Marker Dukes or Fritschi?

Condor wrote

...skis will most likely be nordica enforcers mounted with marker dukes and possibly patrons, also mounted with dukes.

2 pair of Dukes? If you plan on doing any amount of touring you'll wish you had something lighter and a binding that tours better

Going with dukes for a few reasons. I've had great luck with marker, most of my skiing will still consist of resort skiing, quite honestly I don't have an issue with the weight of them, just get the leg muscles in shape. And lastly, price.

Why not some diversity? You can use a decent AT setup at the resort on powder days and use it  as option for  touring

If you slap the skins on for an all day tour you may a different opinion of the weight

weight wienies!!! not too concerned about it. and again price. i can get 2 pairs of dukes for the price of a fritschi pro. i also would not trust that binding, those toe pieces are pitiful! would i break them, probably not but from all the experience ive had with marker and everything else ive read about them, they seem to be just fine.

I also don't think he's planning on getting AT boots. Dukes have an adjustable toe height = alpine boot compatible. Yeah, yeah, alpine boots = heavier. Having only one pair of boots = cheaper.

fujative wrote

 I also don't think he's planning on getting AT boots. Dukes have an adjustable toe height = alpine boot compatible. Yeah, yeah, alpine boots = heavier. Having only one pair of boots = cheaper.

2 friends sticking together = priceless.

If it makes you feel better, I definitely think the FR pros are better than the dukes. But for what we're doing, it just makes no sense.

i will counter your statement saying dukes are better...

dukes= plastic/metal fr pro=plastic....and as far as i know and seen, more plastic. dukes=34mm stand height, fr pro =39mm stand hieght. dukes=6-16din. fr pro=4-12din

also, and this is from me holding a pair of barons, and fr pros side by side, same size L, and the baron was way shorter than the fritschi as far as track length. now yes blah blah blah take ski off to release heel blahh blahh blahh weight. theres a 410gram difference between the pair...thats less than half a pound per binding...or to be exact 0.449743015 pounds. thats NOTHING!!!!! also the duke has a way more elastic toe and heel. so what does the freeride pro get points on....ill give it that the pivot point is in a better location, other than that i feel it is an inferior binding than the duke. and i can almost guarantee i can find more broken free ride pros than dukes soooooo end rant/truth:)

fujative wrote

... for what we're doing...

Sincere question: why would you buy an AT binding for resort skiing?

Are you going to be touring?

I plan on getting some beat up skis for cheap on gearswap and putting the dukes on there for early/late season skiing. Maybe an actual tour or two at best. I'm still keeping my S6/Tyrolia peaks for resort skiing. Maybe using them for some slackcountry on my trips out West.

If I actually get seriously into it, maybe I'll invest in some AT Boots/FR pros (granted that I can try them and see if I like them), then I'll consider picking some up when I'm not $7k in the hole.

I use Fritschi for touring and resort.  I ski mostly at the resort though.  But I only ski one pair of skis, so I would prefer the AT binding.  too difficult to switch up skis all the time, I always have mine so I am ready to go.  If the conditions suck at the resort, I can just take em and go.  I like fritschis, been skiing on them exclusively for the last 4 years.

Condor wrote

i will counter your statement saying dukes are better...

dukes= plastic/metal fr pro=plastic....and as far as i know and seen, more plastic. dukes=34mm stand height, fr pro =39mm stand hieght. dukes=6-16din. fr pro=4-12din

also, and this is from me holding a pair of barons, and fr pros side by side, same size L, and the baron was way shorter than the fritschi as far as track length. now yes blah blah blah take ski off to release heel blahh blahh blahh weight. theres a 410gram difference between the pair...thats less than half a pound per binding...or to be exact 0.449743015 pounds. thats NOTHING!!!!! also the duke has a way more elastic toe and heel. so what does the freeride pro get points on....ill give it that the pivot point is in a better location, other than that i feel it is an inferior binding than the duke. and i can almost guarantee i can find more broken free ride pros than dukes soooooo end rant/truth:)

I've had zero problems with the 2 pair of fritschis I own. Had one issue with the Dukes. The bushing on the release lever pivot point  wore to where there was lengthwise movement of the binding on the base plate when it was locked down. It felt as there was a possibility of this shearing  due to the slop. This wasn't from being overly used, they get minimal use. Mostly  by someone I let borrow for the day. Last year I never used them

I contacted Marker to see if I could get replacement parts. No dice. I had to take them to a shop and they in turn had to send them back. You can purchase all kinds of replacement parts for the Freerides

Freeride has 3 clmbing positions with a higher angle than the Duke. The higher climbing position makes a huge difference on a steeper climb. Adjusting the climbing position on the freeride with your pole is a snap. The Duke 2 position climb bar is under foot and is pain in the (.) to switch. Dukes you have be out of the binding to switch between modes. Not huge issue until you're at the top in 3ft of unconsolidated snow have to take your skis off and sink to your waist. With the freerides you lock them down, cross one ski over in front of you, lift up tail, grab the skin and whip it off. Also being able to switch modes on the fly can come in handy precarious situations where you may need lock down and backup. More than once this has proved useful

And anytime you can eliminate a 1/2 lb on each foot by binding, boot, ski or whatever you will notice the difference on an all day tour

I am a big fan of new Fritschis.

Being able to adjust the climbing peg on the Fritschis on the fly is sweet. Also, the new white Freerides have a spring and the whole ski flexes, no more dead spot under the boot.

A lot of people tend to overestimate their own skiing in regards to burliness / din and end up on a Duke unnecessarily, so here's my 2 cents on the whole thing (even if it doesn't apply to the OP in this thread).

I have a pair of dukes on my missions now, had barons on something else before. Can't really tell the difference much between the two, but Dukes are really pretty heavy, and both have an annoying dead spot on the ski. Fritschi's will work fine for most people and I think they're more enjoyable to ski in pow. I don't really like the dukes in some downhill situations (like moguls), I can vaguely feel them slowing me down a bit. And that's not on the up, where each 1 pound on your foot feels like 5 pounds on your back (after a few hours). The tour might be an option, but I'm not sure those will hold up riding lifts.

Had three pairs of fritschi's, two pairs of dynafits as well.  If you really hammer moguls on Freerides (think early spring under the single chair mach 10) there's a chance that you could get some pre-release comeuppance in embarrassing fashion.

If you're lighter and plan on actually touring a lot I think the Fritschi is a better binding for pow, loose snow, and a din of eleven or under while being more convenient.

A Duke might make sense if you really need a higher din, weigh north of 200+, are skiing more firm resort snow and touring less.

Both bindings are adjustable for many pairs of boots / styles. I can fly adjusting fritschis, dukes take me a little longer but it's nice to be able to lend out a pair sometimes.

The Duke has certainly stolen the "burly" market, but I'm not sure if it's totally deserved. Regular alpine bindings are the best cost/performance, any make any model (non demo). Dynafits are really cool and ski great and I have consumed all the kool-aid, but they have a longer learning curve and cost a ton more in bindings and dedicated boots.

Anyway, I'm glad to have these Quiver Killers in my skis so I won't have to purchase multiple expensive AT bindings again, even if I don't swap bindings that much.

It also leaves the next user a nice clean hole if they want to reuse it if you sell the skis.