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Guys
A quick sneak peek of the new FirstLight Binding prototype



The base plate will we CNC cut on the production models but this is the concept.
Fully adjustable and all SS304 hardware except the base plate.
No weights yet but this is not a big issue for me.
These will only be for ride mode. That means you have to either have Dynafit for touring mode or fit the Voile Tour risers so you get clearance while touring.

Cheers

Hell yeah. Good to see someone taking hardboot bindings seriously.

That's exactly what I've been thinking of for years. super simple and minimalist for light weight.
kudos for getting those made I cant believe sparks or voile hasn't been making something like this for years

Awesome---I am super stoked to see this!!

Well done FL. I look forward to seeing what the finished product will look like. Combined with your canted pucks these should be a great option.
I have some comments, please take these as suggestions to consider, and not criticism, as I know there are many different considerations to weigh when attempting to make something like this.

1. The bails look a little long to me, perhaps this was done to accommodate large boots within the length limitations of the Voile Slider. Bails are heavy, and long bails will be less secure. I would like to see shorter bails for both less weight and a more secure binding.
2. The toe lever looks clunky and narrow. You may be limited in what you can source, and a CNCed toe lever may be too spendy... but if it were possible I would like to see a more streamlined toe lever shape, with wider interface points for the boot toe (ala the Burton RacePlate toe lever). It is important to try and limit how far the toe lever sticks out, to reduce as much additional width of the system as possible. There is a way to accommodate bail closure without a toe lever at all, it is mechanically a little more complex but it looks like the way I am thinking of could be incorporated into your design. I have always wanted a plate which did not use heel/toe levers to close the bails.
3. I assume with your CNCed base plate you plan on having mutiple holes for the bail eyelets for adjustment, as well as fine adjustment via threads in the eyelet to bail interface?

Again, great work, this what many here have been hoping Will/Spark would have made by now... Thanks so much for putting in the effort and making it happen!

Nice work! Do you think the wider mount of the bails will present any problems? The TLT5 boots are pretty narrow and I've seen that Vapor bent his bails to try to account for this (at least that's my guess on why he did it).

This is the beauty of HBs. Very simple!

Guys
The bails are modified Voile, not much i can do about the design. I may be able to get the bomber ones but their bail wire is a larger diameter.
The ball ends are that length and fully threaded to get the micro adjustment.
These base plates have two holes front and rear in them at this stage only for R&D reasons to get the adjustment I need for these 3 hardboots Scarpa Spirt, Garmont masterlites and and pair of Raichles.
The production ones will have more treaded holes for adjustment!
The final production plates will be as narrow as these, these are only 6mm wider each side than the standard voile puck.
I have thought long and hard about how to make these suitable for all and at this stage they have come out OK.
Cheers for the feedback.

Great work!

When you say production--any idea of time frame or pricing?

Guys
Now that the "Bronze" prototype is out of the way, work starts on the "Silver" prototype.
This will be the full CNC plate version.
I will be able to pull the width in on these as the tolerances will be better.
This will then give me a good idea on retail for these.
Just waiting for the US dollar to gain some on the Aussie, as this will help export on this!
Any request form the community would be great as I have only one point of view.
Some have already sent me some supporting info and thoughts on the design, thanks.
I am thinking of making 50 Sets of the "Gold" prototype when its finished.
Should be by Oct 12.

Cheers

I understand pulling in the width on these but I hope there is a flat bottom.
Close contact to the board, especially when the board flex's.

Looking forward to seeing the final product.

you should make 3 degree canted pucks to go with these...

A few replys for you guys

keffler
I will post photos of my boots, they are super close on the Scarpa boots stay tuned

whistlermaverick
They will be either flat or slightly chamfered, the idea for the chamfer is if you use canted pucks they wont hit the board. My canted puck don't work on the Spark Base plate as the width of the binding hits the boad surface. You need to pack out the pucks to get the extra height to make the binding base not hit the board and make a pinch point.

christoph benells
I currently make 5 degree pucks, but will be doing a 2 or 3 degree version in the next run.

Some CAD images of the first production run









I have put this off so that I didnt compete with the Kelfers inital order.
These are for the rest of us that still want to use the Voile pucks with Dynafit for touring.
Ill be making 20 sets so let me know if you're intersted.

Cheers