- This topic has 9 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 2 years, 7 months ago by
Scooby2.
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- November 14, 2019 at 10:47 am #843342Scooby2Participant
I think I will get onto my hard boots for a ride this winter. I’m looking to shake weight, as well as improve safety so I have been on the prowl for a tech binding that would have chance at releasing in climb mode. These Gara bindings are pretty interesting. They don’t work on springs, but torque on the bar. They don’t have the easy step in of tech toes, you have to pressure the lever to get in, but they hold pretty firmly without being locked in. This seems like a big departure in the field, where most say you’ll step out of an unlocked binding in tour mode again and again. The manual says the bindings can be toured unlocked when in your own judgment you think it would be more safe.
I got these from SKIMO, 135 each and got the blue ones, that look great. 66 grams each.
November 17, 2019 at 5:25 am #843405SnurferParticipantHi @scooby2
I’m considering getting out on my old HB’s a time or two this season with my fishscaled board and these look like a great deal. Are you using the Spark adapters or did you build a preflex with the tech insert pattern?Shark Snowsurf Chuna
Voile V-Tail 170 BC
Voile One Ninety Five
Spark R&D ArcNovember 18, 2019 at 9:27 am #843436Scooby2ParticipantHey Snurfer,
I haven’t put them on yet. For my current board that I’m still in love with, I was just going to make an adapter to voile pattern out of some aluminum stock that I have. It is all paulownia wood so screws are not the best idea. Next board, if I finish one for myself this winter, will just have some dense wood in the binding area and I’ll go with ski screws, my cores are like 13-14 mm thick so it works great. I’m not sure if the spark adapters work with the Trab hole pattern, ski bindings are not standardized at all. If you need some measurements to see, I can measure them for you.November 18, 2019 at 9:47 am #843437Scooby2Participantlooks like the Spark adapters would work, maybe the Trabs are 30 x 27 and the Spark plate has a 30 x 26.5mm pattern among all the patterns it takes. nice, that’ll be way easier than drill tapping and cutting. I’d probably be off a half mm in every direction anyway, lol.
November 18, 2019 at 6:24 pm #843449SnurferParticipantCool thanks! Tempting
Shark Snowsurf Chuna
Voile V-Tail 170 BC
Voile One Ninety Five
Spark R&D ArcNovember 22, 2019 at 8:27 am #843535SnurferParticipantWow, just saw these. Affordable and Voile built!
https://www.voile.com/voile-splitboard-hardboot-bindings.htmlShark Snowsurf Chuna
Voile V-Tail 170 BC
Voile One Ninety Five
Spark R&D ArcNovember 30, 2019 at 8:43 pm #843760TaylorParticipantI like the look of these new Voiles too. Nice and simple.
December 25, 2019 at 1:28 pm #844529whistlermaverickParticipantI think I will get onto my hard boots for a ride this winter. I’m looking to shake weight, as well as improve safety so I have been on the prowl for a tech binding that would have chance at releasing in climb mode. These Gara bindings are pretty interesting. They don’t work on springs, but torque on the bar. They don’t have the easy step in of tech toes, you have to pressure the lever to get in, but they hold pretty firmly without being locked in. This seems like a big departure in the field, where most say you’ll step out of an unlocked binding in tour mode again and again. The manual says the bindings can be toured unlocked when in your own judgment you think it would be more safe.
I got these from SKIMO, 135 each and got the blue ones, that look great. 66 grams each.
Hey Scooby2–
How far does that lever stick out in ‘lock’ mode. I find my front foot is back against my Dynafit toe pieces and couldn’t take much more space. Is the lever very long?
Do the Trab toes offer different tensions or is it just ‘lock’ or ‘unlocked’?
Of concern if ya were to get taken out by a slide in the skin track, would want a release mechanism.Got pics of a full set up mounted?
As to the Voile’s.
They look alright, could be lighter, with a simple design, I don’t see any more benefit than the Phantom/Spark colab as there is no weight savings@j.memay
December 26, 2019 at 11:27 am #844573Scooby2Participantthe different thing about these Trab toe pieces is that they have a lot more tension in unlocked mode so, as I understand, you are supposed to be able to tour with them in the unlocked position “most of the time” without just walking out of them. My presumption is that if you took a small ride on ascent you might not shred a knee as compared to being locked in.
There are no tension adjustments for the toe pieces.
You could operate them without the black plastic levers, just pushing with your grip maybe on the metal curved end. Hard to say how far they’d be in front of your voile pattern inserts. I don’t have an adapter for them yet, I am mounting them in a custom board this winter with a layout tailored to my stance etc. I can take some measurements in a bit.
April 9, 2021 at 10:42 am #864611Scooby2ParticipantI have been riding these Trab Gara toes this year, not that much due to the bad structure for much of the year.
They do work with the Spark adapter plates however the screws need some hands on work to settle perfectly in the binding frame-perhaps not necessary or only needed for the front two screws. The head diameter of the screws for the Spark plate is a bit big and has to be ground down to just under 8mm. The best way to do this is to put the screw into a drill press and hold a file to the head until it is the smaller size. An alternative would be to put the screws in a drill and stabilize the drill in a vise or under clamps and hold a file to the head that way.
Some of my favorite tours involve breaking trail up across some steep slopes eventually and I am into having a binding that can release me if needed. A breakaway leash is a must really as you will step out of an unlocked binding now and again. You will want to lock them in on firm snow edging. My partner’s bindings need a shim to tighten up the lock, but we haven’t tried the new broader base full size shim which might provide for a tighter lock (and longer customized screws).
If you don’t really care about release from tour mode, other bindings are probably easier to use, easier to get in, perhaps more bombproof lock. If you want your sticks off in a slide, these seem to be the only option other than maybe the Pierre Gignoux carbon ones which maybe only work with boots that have a V-notch for easier stepping in.
I think it’s time for splits to have an aluminum mounting plate like boards had in the 80s.
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