Marker KingPin

Possible breakage of the steel pins on the front jaws can lead to reduced release force and thus increase the risk of falling. Models 10 and 13 from the 2017/18 season (gold or reddish color) are affected. The toe pieces of the corresponding bindings will be replaced free of charge. Here is the press release from Marker/Völkl:

"A true all-rounder with unique 3D.Ridge technology for the best stability and liveliness on and off the slopes." This is how the 90EIGHT is described by Völkl and I tested the ski for precisely these characteristics (all-round suitability on and off-piste).

Salomon has combined all the know-how of recent years and incorporated the experience from the MTN series and the Rocker² series into the new QST product line. You can read in the next few lines whether the concept lives up to its promise...

After only a short test last season, several PowderGuide testers are now out and about with the Marker Kingpin and have gained some experience with the binding. The impressions and opinions of various people have therefore been incorporated into this test report. The good overall picture of the binding remains.

After Line launched a real all-rounder on the market with the Sick Day, this season sees the launch of a "slimmed-down" version in the truest sense of the word, the Sick Day Tourist. A lightweight, medium-width touring ski. I was able to see how the ski performs in practice over a longer period of time!

With the expiry of Dynafit's patent in 2012, the monopoly in the pin binding market is also history. This not only led to a certain boom, but also to numerous new developments from various manufacturers. While some models differ only in detail from the original Dynafits, others have been significantly further developed.

With its Zero series, Austrian ski manufacturer Blizzard promises nothing less than to "initiate a revolution in the touring segment" - in other words: lightness without compromising downhill performance. That sounds exactly like the ski we've always been looking for. For this reason, during a trip to New Zealand, we tested under a wide range of conditions to see whether the Zero G is the ski with which we can enjoy a "hard" descent after an "easy" ascent.

A lot has happened in recent years when it comes to the downhill performance of touring ski boots. While the development of more stable frame bindings and, most recently, downhill-oriented tech (hybrid) bindings have created a need for boots of this type, top touring boot models with specified flex values of 100-130 have come onto the market, or alpine or overlap designs have been equipped with walking functions and replaceable soles. The Italian ski boot manufacturer Dalbello, which belongs to Marker/Völkl, is now launching a ski touring boot on the market which, as a descendant of the top freeride model KR2 Pro, is a 3-piece or convertible design boot with a walking function, interchangeable soles and tech inserts.

In the second part of our report from ISPO 2015 in Munich, we also present the new freeride ski boots and bindings. One thing up front: there weren't many real "bangers". Most manufacturers have limited themselves to product maintenance in the boots segment, but especially in the bindings segment. However, we did find a few goodies. Here is an overview of the most interesting products for the 2015/16 season from the various manufacturers.

Ski tours are undoubtedly very much in vogue and more and more freeriders, who are less interested in winning the summit than in an interesting descent, are taking on shorter ascents from the lifts or even full-blown ski tours to get to the coveted untracked powder snow.

Next week sees the launch of the Marker Kingpin, not only one of the most interesting products of the season in the ski touring sector, but also the first major manufacturer of ski bindings to enter the rapidly growing and increasingly competitive market for Pintech bindings. We have already briefly tested the Kingpin for you.