Voile release system sucks

By Ben Lyman Ranked #17 - Telemark Skiing February 10, 2009

In all honesty, I haven't skied this particular model of Voile, so my review is strictly on their release system, which blows. Oh, it'll release all right, don't worry about that--your legs are safe in these bindings. The problem is that unless you're on hardpack (and who wants to tele on hardpack?), you'll NEVER get back into them. I once had to traverse, on one ski, a half mile BACK INTO A SKI AREA in order to get the F*#$!ers back on. In order to keep from pre-releasing, you have to tighten the screw way down, and then you have to exert the same force to get back in that you had to exert to get out--creating those forces is hard to do when you're not jumping off a cliff or skiing 60 mph, which are both tough while putting your ski back on. What a stupid design.

Update: I find it interesting that this review has gotten negative feedback from others. I'd appreciate a comment explaining what the problem is. I honestly hate the Voile release system, and I've had it on several pairs of skis in every condition over a period of many years (I still have a pair of rock skis with Voile releaseables on them). In any case, I'm standing by my review no matter how many Voile fans give it a thumbs down, because potential buyers deserve to know what they're getting into. On a completely different note, I lived in Salt Lake City for years, and found Voile to be a fantastic company to deal with--I could walk into their shop with broken gear and they'd hand me replacement parts over the counter, no questions asked. Most of their stuff is incredible and innovative, and their customer service rocks. I just hate this release system.

View Details: Voile Hardwire CRB Telemark Binding

Helpful Votes: 0 Yes | 2 No