The new duke, gettin’ flashy!
The Duke is a tried and true touring binding that serves well for those who are as concerned with the down as they are with the up. While not the lightest binding on the market by any means, with a DIN of 16 you can feel as comfortable skiing it in the resort as you would on your alpine binding.
What’s new:
- Extended Power Frame
- Wider Screw Base
- Improved Heel Riser
- Shnazzy Colors!
EXP FTW ( Extended Power Frame For the Win!)
For the 2013 season, the Duke has undergone some changes to make it an even more powerful and versatile binding. Marker widened the screw base as well as the overall frame of the binding, making power transfer on the wider skis of today a breeze. This innovation is a testament to an industry wide shift toward a fatter future.
The new heel riser (a feature introduced in this years duke) remains the same: a solid, two stage lift. The new riser offers a taller lift than the original, and is also much less prone to bending out of it’s slot and getting loose, as was a prevalent issue with the original Duke.
The walk/tour mode remains the same, requiring the user to take the ski off to transition. Marker did change the mold for the binding, with less sharp angles small nooks for snow to freeze. We may actually have a duke that doesn’t freeze up!
Ive broken three pairs of dukes in the past two seasons. They claim to be the bomb proof touring binding but they cant even hold up to normal use and impacts. soooo glad that Salomon is coming out with a touring binding for next season!
I have two pair of dukes, one on stiff Blizzards and another on some soft ON3P’s, skied them everywhere from five days on a glacier to daily sidecountry chute skiing. Just don’t see how you could break three pairs of dukes. I think your full of it.
Broke the heel cup on a pair of Dukes on this year after skiing on them for only five days.
shoddy ass binding
What they should have changed.
1.) A system that doesnt ice up every time you go from tour to DH
2.) A way to switch from AT mode without taking your ski off
3.) A lower mount hight
4.) Lower price
Why not add a Unicorn and a pot of gold to that wishlist?
Or a working lift at Granite.
So… Dynafit?!
ocassionally spray some silicon spray in the areas where it freezes and snow sticks and you’ll never have a problem
So I’ve never skied Dukes. Can someone tell me what makes them be tter than Fritschis? I’m not trying to pick a fight, just interested in discourse. I have Fritschis and I am trying to figure out what makes them better, besides a DIN of 16. Thanks for any input.
The Fritschi bindings are much lighter but lack torsional stability when carving in an alpine setting. These bindings are also a bit more prone to damage. (have had several come back to the shop over the last 10 years).
The Duke is a great alternative, however, you will sacrifice a few added grams/oz of weight. The Duke has a much more stable platform but is a heavy dog. We have seen a few come back, an AFD broke off one and the other 2 or 3 i have seen in the last few years had very strange damage to them (ie leaving the skis on your roof rack then driving through ur garage and ripping the binding toe piece so it cracks.
IMO, just get what your pocket book can afford and send it!
10 year veteran of mounting, tuning, and making skiers happy… and no, free beer does not motivate me to mount your skis any sooner.
good info. need more gear discussion on here.
Great review! Unofficial needs more articles like this. Gear reviews are great. Bitching about KSL and pounding the hippy/tree hugger drum gets old.
I have the Marker F12. Great binding but that new salomon/atomic look pretty sweet.
I have a two year old Duke on my Coombas, it’s one of the best combos I’ve ever had on any set up. The new one looks a little to flash for my tastes, but I like the wider screw points.
I hate it when people give Marker a hard time for making you take your ski off to switch form ski to tour, when was the last time you put skins on with the ski on your foot? I’ll give that you can get them off withthe ski still on, but I find it easy enough to take off the ski and do it properly.
This is not a review. It’s just Marker’s press release from last winter announcing the new features on their binding, and it’s not even terribly relevant considering the news on this dropped half a year ago. A review comes from someone who has actually used the product they are “reviewing” and can offer positive or negative feedback. Send a pair down to Las Lenas and have someone actually ski it for a season rather than just spewing Marker’s crap about it, that’s what I was expecting when I opened the article.
I said the same thing to myself when I opened this thread…
pretty sure the guy that wrote this skied these things for a month or so…dont assume slacker. Eric B rules!
I’ll take some brand new Atomic Tracker 16′s instead, thank you very much.
toured and skied the Salomon/Atomic and they are far superior to the Duke or any marker binding for that matter. metal on metal hinges, wide frame, lower height, plus I’ve seen too many broken Markers come back the shop (mount around 40+ pairs/day to give some scale of the biz) in the last 4 years to ever want a pair especially of the touring sort. But remember kids if you do have them dukes make sure you tighten them down so you don’t “Marker out” lol
and if you don’t want either i guess you can check out the new Tyrolia adrenaline touring bindings
what shop do you mount 40 pairs of makrers per day? rei demo shop doesnt count for the 7 days they let you punch holes in demos btw.
yea more gear info wouold be rad.
we all know they make airbags now…..
tx UN
Just get some MFD’s, sure they may be a little heavy, but at least you can still use any binding of your choice.
For what its worth,I will always stress out about Marker Royal series heel pieces after a prerelease cost me a torn PCL a few years back. We just got the new Salomon grippers in at the shop a few days ago, and they do look pretty solid.
Hi,
On wich position did you mount your Duke ? Centered ? -1 ?
I’d like to buy the same pack, but I don’t know where I should mount bindings yet.
Sorry for my english.