Lots of thoughts about these.
The good:
-Delightfully simple, terrific function and design... mostly
-Don't seem to have any issues with accumulated snow.
-They are very easy to use, flipping the plastic thing back and forth.
-Easy to put on and take off the binding, only bummer is needing different length screws.
The bad:
-Bulky and ugly look (oh the vanity, I know)
-The main issue is losing the flat binding setting for flat approaches. The plastic piece that flips up to hold the brakes up is about .75cm above the flat setting (where the heel piece turned sideways).
-If you just flip the plastic piece forward but don't use the race flap it's a bit lower but nowhere near flat, theres also some minor sticking with the boot hitting the heel piece.
I think these are great for winter skiing but I'm probably going to take them off in the spring. I already had the trab bindings and love them, but in future will likely transition to ATK since their bindings seem a bit more dialed with the brakes.
Ski Trab Brakes
The Italians are always on the leading edge of ski technology and Trab in particular has both speed and safety in mind. With options for all Ski Trab bindings, these brakes are mounted directly underneath the heel piece, which results in a secure connection that will stand up to the rigors of the backcountry.
Gara Race x2 - ISMF compatible brakes for the Gara Titan Brake race bindings.
Titan x2 - These are the brakes for the Titan Vario "1" bindings and are compatible with Flex 30 adjustment plates. The Titan have light and durable titanium alloy arms and a free-spinning ball provides low-friction operation reduces the impact on release values. Stainless steel reaction springs resist corrosion and enable return-to-center. The original Vario binding used the Titan brakes (same as the Gara Titan race binding).
Vario.2 x2 - An updated version of the Titan, the Vario.2 can fit over a larger heel housing, and uses the same great material construction as the Titan brakes. Cross compatible brake with the Gara Titan race binding and the Titan Vario.2 binding.
TR2 x2 - Compatible with the TR2 bindings specifically. Titanium alloy arms are light and sturdy.
Questions & Reviews
Comment on this review:
11/5/2022
How do these brakes lock in the touring mode? With the brake installed, will the neutral (no heel riser) touring mode be still accessible? Thanks.
11/6/2022
Hi Scythain, the plastic piece flips up over the heel tower and locks under your heel, which does raise your heel in "flat" mode by the thickness of that piece.
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4/21/2022
If I have a pair of Vario2's with brakes but I want to remove the brakes, do I need shorter screws or anything special to reinstall the heel turret or is it as simple as removing the brake and reinstalling the turret?
4/21/2022
Hi Ben. When putting the brakes on the Vario2's, a small plate comes off. When the brakes come off, the plate the turret sits on needs to be put back on the binding.
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2/20/2022
Hi skiMo. I am planning to race this winter/spring. I have an older pair of SkiTrab WC race binding with a SkiTrab raceplate for the heel. Which ski brake will suit my rig?
Thanks, Geir
Thanks, Geir
2/20/2022
Hi Geir, the "Titan" version is the one you want. We have 78mm and should have more 65mm shortly.
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1/9/2022
What is the weight of breaks for the vario 2 binding?
1/10/2022
Hi Brandon. I weighed the 94mm version and they come out to 69.6 grams per side. Hope that helps.
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1/16/2021
Do you think the 94mm vario.2 brakes could be made to work with a 100mm ski or would that just be too tight?
Thanks,
Mike
Thanks,
Mike
1/16/2021
Hey Mike, I grabbed one and put it over a 100mm ski. It did squeeze over, but would require a bit of bending to work.
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1/26/2020
Do any of these brakes work with the older trab race TR adjustable bindings? If not, does anyone know of an after market lightweight brake that is designed to fit beneath any skimo race front binding?
1/28/2020
Hey Simon, the mounting pattern on the older Titan is the same as the mounting pattern on your TR-Race bindings, so the "Titan" version should work great! Another option would be to go with the Kreuzspitze tech brakes, which you could use on any future race-binding-mounted ski.
1/28/2020
Thanks for the response. This is the race tr adjustable binding, so does not have the the same screw spacing. I think I have lucked out on the trab brakes. I do like the design of the kreuspitze, but not the removal to skin and replace to ski. Was looking at the photos from ISPO today. The design of the new grizzly race bindings looks good. If someone could come up with a brake of that design that could fit any binding with a crampon slot, this would br a real winner. With the changes to the ISMF rules, I am guessing a lot more after market brakes will be appearing this year, fingers crossed.
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12/26/2019
Hello.
I want to use the Ski Trab Titan Vario 2 with my Katana V-Werks (111mm waist), is it possible to add a ski brake that will fit my skis?
Thanks!
I want to use the Ski Trab Titan Vario 2 with my Katana V-Werks (111mm waist), is it possible to add a ski brake that will fit my skis?
Thanks!
12/26/2019
Hey Jonas, unfortunately 94mm is the widest brake for the Vario.2!
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11/30/2019
Hey, sorry obvious question... If I have the Ski Trab Titan Vario binding, which model of brakes do I want?
12/1/2019
Hi Becca, it's definitely not obvious! The original Vario binding uses the Titan brakes. I just changed the name in the drop list for the Vario.2 brakes to make it more clear those are for the updated model with a bigger heel housing.
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Bought a set of the 115mm TR2 brakes for my second pair of TR2's. As usual Skimo is the only place with them on tap so thanks for that. Also have to shout Trab out for packing the brakes in a skin bag! Cannot say enough good about Trab & Skimo.
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