When you've gotta lock the heel...

By Ben Lyman Ranked #901 - Alpine Touring Bindings July 31, 2009

I've always heard bad things about the Naxo's strength, but Rossi seems to have fixed those problems when they took over the brand and released this binding. I have been very happy with these clamps--I've never pre-released out of them, they tour comfortably, and they don't weigh nearly as much as Marker's AT rigs. I do worry about torquing them on sidehills, but who likes to sidehill anyway? I also like the ability to switch between tour and ski mode without taking the ski off (my least favorite "feature" of the Markers). I would still rather telemark, but when I've gotta lock the heel, these are the bindings I do it with.

Update: I've heard about others pre-releasing from these bindings, and have a bit of advice--when you're adjusting the length of the binding for your boot, it WILL NOT fit like an alpine binding does before engaging. The binding will seem ridiculously loose until you click in. Make sure to verify that the forward pressure indicator is in the correct position, or else the springs will be incorrectly loaded and yes, you'll pre-release (or not release at all). As always, have the bindings mounted and adjusted by a professional--or if you're like me and live somewhere with no shop authorized to work on these bindings, read the mounting instructions and operators manual to verify that they're set up right.

View Details: Rossignol Free Rando NX21 Alpine Touring Binding

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