Rossignol FKS vs. Marker Jester?

i personally think they are completely different setups, but i prefer fks over anything........ in fact i would never again put a marker on a pair of my skis........ no matter what marker it is

ummmm 

gear talk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fks has better:
Heel retention.
Is metal.
No vertical release.
Smaller mounting pattern.
Not a Marker.
Awesome.

i will agree with you that markers are the worst bindings ever but the dukes and jesters are completely redesigned and they both lack the biometric toe piece, the thing that kept pre-releasing. I have dukes and have used jesters and they're both bomber great bindings. go with jesters but by all means don't ever buy a marker with the biometric toe piece

Yeah, def have to say JESTER! have i rode the FKS.... no. But have seen the problems when you break something on em..... You have to buy a whole other binding or someone who is nice enough to sell you just the heel/toe piece. Even something simple like a brake. It's just a pain in the ass. Also to add after my prior research on the FKS i think the 12 din pivot heel bindings (not necessarily FKS i guess) have vertical toe release, but FKS 15 do not (correct me if i'm wrong). I was choosing between the same 2 bindings about 2 months ago and i came to the conclusion if i am going to break something (which seems to happen alot with me) i want to be able to roll into the shop at the bottom of the hill and say, "hey i need this piece, you got it?" Then i will say, "Thanks" because they will actually have that piece laying around (more than likely) as apposed to an FKS or pivot binding. THe other reason i chose Jester is cuz skis.com was selling em for 260 bucks (got the last ones). Find that deal somewhere else and you won't regret it. I have NOT ONCE ever prereleased and i have them set at 8.5 din and i weight 220lbs and am 6ft. No typical marker prerelease bullshit. Also another thing to add..... just rode with a friend who has a set of 164cm skis with 70mm waist with P10's and i handed him my 183cm skis with 90mm waist (totally bigger in everyway) and with my jesters on and he flipped the fuck out cuz they were so light. Same thing with another friend of mine who has 171 (or 173 can't remember) T-halls and px15's, those things are fucking tank heavy. he just hates me cuz my setup is so light. so seriously, if you go with fks i would say you are nuts if you think jesters are within your needs. I will be riding jesters on everyone of my skis from now on, i will be one of those guys still looking for Jester parts 10 to 20 years down the road (that's if these things ever break) Plus i think they look cool as hell. If you get a chance to see a set up close look at the heel piece, the spring is in the "dildo" portion and it is fucking massive looking, it just makes the binding look serious. Sorry for the lengthy reply, but if i didn't have a good job ahead of me i would be a fucking marker rep just out to sell the Jester. i live and die by this binding. hahahahahahaha wow that was real serious......... alright back to studying for this damn test i have.... FUCK!

Actually the point of buying an FKS binding is that they DON'T break.  All I had to read was "have i rode the FKS.... no" to realize your huge post was pointless.

Yeah i guess i didn't talk about the jester in it at all which is the other binding he talked about.... hmmmmm, have to rethink that i guess........... oh and FKS doesn't break, guess the 3 posts i remember ppl looking for heelpieces due to broken brakes or various other parts was just a fluke. who knows, maybe you're just a genius

I love my jesters, they are light as shit! Plus the bigger mounting pattern rocks, esp for fat skis!

You havent owned a pair, so anything you have to say about it is invalid.

own a pair? why do i need to own a pair when all i see on here are ppl looking for spare parts on here, ebay and TGR for them.  You can't hide or ignore that fact. Plus then on top of that if the waist of your ski is more than 80mm you have to bend the brakes, all that trouble.  Makes no sense, i mean sure you have the pivot heel, it's a great thing rode on a set of p12 demos before, nice idea, wish it was still around. but it's not. 

And to add; i can't see how my reply is void if I was giving an opinion on Jesters..... "FKS vs Jester" thread.  I gave my opinion just the same as the rest of you have been able to.  Yeah i said you'd be crazy to go with another (if he was seriously considering Jesters)  but again...... my opinion isn't void because i haven't ridden FKS specifically.  Turntable heel, whatever, real decent binding, just wanted to give him some info that i've concluded to when I was looking at the same decision a month or 2 ago.  I'm not all about replacing parts or having thoughts in the back of my head while riding.... don't break this brake or your day is over.  You say it doesn't break, i see it break, i see the ppl bitching about it when it's does, but they def praise when it works. again, wasn't sure if you knew this was an opinion thread. If you don't like my opinion tough shit.  Take it for what you want, i'm done.

p12 demo is hardly an fks binding.  The pivot and fks style heels work on totally different premises.

Spare parts are easy to find. 
Brake bending is easy as hell.

You just want everything handed to you and to not get your hands dirty.

i swear by fks, but have never rode the jesters.  due to this, all i said was i would pick rossi, but i didnt necassarilly say fks is better and why because i can't make that call because i have not ridden both, neither have you so you cannot make this call either. 

i have owned so many fair of fks and zr's/p18's and never had a piece break, or needed a new brake or anything.  i have had marker toe pieces completely blow up, the first run ever on them. i know people say these new markers are new, but never will i put my trust and money into a company that was so shitty a few years ago.  markers are way over priced as well.  4-500 for a binding from a company noone trusts.....please. 

i am not sure how they compoare weight wise, but fks are pretty light as well, esp the 155's.  my favorite argument of yours is when you say "nice idea, wish it was still around" like you would maybe buy fks if they were still produced and sold to the public.  this is especially funny because you claim you'll be riding jesters in 20 years after they are done and you'll still be searching for parts.  just funny because thats what everyone else is soing for fks, and thats what you seem to hate them because of.

To answer the OP's question.  Its all preference.  Try to ride both bindings and see which you prefer.  Don't listen to this guy, your fks are not going to fall apart.  Many people, including a lot of pros and big name competitors still swear by these binding even though they are not currenly on the market.

tronnn, didn't even finish reading what you said just wanted to get across that i wasn't ripping on you at all, my first post was just open opinion.

obviously, no ripping from my end either.  everyone always thinks i am offended or gets offended easily by me.  don't know why.  no hard feeling s here.  we both just swear by our bindings and want to get that point accross.  you obviously feel the same way about yours as i do mine, they are just different

Jokesters. Measure your "bigger mounting pattern" you'll find the FKS actually has a wider toe mounting pattern, and the outside to outside measurement in the heel is wider than any of the Markers. Marker = Marketing

I have rode on skis with both. Used to have FKS 120s on my rossis a while back, and never ever had a problem. they were strong, never prereleased, always released correctly in a fall, and never ever broke, regardless of how hard I rode them. I really regret selling them today..

I have also rode the Jesters, which were installed on my buddy's Bridges. Its a totally different binding. It's plastic composite and not metal, so it technically is lighter by a little bit. It does not have a pivoting turntable heel like the FKS's did. It feels very similar to something like a PX 15, just it wouldnt be as strong due to the lack of metal involved. They did not prerelease on me, but then again, very few bindings do, since I weigh about 140. They do have some good characteristics about them though which I'm fond of. First off, they are set on a wider stance, which is at about 76mm rather than 67 or so that you would find on an FKS. This allows them to transfer your energy a little better to the edge of the ski while riding... that said, the FKS's hole pattern does a similar job to the ski, because it is centered right underneath your boot toes and heels. They DO cause a bit more strain on your skis though, as this puts extra torque on the core, leaving a fairly high potential for a binding pullout. That said, if you have them mounted correctly, you shouldnt have a problem.

The FKS naturally has better heel retention than just about any binding, and the turntable heel allows you to release at the tibia-fibular point, which is much safer on your knees. The jesters work in the same way that just about every other binding works, allowing your heels to push out the forward pressure and release, which can be tougher on the knees.


I swear by the FKS bindings, as well as the pivot/axial series bindings. They really are the safest, and darn near best made bindings out there. It's a true shame Rossignol/Look does not make them anymore.. and every year there is more speculation that rossignol will release that binding again.. but for the time being, that just doesnt look like it will happen...

I have written to the company, and pleaded with quicksilver, and rossi, and look... but to no avail.

I say, that if you want them to release it again, we put out some sort of petition or something.. or at least just bombard them with angry emails and stuff until they start to consider it.

The only reason I could think of why they dont make the binding anymore is because it was a little expensive to make, and they could make the binding cheaper by changing the heelpiece.. but maybe if demand is rebuilt, they could blow the world away again by making the best binding.. once again..

thank you all for your imput. you have helped a great deal

http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=111204

here is an example of markers reliability and customer service for ya......... not the jesters, but the dukes, which i guess are bombproof as well

You can break the brakes on any binding.  They aren't really an essential piece.  The actual binding is strong.

the jesters ski really well on a wider ski, but like what has been said, they are plastic. i don't own a pair, but i've skied several skis with them, but i really don't have long term durability experience with them. i've been on fks bindings all season on my fujatives. first day on them, i snapped a brake arm off, mostly because i did a shitty job bending them. i've taken much worse falls since then, and my brakes are completely fine. they release when they should, stay on when they should, allow my fujatives to flex the way they were designed to, they're relatively light for such a high performance binding, and they just feel more secure than just about anything else i've skied, which is most every binding on the market aside from the new PX15/20 and its equivalents. i would absolutely recommend and FKS binding (120, 155, or 185 depending on your weight) to pretty much anyone who can ride it, DIN wise.

My bumps my bumps my lovely lovely bumps
Oh and I want to hear some people argue about this

When will they learn fks is superior