The pro's and cons of Look (and Rossignol) bindings...
Written: Dec 16 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Excellent release/retention algorithm
Cons: Poorly designed cosmetics deteriorate rapidly
The Bottom Line: Markers are well built but heavy, Salomon's are lighter but but unstable toe, Atomic's have 0 ramp but primitive release characteristics. There's no perfect binding...
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| RONinPC's Full Review: Look P12 Lifter |
I have spent the past few seasons skiing nothing but Look Bindings, both the P12 and P14's.
I have been thrilled with the retention abilities and elasticity of both the toe and heel (despite what appears to be a very narrow toe wing, the Look toe holds a ski without play, a quality Salomon cannot claim).
Moguls, powder, even racing, the Look binding has never failed to retain or release appropriately, and I feel comfortable skiing them at 9 DIN, a relatively low setting for my weight and skier type.
But I will not likely ski them again.
Why? Look (and Rossignol, and Dynastar) have evolved into designs with excessive ramp angle, at least more than I feel comfortable with. Ramp angle is a figure that represents the effective heel height of a skier; computed by knowing the height of the skiers toepiece (including the height of the ski) and heelpiece (again, including the height of the ski, to incorporate a skis taper rate), and the sole-length of the boot. A binding with a high degree of ramp (or delta toe:heel) can affect a skiers stance, and the shorter the boot, the greater the ramp it adds.
Of course, a good boot-fitter can adjust the ramp angle of a binding by placing shims under the toe piece of the binding, so ramp angle alone should not be a reason for buying or not buying a binding. I have another complaint.
I have never made it through a season with a pair of Looks that did not shed their cosmetic plastic. Big Deal? If each season, your bindings lost their windows, cracked their risers, lost their cosmetic covers; if each season your bindings continually looked like junk, and made turning over your equipment to get new stuff difficult, eventually you get sick of the quality issues. Look is not alone in this, Tyrolia bindings have notoriously developed excessive "play" in their tracks, making them feel compromised. Marker bindings loose their windows often as well.
Look bindings have great release/retention characteristics, but the need to compensate for a hefty ramp angle and poor cosmetic quality makes me reluctant to stay on 'em.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
RONinPC
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Member: Ron Shepard
Location: Park City, UT
Reviews written: 133
Trusted by: 136 members
About Me:
Skiing, Biking, Sailing and Hiking are the passions of this Park City Family.
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