Metal vs. Plastic in bindings

912s and 914s had the tab-adjustment heel, which was prone to failure under stress.  I never broke one, but they did. 

All bindings will break if put under enough stress.  FKS180 heel can wear around the pole cup and have the DIN indicator fall out.  Their brakes are also difficult to replace if they brake.  Salomon 916s suffer from weak toe wing AFDs and can develop heel slop after a lot of hard use.  Dukes can break if they ice up and the user forces them. 

Everything will break, its just a matter of how long it will last before it brakes.

ya thats what i figured basically. I just get annoyed whenever i read a thread on this site and everyone is talking about how bad plastic bindings are and how you want a metal binding when almost all the binding breaks i have seen are metal pieces.

Why in God's name would that annoy you? 

Metal is more durable than plastic.  Always.  Why would a simple fact such as that bother you?  Were you expecting someone to hop in here and be like "No way man, you're totally right- plastic is way more durable than metal"?????????? 

Personally I am lost as to the purpose of this thread, but trust me- if people with metal bindings are breaking them, hand them plastic ones and see what happens.  Be sure to update after the binding carnage ensues. 

I am annoyed because everyone says metal is more durable but I have seen more metal pieces break. I believe the s912's have a plastic toe piece but it was a metal part that had the crack through it. I am wondering if other people have had these same experiences I have.

lol

You sir need to sign up for a materials engineering class at your local community college.

Ok. I feel fairly confident I can give you a good answer to this. I'll try answering your questions one by one.

Metal and plastic in cold temperatures: Well this is very dependent on what metals and plastics are used. Both metals and polymers (plastic) have a temperature at which they go from being ductile into being brittle (DBTT for metals and Tg for polymers). A lot of steels for example have a DBTT (ductile to brittle transition temp.) between -10 and -20 degrees C. Whereas aluminium has no significant DBTT effect. So this basically comes down to what metals or polymers are being used. Generally, metal is a stronger material any way you look at it, but certain polymers or composites can be very strong.

Can metal corrode over time: Yes, given the right conditions, it will corrode. Bindings being stored in a moist environment is less than ideal.

As to why some people have problems with metal bindings. Well component (binding) design is key. Even though steel is generally stronger, a component made out of steel can be designed in a way that makes it weaker than a part made out of a polymer material. Certain parts that are more prone to loads and stresses are made out of metals to give them a better chance of not breaking, but they will still break easier than other less prone parts.

Bottom line is this: most high end bindings that are known for being durable, contain a lot of metal, simply because metal in general is stronger than plastics. But all bindings can break.

thanks for the answer man. Pretty much exactly what I was looking for. +k to you good sir

The way I see it, is that the reason bindings have metal in certain areas is because those are the areas that have the most force put on them. It would make sense that when the binding fails it is the metal structure that gives out rather than the plastic which is on many of the discussed bindings cosmetic rather than structural.

912s are entirely plastic, with the exception of the springs, heel track/tab, and a small amount on the outside of the heels.

And like I said before, the tab-adjustment heels suffered issues after time. 

Ya i get that part. Just wanted to open a discussion about the topic

It was more directed towards Huck_Norris actually.