I have skied back country for approx. 30 years. No longer ski aggressivly but do ski mostly California Cascades crude. I have retired from lift served on three pin except for those perfect powder days. Currently using Scarpa T2 boots( broken buckles and can't find replacements). Karhu Catamount Skies with Voile release bindings and Chile cables (broken lots of cables and can't find replacements). All equip. is 10+ years old. I am considering replacing with Garmont Excursion boots. Madshus Eon or Epoch skis ( easy touring skis that can turn) I am considering Voile Switchbacks, G3 Targa Ascent, or Design 22 Axl bindings? Would rather error on too much binding that will not break and last for 10 yrs.! Any suggestions on my selection of boots, skis, and bindings will be appreciated. Thanks! Solo from Redding,Ca.

See my reply, below, to Tom S. Get Garmont excursions, install Intuition alpine liners and add a Garmont power strap (I pop riveted mine to the top of the boot shell in rear). This creates a tele boot with all the power we old folks need, and mine are lighter than any of my NNN BC boots. I use mine on everything from narrow touring skis (Fischer E99) to BD Kilowatts, and I like them better than my T1s. This brings me to my problem with the Axl: even the most forward pivot point is not light enough for me (132 lbs). I think you will like the performance of the Voile Switchback or the Targa T3 Ascents better than that of the Axl (I do). But get the Voile (see my review of the Targa Ascent, posted elsewhere on this web site today). Before you were skiing back country, I was doing this with wood skis and carried an extra plastic ski tip. Now when I ski with Targas, I have to carry an entire extra binding.

If you want something that will last forever, the axle is it. It's also very adjustable in how active it is by simply moving a pin. It weighs a bit more than the others, but you probably won't be able to wear this out or break it if you tried. That said, I think the voile switchbacks would be better than the Targa's if you decide to go that route, but no other binding has so much adjustability or durability.