We asked Marker to comment on the weaknesses that have emerged and the changes to the Marker Tour F12 for the current 2011/2012 season:
PG: What changes have been made to the Tour F10/F12 for the current model year in detail and why? And why is so little known about these changes?
Marker: There have been a lot of ongoing improvements, as with all bindings. With an active & flexible R&D department and a dedicated test team, it is fortunately possible for us to constantly improve the products. Here is a small summary of the most important improvements:
The material of the system plate has been changed from glass fiber reinforced polypropylene to glass fiber reinforced polyamide. This makes the frame significantly more torsion-resistant, which is particularly noticeable on hard traverses in the ascent.
There are also improvements in the area of the pedal bearing. Here we now work with a hollow steel axle that rotates in bearing bushes. The effect is even less play in the pedal bearing (especially noticeable on the ascent).
We have then significantly improved the handling of the binding:
The opening flap has been completely revised & much easier to operate, even when it is filled with snow.
There are Teflon coatings & a bellows in the area of the pedal bearing, the area that is most affected by snow build-up in unfavorable snow conditions. These new features counteract snow build-up & make it easier to lock the binding (from walking to downhill mode).
The insertion bevels on the system plate and ski bearing (black plate mounted on the back of the ski) have been improved and make locking the binding even easier.
The heel kinematics have been revised & the step-in behavior (even in snow & ice under the boot sole) is thus significantly improved.
The rollers on the toe piece have been replaced by Teflon glide shoes. The result: less wear and tear due to Dynafit inserts on the boots & better frictional connection to the ski boot due to larger contact surfaces. So much for the most important improvements...
We have learned a lot from our first year (after a long absence) in the touring sector & tried to implement these findings immediately! All the improvements described have already been delivered to specialist sports retailers, are available there & are communicated publicly. However, not every single ongoing improvement to our binding collection is actively communicated to the outside world... not least because of a limited marketing budget.
PG: Most or, strictly speaking, all touring bindings wear out at some point - especially on wide freeride skis, including the Tour. What is the warranty and goodwill process like? Where is the line drawn between replacement/no replacement?
Marker: Every touring binding, every sports article, be it a binding, ski or bike... is subject to a certain amount of wear and tear.
Marker naturally tries to satisfy customers in terms of warranty and goodwill!
So all products whose signs of wear and tear go beyond natural wear & have not been willfully destroyed will be replaced. In this case, only the trained specialist dealer can decide where to draw the line!
PG: Has the problem of a vertically loosening front jaw on the Tour F10/12 - as it occurred slightly in our test - been rectified? And if so, what technical changes have been made?
Marker: The problem described does not generally occur with all Marker Tour F10/F12 bindings from the 10/11 season. A few factors had to come together. For example, adjusting the clamping height on the toe piece too tightly or the pin binding inserts of poorly manufactured boots getting stuck could lead to the toe piece being levered open.
However, all Tour F10/12 bindings from the 11/12 season onwards come with a reinforced setup in the area of the axle and the bearing. This means that the material has been thickened and reduced in other areas in order to keep the weight down and still achieve a drastic improvement in stability. The Teflon glide pieces in the toe sole holders (which replace the small rollers) also play a part in this - no pin-bindugs insert from a poorly made shoe can get stuck here. At the same time, the traction is better due to larger contact points, which ensures even better riding performance.
All in all, there have been small but effective changes - so far, no binding of the 11/12 generation has appeared with a toe play!
PG: Touring bindings based on the frame principle are generally susceptible to so-called "knee drops". The Marker Tour F10/12 has also been known to suffer binding damage after such falls. Have technical improvements been made to address this problem?
Marker: We don't think that this is a problem that is specific to frame bindings. Even with low-tech bindings, damage or binding tears can occur due to knee drops.
Knee drops are extreme stresses for every touring binding on the market, which can be compared to a bicycle crash in terms of stress and situation.
In any case, we have also reacted here and modified & reinforced the area around the axle. The axle itself is now a hollow axle made of stainless steel, which rotates in bushes and not directly in the pedal bearing as before. Here, too, there has not been a single known case of a defect caused by a knee drop since the changes were made.
To the manufacturer's product information
