First Look...
Rainey
Designs New HammerHeel
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Sept., 2003-- "I think
our redesigned HammerHeel will take us from having one of the
worst climbing bales out there to the very best, " says
Russell Rainey of Rainey Designs. "I know folks have been
patiently waiting, and we hope they will see the work that went
into this they will think it was worth the wait." |
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We just received the new
HammerHeel prototype about an hour ago here at the Telemarktips
World Headquarters and we've been checking it out ever since.
The spring loaded bale clicks into the up position with a solid
and reassuring "thunk" (see video link below). There
is quite a lot of tension on the assembly in both directions--you
only need to get the bale slightly past the mid-way point in
either direction, up or down, and the bale springs into a locked
position, this should make it easier to deploy or stow in use.
The bale itself looks very
strong but Rainey tells us the production model will be even
stronger, "in the final version the climbing bale will be
made out of the same material as our HammerHead binding springs,"
says Russell.
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Excluding the screws, the
new HammerHeel has 3 parts, the heel base, the wire bale, and
a "key" piece that fits up into the underside of the
base, securing the wire bale. When the HammerHeel is screwed
down onto the ski deck this "key" presses up into the
base and is the means by which the bale is tensioned, or "spring
loaded." It is similar in this way to the old TeleVate,
but with a far more engineered design that eliminates the biggest
flaw of that venerable climber in which the "key" piece
was so small that it could be easily lost when moving from ski
to ski, or even in the backcountry if the heel piece became even
slightly loose. This one is not going anywhere and it also puts
a lot more tension on the bale, which should keep it upright
until the skier wants it down. A very good thing. |
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The prototype we have in
hand weighs, with screws, 4.8 ounces/pair. The bale height in
the upright position is 1.75" inches (44mm) above the heel
piece. Existing HammerHead customers can order the improved HammerHeel
for $20/pair until January 1, 2004 after that date the price
will increase to $30.
1mb mpeg video
www.raineydesigns.com |
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More "First Look"
features: (1), (2), (3),
(4)
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