Black Diamond Fritschi Tecton 12 Bindings

Unlike other reviewer(s) I have had no breakage issues, and though I don't bury the rad-o-meter, I do ski fairly aggressively in and out of bounds. So, focusing on the skiing, this binding makes a terrific area binding as well as touring and IMO can be your ticket to a quiver of one setup. I have been using this binding with a Atomic Hawx Ultra 120XTD boot and Wailer 112 tours for a solid month during the recent Southern Colorado snowpacolypse , for both BC and area and to me it's pretty hard to fault. Feels like there is plenty of elasticity on bumps and groomers, and I just don't notice them at all. I never have the "better chill out cuz I am on a tech binding" blues that I have experienced while skiing Dynafits and G3s at the resort. I have a Salomon Shift on another setup and I don't detect a nickels worth of skiing difference between the two.

As to touring, a couple of issues:

Higher climbing post is a pain to flip with poles..have pretty much relegated the duty to my hand, but bending over to do so is not ideal. Been thinking about a mod....
Heel unit did ice up on a transitional day, and would not flip up all the way into tour mode, but after returning home and applying silicone spray to everything have not had the issue again.
Toe engagement spring is awfully light, occasionally causing the pins to snap closed when you are merely trying to line them up

All in all though, terrific product and I am all in on a second setup that will pull double area/BC duty...

I just got these and used them for a week of cold temps (below 0 F) in Montana. The side of the brake retainer broke off of both bindings and the brakes no longer stay up in walk mode. Also, one of the ribs that engages the boot heel broke off. At one point, the (all plastic) worm screw on the heel piece disengaged and it slid off the base plate while I was in walk mode. I was able to reattach it and continue skiing. Not sure why that happened but something to watch out for. Also, sometimes when I step into the bindings in ski mode, the heel piece flips all the way up into walk mode (maybe from momentum?) and doesn't lock the boot heel down.



I loved the function until they started falling apart. The switching from walk mode to ski mode without bending over is awesome.

I originally posted this review on blackdiamond.com who distributes Fritschi in the USA and they deleted it so I consider that another strike against them .

I bought these for my girlfriend who is new to touring. They are easy to use and have made her transition to touring much easier.

These were a little more cumbersome to operate than the marker kingpins or dynafits, but overall I liked how the skied. Felt very secure and stable. Never had a pre-release. Would recommend

Have these mounted on a pair of Dynastar Mythic 97s as a combo that can do a lot. Skied ~25 days on them during the `17-18 season and am pretty pleased so far. I feel I can drive my skis harder with more control vs. my other primary tour binding (Dynafit TLT Radical); connection to the ski just feels noticeably more grounded. Have confidence in them, no issues releasing unexpectedly. So, they ski better without a big compromise on weight. Skinning, these bindings do what's expected of them. No issues. Transitions have worked well for the most part. I can tour-to-ski while staying clipped in easily. At times I get ice/snow build-up under the toes which needs to be cleared to make a firm toe connection; this is a common issue with tour bindings and not a big deal. Same for the heal as build-up under the heal piece can cause the heal to not fully engage in tour. You'll find out soon enough when the brake pops up or the heal slides forward while skinning. Easy thing to look out for in transition but the first couple times it happened I didn't know what was wrong. Shifting the heal to/from tour mode requires a little more force than I'd like. It's a bit jarring and I wonder if that will cause materials wear/failure over time. Finally, I am not a fan of the crampon for these. Sturdy and super easy to get on and off but bulky and heavy with moving parts and no easy way to clip to a pack.
Net-net pretty happy with these so far and would recommend to others in the market for this type of binding. 4.5 stars as my complaints are relatively minor.

This is my very first tech binding of any kind so keep that in mind while reading this review.
I have these mounted on a pair of 180 armada tracer 108's im 6ft 160 expert/aggressive skier.

I've read lots over the years of no compromise AT bindings like the marker kingpin and when i saw some initial reviews of the tecton it seemed like the perfect fit for my first tech binding. I was drawn to it because of the full alpine heel, and the lateral release from the toes.

I now have about 25-30 days in this binding and I am overall very impressed. Most of the those days are touring but I do have 5-8 days on them strictly resort riding. In fact it is the only setup I have used this year. My skiing style is a mix of aggressive playfulness. And to really put this binding through its paces I did not alter my skiing one bit. My first run I thought ok wow this feels no different to me then any alpine binding i've used. When I did my first butter 3 off a knoll and the skis were still there I thought ok I've really got something here. Fast forward a few months and dozens and dozens of cliff drops, park jumps, bumps, flat landings and close calls later and I still haven't found the limits of this binding.

it is very easy to transition from walk mode to ski mode and vice versa. and the weight is light years ahead of my old frame bindings, but I have no basis of comparison to other tech bindings.

My only areas of concern so far are that I broke one of the outer "posts" on the brake of one binding so it will not stay upright in walkmode without the help of a voile strap. I am not sure how or when I broke it but it hasn't caused any issues on descents. My other concern is how durable the heel piece will be over the course of a few seasons. It feels very light and is made with some sort of carbon impregnated plastic. It hasnt been an issue thus far but just something I will be monitoring over time.

Picked these up and mounted these on a pair of black crow atris's. Skied about 15-20 days on them and they certainly live up to the hype. From BC booters to hitting rails this binding is a freeride skiers dream. Confidence inspiring on all terrain in any condition. I've skied this binding side by side with another artis mounted with a look pivot for a day and noticed no difference.

I mounted these on Black Crows Corvus... the regular ones as I do not mind a little extra weight for a ski that can plow through variable snow. So far, 7 days, the binders ski great. I love having a din toe piece and the brakes actually stay up (unlike the king pin, which are super fragile). I think my bro-mance with these binders may end next season with the new Salomon binding that is coming out...but for this season these are the best skiing touring binding that will not rip your knee apart or have breaks dropping in the middle of the ski track.

This is my first experience with tech bindings and so far, they do not disappoint! While there are lighter bindings in the market, I don't mind the weight. I think the features of the Tecton 12s compensate for the weight of the plastic. I have these mounted to the Black Crow Camox Freebirds, so the break sticks out a tiny bit wider than I would prefer, but it's not bad.
I've used them a few times, and at first was surprised by the how difficult it felt to switch them into walking. You have to push the heal into an upright position, and that was a bit more difficult that I had imagined. But, after watching a few videos (newb alert!) and practicing for a bit, I got that hang out it. I'm stoked on these bindings and am excited to put them through the wringer this season.