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Skimo Co
SkyRun

Ski Trab TR2 Binding


Discontinued


Although limited in boot compatibility*, the TR2 binding is not limited in features and performance. Ski Trab developed a unique heel design that uses downward pressure to maximize steering precision. It also lets you change from ski-mode to walk-mode without exiting the binding; just press down with your pole. At the toe, the wings can open to the side, enabling a twisting release like an alpine binding. These highlights combine to make the Trab TR2 one of the more interesting ski-touring bindings on the market.

The TR2 binding has two models with different release value ranges: 5-11 for most skiers and 7-13 for heavy/aggressive skiers with shorter feet. Brake widths available are 88mm, 104mm, and 115mm. The detailed feature list is lengthy:

  • Downward heel pressure gives a stable, locked-in feeling while skiing.
  • 75mm wide base plates help transfer power to the edges of the ski.
  • Lateral release at the toe reduces twisting-release forces on your tibia.
  • Brakes are included and replaceable if you decide to change skis.
  • Lock lever at the toe offers a fully-locked uphill mode for climbing.
  • Ability to change modes without exiting the binding is a huge plus.
  • Fully adjustable release values can be dialed for your size and ability.
  • 30mm BSL adjustment in the heel lets you adapt to different boots.
  • Two riser positions in addition to flat mode give skin track options.
  • Short binding plates enable a natural ski flex, improving ski control.
  • Flatter ramp angle than comparables which reduces quad strain.
  • Leash attachment point at the toe gives a backup ski-catch option.
  • Included crampon attachment lets you climb supportable crusts.

* Please note this binding is compatible only with La Sportiva Spectre 2.0, Spitfire 2.0, Sideral 2.0, Starlet 2.0, and SCARPA Spirit boots.

Update 2023/24: This model was replaced by Ski Trab TR1 Binding.

Specifications
Weight
convert to ounces
609g [104mm]
Weight (pair) 1218g [104mm]
Boot Compatibility   TR 2 only
Brakes (mm)   88, 104, 115
BSL Adjustment   24mm
Riser Heights   2
Vertical Release   5-11 or 7-13
Lateral Release   5-11 or 7-13
Crampon Ready   Included Option
Specs Verified Yes
Design
Materials   Ergal, hardened steel
Skimo Co Says
Usage Touring, mountaineering, free touring
Notes Lateral release at the toe
Bottom Line High-performance binding with a focus on safety
Compare to other Full-featured Bindings

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Questions & Reviews

3/6/2021
Gray (used product regularly)
 
Note: make sure you remove the metal piece above the TR2 inserts. I skied them pretty regularly without realizing it’s not supposed to sit on that (and the people who mounted my bindings didn’t know either

I do like these bindings, I think the concept is cool and once you get used to the binding it works well. That being said I don’t really see any good reason to use these over the Tectons or Vipecs. The TR2 heel insert severely limits your choice of boots and there isn’t a ton of information on getting the insert added on other boots.

The “hold to enter” entry for the toe and heel is a little annoying, but you get used to it pretty quickly and I can still transition faster than some partners who have a toe stop on their bindings. Being able to switch from ski to walk mode without removing your toe is awesome for some tricky situations but I think those with good skinning technique probably won’t benefit from it much. There also isn’t a real flat option for skinning and it definitely wears you down on long, flat approaches. The bindings do feel very good on the downhill.

I decided to switch boots and have switched to different bindings on my skis. I’ll probably keep the TR2 around in case I want to use them again someday.
7/14/2021
Reply from Dane H
 
Curious what boot you are using and in what size? I have never found the "flat" riser of this binding to be an issue even walking miles across frozen lakes and am curious if you have a shorter BSL making that ramp greater?

I chose TR2 over Vipec for heel retention, it is much much better than heel pins. And TR2 is a little lighter & less complicated than Tecton but hey if you don't jibe with Sportiva boots, then Tecton is definitely best bet for: toe pins with elasticity and lateral release with an alpine style heel.

Cheers!
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11/28/2020
Question from Morteza_bach
 
How to adjust the heel part of the binding
When it doesn't have degree as like as front
Thank you
11/28/2020
Answer from Julieana
 
Hi Morteza, the release value is adjustable in both the toe and heel of this binding. The large flathead screw is how you adjust the release value in the heel. You can see the screw and release value markings on the heel in the third photo.
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1/6/2020
Question from Raymond H
 
I am heading off to France, 3Vallee in a week, with my Maestrale RS boots (new ones). Any chance anyone knows a ski shop, there that can do the Ski Trab mod to these AT boots?
I met Rick Howell recently, here in Vermont, and we had a really animated conversation about the risks associated with skiing with standard Touring Tech bindings. I happened to be driving my car ;) wearing my NTN tele boots, which impressed Rick, when we met at a gas station.
The Trab TR2 is one binding he recommended, if I must tour with pin tech free pivot at the toe..
1/6/2020
Answer from TSB
 
Hi Raymond! Gas stations in VT are indeed a great place to make skier-friends, especially the Mobil on the corner of 100 and Mountain Road in Stowe (not to disregard Village Grocery in Waitsfield, of course). Mr. Howell has quite a number of interesting designs, which may interest you if you have a prior history of lower leg injuries. And clearly he has great taste in tech bindings -- the TR2 has arguably the most impressive release performance of any tech binding in the industry! So in that sense we would agree that the TR2 is a great choice if you have specific injury concerns, although in general we don't see skiing with tech bindings to be "risky" behavior, especially with bindings that have fully adjustable lateral and vertical release values. If you wanted to get TR2 inserts added to your Maestrale RSs, we can reach out to Ski Trab to see who in the Trois Vallees area has their pressing machine. Give us a shout at help@skimo.co or by phone and we'll get the ball rolling!
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6/7/2019
Question from Scythian
 
Just out of curiosity, there was a casual mention somewhere in the discussion groups that the Ski Trab factory in Italy can modify any touring boot to be compatible with the TR2 bindings (it appears that in this day and age installing additional metal fittings into the back of the sole should not constitute an engineering problem). Is that true? If so, can it be done at other locations/shops? Thanks
6/7/2019
Answer from Jeff
 
We are not aware of it. The metal fittings are molded in the boot.
7/8/2019
Answer from VI-
 
Hi Scythian,
This does exist; see photo of my Vulcans. It is done at the Ski Trab factory, as well as a few ski shops throughout Europe that have got the factory training and jigs from Ski Trab. (Maybe the skimo.co crew want to do a trip to Italy for the training, and bring the Tecton/Shift killer to the masses here?) So I would contact the factory first; and depending on where you are located or potential travel plans, either deal with them or get referred to one of these shops.
Anyway, my story with the TR2 began as I was intrigued with this binding and its specs. Unfortunately, the available LS boots were not for me. I then came across some Italian ski productions floating around with freeriders in Ski Trab-modded Nordicas and Dalbellos slamming these things in the park then slaying pow in the BC. This helped convince me to give the mod a whirl; and once I did I was hooked... lighter than Tecton/Shift/Kingpin, way more confidence-inspiring metal/less plastic, shift on the fly ski/walk mode, a much more connected feeling to the skis through the heel, some welcome elasticity in the toes, etc..
I e-mailed the company, referencing these videos and asking about a mod, and was put in touch with Sara De Lorenzi (adm@skitrab.com) who arranged everything by e-mail i.e. shipping both ways, the heel mod, and payment. Additionally, the binding-side heel piece for modded boots has a different part number, as the jaws are something like 4mm wider than the standard version. They can swap your normal set of heels if you include them with your boots when sending them in for some nominal fee, as I recall it was $20 or $30. I would assume they have to be unused. So you could either purchase a normal set of TR2's and send in the binding heels with the boots; or get skimo to special order a set with the alternative heels. The part number is in the Ski Trab catalog (54mm heels). With the marked down pricing here on skimo.co, you'd likely be better off ordering regulars from skimo stock and then including the heels with the boots for the swap.
Your chosen boot needs to already have toe inserts. They can only mod the heel.
Because various boot manufacturers use house or other brand toe inserts that may slightly differ dimensionally and have different amounts of ramp, and lateral release now happens at the toe inserts, Ski Trab makes you sign a waiver saying as much as part of the mod. In my mind, this is the same situation that the Tecton binding is in, with various brands/sources of toe insert being the release interface, so I think Ski Trab is just being abundantly cautious here, but it is something to bear in mind.
For what it is worth, my Vulcan's with official Dynafit Masterstep inserts passed in a Wintersteiger tester, only about 0.5 DIN off the indicator. True alpine-style release. Interestingly, TR-2 was actually in the database of the Wintersteiger tester. Real world results also check out. For example, I caught a hidden rock early last winter mid-turn on the outside ski's inside edge, found myself doing the splits. Popped off no problemo.
On the flipside, I am aware of another individual with Salomon MTN LABs who, if I recall correctly, was able to dial in the RV he desired, but actual RV as tested was a few DIN off the binding's indicator. Indeed, Salomon toe insert seemed to have less ramp than official Dynafit.
Again, makes me wonder about the Tecton scenario.
But anyway, this is something to consider.
Also to bear in mind; after the mod, your boot will still work in bindings with pin heels; but not in alpine heels, as the insert gets in the way of the heel lug. This is obvious in the photo.
Also, if you lose or damage your boots, your skis are out of commission until you can get a new pair fitted with heel inserts to work in your bindings. This is always in the back of my mind when travelling (another reason for skimo.co to go to Italy for some factory certification on TR-2 boot modding ;-)
Notwithstanding, I am totally stoked by this binding and would not go back. I have 2 sets that I move around my quiver on inserts, with a pair of brakes in all 3 sizes and a leash for when it suits. I love and cherish these things like I never thought I could a binding.
7/8/2019
Answer from Scythian
 
Thanks a lot! This sounds terrific.
I opted for Scarpa Maestrale RS, which has Dynafit toe inserts, so this perhaps won't be an issue.
Interestingly, Ski Trab did partner with Scarpa at some point and the latter released Scarpa Spirit boot.
I wonder if they continue to work together.
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6/6/2019
Question from Dmitry
 
I am shopping for touring bindings to connect La Sportiva Spitfire 2.0 with Voile V6 skis to ski in Sierra (Tahoe region). Having read some initial discussion about the TR2, I am tempted to get and install these on my setup, however, I haven't been able to find good analysis of the pros and cons of regular tech bindings vs. the TR2. Is there anything that should give me a second thought before purchasing these? The Voile V6 skis are a bit on the heavier and wider side, but I would be using this setup on Sierra cement so perhaps that weight would be an asset. Also, I wonder if the TR2 binding is more oriented towards racing.
6/6/2019
Answer from jbo
 
Hi Dmitry, these are not oriented towards race skis; Trab has a whole line of Titan bindings for those. The TR-2 is an full featured touring binding, with exceptional release characteristics. It's one of the rare lateral-toe release tech bindings which means it's more tibia-friendly. In that small category, it consistently performs the best in our release testing. Folks also like that you can switch modes without exiting the binding. The only downside is boot compatibility which is not a problem with your Spitfires.
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2/5/2019
Question from James
 
Hi, your specs say that the touring mode has a flat walk mode and 2 riser levels, but I think it actually just has a semi-flat walk mode with a single riser.
2/6/2019
Answer from Matt P
 
Hi James, The walk mode is very close to flat because the toe piece with pins sits up higher. With that being said, the boot will not lie flush against the ski like some other tech bindings. I've updated the specs to just read "2". Hope this helps, thanks for pointing this out.
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11/12/2018
Question from Sami
 
Does 'crampon ready' mean that the crampon attachment comes with the TR2 binding, or do I still need to purchase the crampon attachment, from the SKITRAB parts tab? Thanks!
11/12/2018
Answer from Trace Leches
 
Hey Sami! "Crampon ready" indicates that you can attach crampons straight out of the box with no extra parts! It's compatible with Dynafit style crampons.
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1/13/2018
Question from Luke
 
Would it be possible to mate the Trab TR 2 toe piece with the ATK Haute Route heel piece to lighten up the rig/work around the boot compatibility issues while maintaining the alpine binding-like releasability?
1/14/2018
Answer from jbo
 
Hi Luke. Possible? Maybe. Recommended? No.
2/25/2019
Answer from Tjaard B
 
Fritschi Vipec has lateral toe release, pin heels and normal tech boot compatibility.
11/14/2019
Answer from Dane H
 
How about a Dynafit expedition heel? That is the Franken-binding I have been daydreaming about for a while. Since it has no lateral release at the heel. What would the delta be like? I assume I would need to mount the heel on a demo track too.
11/16/2019
Answer from jbo
 
Hi Dane, that's an interesting combo! You can figure out the delta by looking at our pin heights. Looks like it would be a negative ramp without a plate. The expedition heels fit on the Hagan plate, but screw stress could be a problem since the screw holes are somewhat slanted in that heel.
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2/23/2017
Dane H (used product regularly)
 
Retains and releases just like an alpine binding. & tech tours. If not for the limited (but expanding) boot compatibility, I feel like this binding would become the tech 2.0 sensation. I use a Sideral 2.0 and plan to get a Spectre 2.0 at the end of this season. I love these bindings.
4/10/2018
Reply from thomc
 
Hey Dane, how easy is it getting in and out of these, compared both to a dynafit or a step in like Fritschi binding? Thanks
8/3/2018
Reply from Dane H
 
I guess the short answer is that it is more difficult to enter the toe. In certain situations it is probably easier than a dynafit, like deep snow on flatter terrain. Steep sidehills can be challenging as you have to push down on your ski to hold the jaws open. The heel is much easier to enter and exit in general and provides an alpine quality retention and elasticity.
11/14/2019
Reply from Dane H
 
Update: after a season on my Spectres, this remains the best all around touring binding I have ever used. Now have 2 pairs.
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Model: TR2

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