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titanium is actually heavier than aluminum, but because it is stronger, you can use less material. This means plate size would only change in thickness if it were to do any good in weight savings. Not sure they would hold up to the stresses that thin. Also, welding titanium is extremely costly and difficult. If it is not done correctly it will become brittle and crack quite quickly under minimal stress. Titanium IMO is not the way to go for a slider type base. I am working on a Triad version of the hardboot setup if anybody is interested.


this plate minus the "wings" and mountain heel plate. Bails will be directly mounted to sides of slider plate using "welded" technology.

For low weight for a factory split:

Direct mount the Dynafit toe pieces and the heel lifters with ski screws, and use the lightest tech toes one can afford. Do not use the Spark adapters. Make a light plate binding like a direct mount RacePlate setup.

for lighter weight still, use a DIY split (no inside edges, less inserts) and mount everything with ski screws.

I do not think we are going to get a good reliable plate binding much lighter than what Vapor shows. But we could get a plate binding with better function at about the same weight. This would require someone with a CNC mill to make a complete plate binding with no toe and heel pieces, where the slider is CNCed and accepts toe and heel bails directly on threaded shoulder yokes, and the boot rests directly on the slider plate.
Alternatively, Will could produce a plate binding based on the (still under development) Edison interface-this is what I am really hoping for as the Edison interface uses really cool (and very adjustable) interface plates.
I do not like the tweakiness of the Gignoux style binding for the toepiece. I like the solid reliability of Dynafit toes (step in is nice, with the Gignoux style, one would have to pry the biding open with one hand while trying to get the boot in, and then the retention has no adjustment, unlike the Dynafit locking lever). The Dynafit toes have some subtle features which really make them work well in the field, and at 76 grams each, the weight is really, really good (like I said, lighter than a Karakoram touring bracket).

1+

Nice work there Rughty! I am fully agreed on Ti, great for replacing steel parts (as long as they do not need to be bent) like bolts, but not as a replacement for aluminum.
If you can produce a sweet plate binding at less than 1 lb each, which allows the boot to rest directly on the slider, which is entirely reliable and provides a stiff board interface, I (and likely others) will be very interested.

Rughty could you ? I could provide the hole pattern from the Burton Race Plates (the base plate).

Now that my wife is interested in a Dyna-splitty twice as interested in a lighter plate binding.

I look forward to a HB version of the Triad---yahoo!!

Can anyone measure/know what the ideal width is between the bail mounts? is a slider track to wide?

I have some in the works. Sliders would be lighter version of the triad baseplates with direct mount bails to the sides. Should have plenty of adjustability and boots would sit directly on slider plates. I am working on making some bails and side mounts. Sliders are currently 20g lighter than voile. I have a good chance to get them even lighter before adding the bail weight. 1lb doesn't seem too far off what I think I can hit.

Rughty in that case 2x

great to hear......

I'll buy a pair Rughty...

I spoke with the guys at Spark earlier in the week and they don't believe they'll have a hardboot binding next year but possibly the year after. Our options for better plate bindings over the next couple years are going to have to come from the community.

Rughty, Great news. I am definitely interested. If you have protos in the next couple of months, I am happy to test for you as well. I am generally riding 2-3 days a week, and this time of year am getting into more of the steeps-which is good testing terrain for stiffness and ride quality. The snow here may not hold out too far into June (unless we get some big dumps soon) but April and May should be solid.

Rughty, PM sent.