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Cast Freetour vs Salomon/Atomic/Armada Shift vs Marker Duke PT (2020-21)
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Hey everyone, I'm looking for some opinions on these three bindings. I know each has their own merit, and each are different in their own rights; however, which is best for whom? I live in MI and predominately ski in-bounds resorts. I take a few "big" ski trips a year to larger resorts with terrain for touring. With that said, i am looking for a single binding for a one ski quiver in which i can take a few laps through the park (including a couple simple rails), a mogul run or two, some powder, and i now want the option to tour. My search has ultimately led me to these three candidates. I'm sure their are more options that i am unaware of. Please share those! SO, heres my burning question: Of the three bindings listed in the title, which would be best suited for someone like myself? I would like to think of myself as a skier who is hard on their equipment, but in my older age now i find that im not as hard on things as i once was. Im not a weight junkie, but i do want my money to go as far as it can and i want to purchase the best product for the job regardless if i "need" it or not. What opinions cane we muster? Thank you in advance for the help.
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kinda hard to say imho, very few has ridden all, probably only luke here?
I sold a pair of shifts to fund duke PT 16, which arrives shortly, hopeing for it to be as bomb proof as my jesters. going on revolt 121, not exactly a park ski, but you bet I'll at least hit big jump/boxes/sidehits/cliffs (what my knees still can tolerate)
I kept one pair of shifts on a BC120, which sees way lighter use.
CAST is of course again 100% proven as its.. regular toe for downpart.
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I think it comes down to your budget really...buyers guide this year had the new Duke msrp at like $825. You can find brand new shifts for like $400 ish. I personally use cast and think it's the way to go but if you don't have pivot 18/15s it's about $700 total. Considering you only do a couple trips a year go shift but if budget isn't an issue cast is the bomb
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Cast also sells second ski kits for like $90 so all you need is another pair of pivot heels and skins and you can have a second touring ski. Nice bonus for some people.
the duke pt is un proven as of now, once they start getting under the publics feet I’m sure some quirks will show up but they seem like a super solid option, although expensive and heavy.
shifts are subject to pre release if not set up right or theres a lot of snow on your boots, but every binding won’t work well under those conditions.
cast skis exactly like a pivot on the way down so if you’ve skied and liked pivots thats an obvious choice.
I personally use cast now because I have 3 second ski kits and a bunch if pivots so it makes my life easier. I’ve skied on shifts and didn’t have any issues with them either, some of my bigger friends had issues staying in their shifts, take that with a grain of salt because obviously some people send hard and stay in fine.
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Thankyou guys for the great feedback. Its clear that the CAST system is a crowd favorite and i can see why. They all seem very good for their intended purpose and prices. Mounting what ever i get to some Armada ARV 96 ULs 177. Cannot wait to for snow to fall and get these mounted.
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You can put the cast on a pair of park skis and be perfectly fine. No other touring binding can do that.
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JupitahJoshYou can put the cast on a pair of park skis and be perfectly fine. No other touring binding can do that.
exactly!
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I have a buddy who has the cast on 2 pairs of vishnus, and a pair of black ops. He just trades the toes out depending on what ski he wants to ride that day. Was honestly jealous of him touring in the spring on a pair of wets.
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I faced the same struggle this season and ultimately settled on a CAST free tour. I had a Shift last season that I never ended up touring on, but I did get around 8 days of resort riding on it. It was on a Faction CT 3.0 and I have a Scarpa Maestrale RS. The binding held up really well and I have 0 complaints as far as its downhill performance. I never had a prerelease, or any issues stepping in/out of the binding. I am aware of the many people that do have issues with the binding and the adjustment is extremely finnicky, but a good shop will be able to do that just fine. I have a CAST on a Bent Chetler 120 as my touring/travel ski this season and I'm super stoked. Haven't skied it yet but I've been riding Pivots for a long time and I know that they're solid af, and CAST has an indisputable reputation within the industry. Their system paired with a park ski would give you no problems and you'd still be able to tour just fine. As for the Duke, I skied it at a demo last season and broke it while trying to change it to tour mode so take that with a grain...
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you ended with BC120s yes?
got duke pt16s incoming for my revolt 121s..... still got shifts on my Bc120s.
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If you have the money and ski hard/are ~200+ get the cast. ive pre-released out of my shifts quite a bit resort riding even after getting them dialed in and had multiple shops help me with it, i havent had any backcountry issues since i tone it down when out of bounds. If you do get shifts use leelaus guide (search for it on NS). Shifts are amazing but either work for you or they don't and you don't know until you try them. They are cheap and relatively easy to resell tho.
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