Gear Junkie

Yesterday I drooled onscreen about the Black Diamond Kilowatt skis sitting here in my office ready to cut deep snow in Utah next week. But what about my bindings? For this trip I’ll be testing the Fritschi Diamir Freeride Plus, which are essentially alpine bindings with a touring mode.

They are solid in any type of terrain going down, with a maximum DIN setting of 12. But then with the flick of a switch you can enable a free-heel mode for climbing up-mountain with skins. An adjustable-height toe piece fits both AT and alpine boots.

Bonus: Fritschi’s “Power Transmission Control” technology lets the boot attach directly to the binding bar, which slides freely as the ski bends, allowing, the company says, for optimum natural flex of the ski.

Available now.

http://www.bdel.com/gear/freeride.php

For a detailed look at the Fritschi Diamir Freeride Plus bindings, see Wild Snow’s literal dissection of the product here:

http://www.wildsnow.com/backcountry-ski-museum/fritschi-freeride-plus/fritschi-freeride-plus-inside.html

http://www.wildsnow.com/backcountry-ski-museum/fritschi-freeride-plus/fritschi-freeride-plus.html