Ski Trab TR2 Binding

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!

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.

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!

We are not aware of it. The metal fittings are molded in the boot.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Hi Luke. Possible? Maybe. Recommended? No.

Fritschi Vipec has lateral toe release, pin heels and normal tech boot compatibility.

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.

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.

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

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.

Update: after a season on my Spectres, this remains the best all around touring binding I have ever used. Now have 2 pairs.