dynafit, Salomon, Plum and other ATK.
Choosing the best alpine touring bindings 2020 for our shop online.
Mountaineering technical facts
2 version 4-9 DIN, 6-12 DIN, recoil spring and 15 mm of heel length adjustment, ice-proof polymer under the toe piece, 3 mounting positions including one flat (0, 5 and 9 degrees), 38 mm gap between screws thus compatible with wide skis, compatible with the majority of Dynafit knives and the like, stoppers 90-105-115. 490g without stoppers.
The adjustment of the rotational hardness is done with a screw, that of the hardness of the de-scaling on the front is done by changing the spring to U. It seems that there are 3 hardnesses at the moment.
New for 2020, the Alpinists are Marker’s first lightweight insert bindings.
Announced to the world with lots of fanfare at the February 2018 ISPO trade show, the Alpinists have an interesting minimalist design and competitive price.
Look news Marker Alponist 12 Binding at our shop Telemeark Pyrennes
Use
« allround » touring binding on the segment of Dynafit TLT Radical, new Dynafit TLT Speed, Salomon MTN/Atomic Backland. Compared to its competitors, it is clearly the cheapest and lightest despite the integration of a spring in the heel that helps avoid having a space with the shoe, a space that is always delicate to adjust and a source of uncertainty …
It is easily editable, you can start without stopping and then integrate them if you want.
Test conditions
2 days, mostly powdery snow but with a bit of skiing on piste and hard snow (rain at low altitude the previous days), a bit of skiing in the forest with small jumps, short turns, a bit of steep slope (40-45 degrees).
New for 2020, the Alpinists are Marker’s first lightweight insert bindings. Announced to the world with lots of fanfare at the February 2018 ISPO trade show, the Alpinists have an interesting minimalist design and competitive price.
Look news Marker Alponist 9 Binding at our shop Telemeark Pyrennes
Upheel
For the upheel, the shoeing is easy with small polymer guides that allow to put the boot in the toe piece. An elastic polymer pad under the jaws is supposed to allow the ice to be evacuated, in hard conditions, it seems quite interesting.
You can either keep the heel downhill and simply put the hold/capot on the U-spring rods, then you have a 5-degree angle, perfect with the long-legged boots. You can also turn the heel 180 degrees, then you have a flat position or a 9-degree angle with the hold. The hold is easy to maneuver with the poles.
Blocking the upright position of the stop is classic and the lever is easy to maneuver with several more or less hard positions.
The installation of knives is easy, even without uncontoring, the groove to insert the knife is indeed tilted backwards and not vertical as with competitors, therefore easier and requiring less contortions.
Downhill
Easy descent if you kept the heel in position and requiring just a U-turn otherwise. Shoeing very easy, you can do it either first from the front or by putting the back of the boot first in contact with the heel (as there is no play). The jaw closure is firm, we know right away if it is properly engaged. In a slightly uncomfortable situation (a steep slope for example), she wears well, even with a little overturned ski.
If used to stop, it seems very effective and its transition from the climb blocked uphill to the unblocked downhill is simple. A metal bar to push or pull. You can even do it with the boot by pushing a little, but it is ok to use only if it does not weaken the mechanism.
In skiing, the binding seems rigid, the 38 mm gap of the screws attached to the ski (larger than the competitors) allows it to be used on wide skis (up to 100 mm without problem). The heel on contact with the boot really seems a plus, better sensations, and better control of the ski. Basically it is forgotten on the descent, that’s all we ask for…
Global impressions
No huge technical revolution, but a successful product with quite a few well thought out details, making it strong and pleasant to use. At 320 EUR (stop at 60 EUR or leash at 19 EUR) and 490 g, in this segment of touring bindings, they do everything, they dominate the competition I think. Personally, at the moment, it is this binding that I would choose.
Technical Specifications:
- Adjustable DIN Range:
- Alpinist 9: 4-9 DIN
- Alpinist 12: 6-12 DIN
- Recommended Skier Weight: Up to 110 kg
- Weight Bindings: 490 g / pair
- Weight Ski Brakes: 180 g / pair
- Weight Bindings + brakes: 670 g / pair
- Boot Length Adjustment: +/- 7.5 mm
- Toepiece: Pintech with double spring
- Heel Unit: Rotating Pivot
- Active length compensation during ski flex
- Materials: Forged aluminium, carbon, fibre-reinforced polyamide.
The Marker Alpinist bindings and accessories are now in stock at telemark-pyrenees.com
- Marker Alpinist 9
- Marker Alpinist 9 Long Travel
- Marker Alpinist 12
- Marker Alpinist 12 Long Travel
- Marker Alpinist Ski Brakes
- Marker Pintech Ski Crampons
- Marker Alpinist Heel Platform
- Marker Alpinist U-Bow
Read more this article:
Ski Touring, Skimo, ski telemark, Ski alpine, Freeride Ski, Shop ski touring 