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Marker Baron Ski Binding
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With the reliability of a dedicated 12-DIN alpine binding and the free-heel freedom of a binder built for touring, the Marker Baron Ski Binding can slide up a skin track and blast a fifteen-footer in the same run. This lower-weight version of the acclaimed Marker Duke binding gives lighter big-mountain skiers a refuge from the fragility of low-calorie AT shackles. With wide brakes and an integrated three-position climbing wire, the Baron isn’t just versatile—it’s the complete corduroy-to-couloir solution.
- The unique plate-touring mechanism can't release into touring mode while your foot is in the binding
- Compact design results in a more responsive feel thanks to a reduced stack height
- Flip into touring mode and the binding shifts backwards 3cm to increase your uphill climbing efficiency
- The Baron's connection brackets mount directly into your ski so your power goes from boot, to binding, to ski, and all without altering the true flex of your boards
- Slap the Baron on a pair of fat skis and feel the increased edge control of the Baron's wide footprint
Bottom Line: March up, then rule the downhill with an iron fist.
Talk shop with all the gear freaks out there: ask 'em questions, upload/browse photos, and give your 2¢.
6 Comments Last Comment: February 14, 2011 by: D. Joshua Christensen
By: Josh Mattson
September 22, 2010
just to justify what the baron can handle!! This is the way I ski on the Baron's all the time and have not had any problem with them yet!
By: D. Joshua Christensen
September 27, 2010
how much do you weigh out of curiosity?
By: tour
September 28, 2010
i weigh 145 and haven't ever had a problem with the barons releasing when i do not want them to. i ski very fineness, low power. i also have a pair of skis that are 3 years old and don't need structure, but it is possible to huck them and not have it all blow up from no fault of your own
By: Josh Mattson
September 30, 2010
I am 5'10" and weigh 150 lbs. Although I have considered steping up to a 16 din binding, I have not had any problems with prerelease on these bindings. I enjoy them thoroughly.
By: Phil Santala
October 20, 2010
what do you usually ski your din setting on with the barons Josh? (or with any ski for that matter)
By: D. Joshua Christensen
February 14, 2011
Sorry..didn't see you posted that there. I am skiing my Dukes at 15. Had to crank Baron's past 12 and it didn't cut it..which is not the case with all my bindings.
DISCLAIMER: I in no way recommend that you crank your bindings past the recommended DIN setting on any binding.
Burly Burly, then... uh oh.
By: Brad Walsh
March 14, 2011
Bought these at the beginning of the '11 season and logged about 10 days on my powder boards. Made contact with something hard under the pow (a stump I am guessing from the red bard on my edges), and after double-ejecting found the heel piece, and no ski (without brakes it ran down the hill until someone was able to catch up to it). The heel piece had broken off of the track that joins the heel to the toepiece. I question the safety of the binding since the heel piece shattered before the binding even released - then again maybe a shattering heelpiece is part of their safety setup...
After returning the bindings, Marker gave their estimated return time (granted this is relayed through the retailer because there is no real good way to call Marker - they don't "do" returns) as 2 weeks to 6 months - LAME. So here I am at the end of the season where we are finally getting dumped on in the Northwest, and no pow boards for the rest of the in bounds season, and no touring setup for the spring. The whole reason I bought these was because I wanted something I could dabble in touring, but still use for the resort powder days, but at 200lbs, these weren't up to the job on a hard hit.
I would rate these higher if they could return stuff quickly or at least have spare parts in the US rather than having to wait for the Chinese to stamp out a whole new batch. Prior to this whole episode I would have given them a solid 4, and that only because the changeover mechanism is a little awkward and wants to nibble on your fingers when switching over. Also the track gums up with some serious snow so pow days touring is a little tedious as I spent more time than I would have expected having to clean everything out of the bottom of the track, and all the other little nooks and crannies. Fair advisory: these are my first pair and I don't have another pair yet to compare.
**Update 3/17/2011: Got the return back to the shop that handled the return. There is a screw missing from the heelpiece and the heelpiece is "refurbished" instead of new. Seeing as the new one blew up before I feel a bit leery about accepting a rehabbed one, but I guess this is better than waiting 6 months - so I wanted to update to let people know it didn't take six months, more like 1 month, but the BS continues with the screw and the used part... Marker should be happy they don't have much competition out there because I can't imagine my experience is the only one...***
**Update 03/22/2011: Got the part and the screws were stripped at the break. My return was returned with another broken part. Thanks Marker. I think I'll keep this thread going to see ho long this goes on...***
3 Comments Last Comment: January 24, 2012 by: mil3245184
By: mil3245184
January 24, 2012
My Barons exploded two days ago doing exactly the same thing and broke in exactly the same place on the heelpiece. It was my third day on the bindings.
There was no damage to the base of my skis. But the back of the cuff and base of one of my boots split. Unreal damage!
I too question the reliability of the release mechanism. The force I felt when I double ejected from the bindings made me seriously think I had broken my tib-fib.
I disagree with the replies that no binding would hold up to contacting something like a stump under the snow. I have had plenty of ejections from hitting rocks, trees, etc, at much higher speed than it took to break the Barons.
My local shop got a hold of Marker immediately and in less than a days time replaced both bindings. I should have photo'd the heel piece before the shop sent it off. It left me wondering if Marker doesn't want this kind of thing getting out...
By: jcp2778909
October 23, 2011
hitting a stump will probably break any binding
Light on Price, not Performance
By: Phil Santala
October 28, 2010
So I've got the Dukes, and the Barons, the big difference between the two (outside price), not much that I can tell. The Barons weigh slightly less a few ounces. The DIN is lower on the Baron 4-13 VS 6-16 with the Dukes.The Barons may not take as much of a beating. I have defiantly skied my Barons pretty hard, but not as hard as I have skied my Dukes. I run both of them thru their paces, but just have more days on my Dukes. My Barons have around 50-ish days on them, my Dukes 150+ days.
I'm 5'11", 170lbs, and a pretty aggressive skier who doesn't huck cliffs but makes tight, high speed and torque turns like an SOB. My din in on 10-9 on all my skis. I have never felt that these released when they shouldn't have, and they stay on my feet just as well as my Dukes on the same din.So if you a larger skier, or a very aggressive skier (and judging from the pic someone else posted that may not matter)or a guy who is planning on putting 100 days a year on these, I might think Dukes, but Barons would most likely suit you almost as well, for quite a bit less change.
The higher center of gravity on both Duke and Baron will give you extra carving power on those wider skis on hard pack, and both have great edge control.
O these tour well, I've done a 16 miler on them, while it's exhausting work compared to a dynafit setup on light skis, they make up for it on the downhill (well after 16 miles I was beat either way)and are great inbounds.
12 Comments Last Comment: January 11, 2011 by: Phil Santala
By: Phil Santala
January 11, 2011
elace3733:
The barons would be better if the DIN isn't an issue and you don't plan on skiing on them a ton, if the DIN is an issue, or you plan on skiing on them A LOT spend the extra $ and get the Dukes, if your not going to put a lot of days on them, maybe save some $ and get the slightly lighter, less durable Barons (they have more plastic and less metal in their construction) Both work great for what they are designed to do, ie slack-country
By: elace3733
January 6, 2011
The reviews for this product suck.
So I was looking at getting these because I only weigh 120 lbs and want one setup that I can take touring as well as to the resort.
I was under the impression that this is essentially just a lighter version of the Dukes. i don't fall into the recommended weight category of the Dukes so I thought these would be more ideal since they seemed similar.
Can you explain a little more clearly why the Barons are such bad bindings? Do you think they are worthless for everyone or just certain people?
By: D. Joshua Christensen
December 23, 2010
John. Baron is basically the Griffon on the baseplate of the Duke. I own the Dukes. Have used the Jester and Griffon more times than I can count. Therefore, I know what I do and do not like about the Baron. Its called deductive reasoning.
By: John
December 16, 2010
If you have not used the Baron Do not review them!!
By: D. Joshua Christensen
November 6, 2010
Phil. Bottom line is that Marker's elasticity is way too low which causes the binding to release when it should not. That means that even cranked to 12 the binding comes off way too much. Add to that more plastic parts on the baron, and you get a crappy binding with a crappy din that is prone to breaking.
By: Phil Santala
October 20, 2010
If you don't ski at a din above 12 I really don't see why there are any issues with buying the baron... I have dukes and barons, and just by which ski I got first (mantras) and mounted with the duke (only AT marker binding that year) they are skiied more than my Barons on my Blizzards. The Dukes have taken a beating, but I've never had any issues where I felt like O pre-released out of the Barons, or the Dukes.
BIG ASTRIX on this comment I DO NOT really huck a ton of shit. I'll hit some stuff here or there if I'm feeling edgy..but that's about it. I have toured 16 and 12 mile tours on my Barons...sure they are not as comfortable as my Dynafits... but wheteves
By: Michael Shaham
October 16, 2010
hikermike... the Baron sucks. End of story. Only two DECENT bindings by Marker's Royal Family line are the Jester and Duke.
By: D. Joshua Christensen
October 11, 2010
I can't get any Marker 12 Din bindings to stay on my feet. Their elasticity sucks and so does this binding. I am only 170lbs. Seems like if you hit even the smallest bump at over 30mph the binding will come off and you will either have to finish your line on 1 foot or stop to get your ski.
By: Campo
October 5, 2010
This review=EPIC FAIL!
By: tour
September 28, 2010
the barons are brutal uphill, but i do not need the extra din of the dukes, so leaving a few grams behind, and saving some coin is totally worth it for me.
having said that, the weight savings from the dukes are very minimal, and i think marker could do better
By: D. Joshua Christensen
September 13, 2010
I have handled the baron, and have skied on the griffon quite a few times. I don't get anything out of you buying he more expensive binding, so if you want, go ahead and buy this piece of crap.
The nice thing about the Duke is that it actually solves the old problem of not being able to rely on your AT binding for a good downhill ride. Sure you have to crank the DIN in order to get that feel but it is the best feel you can currently have on an AT Binding.
The bad thing about the Duke is that it harms your uphill ride, as the ski has a lower kick height and is much heavier.
Like I always say though, if a touring binding is not great on the uphill it will only make you stronger. If a touring binding is not great downhill then good luck. The problem with the Baron is that it is one of the worst AT bindings for uphill as well as downhill...SOL.
By: hikermike994486
September 12, 2010
So you work for Backcountry.com and recommend going with the more expensive and heavier binding... I see where you are coming from, especially never having used the Baron but still giving it 3 stars?
Change me.
Good Slackcountry/resort touring binding
If you are in the market for a binding that you can have on your one ski quiver, this would be a great choice. It is a great option to have for skiing more...
Great AT Binding!
I put these on a pair of Moment Pikas last season for touring out in Utah and found that this lower-weight, wide brakes - free-heel freedom was the perfect more...
- Material:
- Plastic, stainless steel, aluminum
- DIN:
- 4 - 13
- Boot Compatibility:
- AT, alpine
- Brakes Included:
- Yes
- Brake Width:
- 110mm
- Gliding AFD:
- Stainless steel, height adjustable
- Heel Elevators:
- Yes, 5 and 10 degree positions
- Weight:
- [Pair - Small] 5lb 6.4oz (2450g); [Pair - Large] 5lb 7oz (2480g)
- Recommended Use:
- Backcountry, resort skiing
- Manufacturer Warranty:
- 1 Year

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