The alpine touring binding game is dominated by a few major players. Dynafit has been in the game since the beginning while Marker, Salomon, G3, and Fritschi also pump out a healthy amount of bindings. Each of these manufacturers has a plethora of options from light race bindings to burlier ones designed for shredding harder.
Plum is a much smaller company that may not be on everyone’s radar. This small French company has been producing lightweight, minimalist, alpine touring bindings for years although they have only been available to the masses since 2008.
Plum enjoyed early success in the USA in the “SkiMo” scene thanks to their 99-gram (per binding) Race 99. To give you an idea of Plum’s take on the backcountry ski scene…two of the categories of bindings listed on their website are “light” and “ultra-light”. Yes, weight has been a priority for these brakeless bindings. Uphill speed and efficiency take priority on downhill dominance.
Those of us who aren’t donning skin suits and simply enjoy ripping backcountry lines might have felt a little left out. Luckily, in recent years Plum has developed the Summit 12 bindings with “stoppers” or brakes. This binding has a higher retention value, much beefier toe and heel pieces, and retains a reasonable weight.
Next time you’re in the market for AT bindings…perhaps it is worth looking into Plum.
Images from: Plum Bindings Facebook, Plum Bindings