Garmont 7tm Power Tour Releasable Telemark Ski Binding

Nice bindings. The tour mode is great! The release mechanism is sweet; easy to snap back in after a fall. Also, the turning power curve is very smooth.

After Karhu joined K2 last year, Garmont took over as North American distributor of the 7tm series, a releasable freeheel binding manufactured by Rezotec GmbH in Germany. The 7tm Power ($280) is powerful, smooth and active--an excellent resort binding, and also great for jib sessions. But with the Power Tour, you get all the juice plus a frictionless touring function. While the DIN-release is much safer while traveling in avalanche terrain, bigger, stronger skiers might question its trustworthiness on uber-steep terrain.

I got this binding for my K2 Super Stinx. The product photo shows the brake and crampon, neither of which are included in the price. Buy them separately if you want them. The brake and crampon nest below the toe plate. Pay close attention to the waist width of your ski, the brake size, and the crampon size. Don't buy oversize. What makes the K2 installation especially tricky is that the K2's have pre-drilled screw holes with threaded inserts. Karhu in all its wisdom decided not to make the 7tm's mounting screws align with any of these holes. If you try to mount the 7tm's directly onto the skis, you'll rip out the inserts and ruin your skis. I made a video of the K2 installation with the REQUIRED adapter plates. The YouTube tutorial "Karhu 7tm Binding Installation on K2 Skis" shows you exactly what you need and how it works. It includes a demo of the binding's Tour mode. Having a free-pivot Tour mode is a dream. Climbing takes less effort. Kick turns are really easy. Breaking trail is easier, my tips stay up better. I can kick and glide on the flats. Even skating is easier. It takes a minute-long stop to switch in and out of Tour mode. Side-stepping is much harder in tour mode, because the tails dig in. For short climbs it's easier just to herringbone, and for long sidesteps I lock down the binding. I have no complaints about the spring in the Power binding. They're comparable to my G3 Targas in that regard. With the K2 adapter plate, my boot is elevated above the ski more, which feels different underfoot on groomers.

I mounted this binding on my all-around skis, and it works really well for backcountry and pretty well for resorts. It is not a super active binding, and so if you have it on a soft-flex powder ski, you might not have as much fun on groomers as you would with a more active binding. In the backcountry, however, it is an excellent binding; lightweight, easy to switch between tour and ski modes, and comes with climbing bars. I liked this binding because it seemed a lot simpler than other releasable bindings. It is really easy to change the release pressure and easy to put back on once it releases. The only complaint I have is that snow tends to get jammed up under the toe area when in tour mode, which can be annoying.