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New Telemark Norm
(NTN) Test Wrapup
February 9, 2007-- Now that the smoke has cleared and the big North
American debut of Rottefella's NTN has come and gone, it's time
to look back at our time on the bindings and collect our thoughts
and impressions. Going into our ski test at Alta, Utah, a couple
of days in advance of the Outdoor Retailer demo event and the
NTN's official North American debut, the thing we were most interested
in finding out was this: how does the darn thing ski after so
many years in development? Does the basic concept of the new
system offer enough of a potential performance upgrade over what's
currently available to assure it a shot at success in the marketplace?
It didn't take more than a couple of runs
for us to rediscover something we had found out years ago, back
when we first took one of Russell Rainey's prototype HammerHead
bindings, cut off the heel yoke and through-bolted the cable
crosspiece to the sole of a modern, stiff plastic tele boot:
telemark bindings work better when the binding grabs the boot
under the forefoot instead of at the heel. We have been holding
down the wrong part of the boot... and for a very, very long
time.
With an under-the-forefoot attachment point
(Rottefella calls their's a "second heel") everything
changes. Not only are the forces directed to the forefoot for
improved feel and control, but at least as importantly is that
the binding's "response time" appears to be dramatically
improved. The binding engages immediately. The NTN's design goes
to work as soon as the heel begins to rise. Engineers might say
this is due to what is, in effect, a shorter "moment arm,"
others might have ideas of their own, but the bottom line here
is that whether you prefer an active binding that drives pressure
toward the forebody of the ski early in the turn, or if you like
a more neutral feel, either way, a binding that is engaged delivers
a more solid connection for improved control and stability. For
us, this "early engagement" is the thing that sets
the NTN apart, raising the performance bar significantly.
Almost as remarkable is the way the NTN
can be made to mimic the feel of a neutral, three-pin type binding,
on up through a super active "HammerHead on five" feel,
and beyond. Changing the spring cartridges makes a huge difference.
As Mike Hattrup of K2 tele said to us recently, "For years
I have been telling anyone who would listen that tele boots are
too stiff and that neutral bindings are the way to go, you guys
have been championing active bindings paired with bigger, stiffer
boots. You like to drive the tip through the turn, I like the
tip to float along a little more... I'm not going to change you,
and you aren't going to change me, but now we have one binding
that works for both of us. It's almost unthinkable!"
Yes, it is. This is the second remarkable
performance achievement of the NTN design. And changing the feel
from three-pin-like to off the charts active is as easy as swapping
out the spring cartridges, a simple procedure demonstrated in
the short video accompanying this report.
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The NTN bindings were easy to get into. With
very little practice, the design works almost as easily as a
true step-in. Built in brakes make the NTN a true "click
in and go" experience. Hallelujah! Rottefella says its NTN
binding will tip the scales at 1800 grams-- just a hair under
4 pounds, and less than half a pound more than Rottefella's current
1620 gram Cobra R8. |
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The manufacturer's suggested retail selling
price in the US will be $350. The price of tele bindings has
risen in recent years as more advanced features have been added.
The NTN's rather hefty price tag, therefore, comes as no surprise,
but cushioning the blow is the fact that Rottefella will offer
additional subplates for those who would like to swap one pair
of bindings among two or more pairs of skis. The swap-out process
is also demonstrated in the video.
So the answer to our basic question is
yes, the NTN skis great, the performance upgrade is significant,
and the advanced features rock. Rottefella's NTN system has the
potential to change modern telemark skiing forever, but it's
not a lock, in our opinion. When all is said and done, it is
the durability of the NTN binding that will determine it's success
or failure.
Sure, there are other concerns. An unproven
release mechanism being chief among them. And of course past
experience has proven that any time you put a plate of any kind
on a tele binding, there is always a chance that icing issues
might become a problem. Indeed, Craig Dostie of Couloir reported
having such issues while on a short tour with the NTN last month.
We were also out that day too, just a few miles up-canyon from
Dostie, and the sun-warmed snow combined with the cold snow in
the shade made for the kind of classic icing conditions we can
get from time to time in North America. My skins were glopping
up like there was no tomorrow. Only time will tell if icing will
be a problem for the NTN, and as we heard in the video accompanying
our Day Two report, Rottefella's engineers are well aware of
the potential problem and have plans to address this issue in
the final production model. The boot side of things could get
tricky as well. We tested the NTN over the course of two days
in relatively warm weather that allowed the boots to flex more
freely than they would have in sub-freezing temperatures. In
a low stance I felt some pretty serious toe pinching going on
in the Crispi NTN boots, and that was in the comfort of the Salt
Palace Convention Center. The NTN works differently than conventional
bindings and the NTN boots need to be optimized for the NTN flex.
How far along the boot makers are in this process is hard to
say, at least with the limited testing we have done so far.
Yet these concerns are far from deal breakers,
in our opinion. The performance and the feature package will
make the NTN a winner if the binding holds up in the real world.
The stresses on a tele binding can be enormous, particularly
when and if the springs compress all the way, "bottom out"
or "go to solid." What might be enough spring travel
for even a real low tele style might not be enough to absorb
the force generated from sticking a tip into the back of a mogul
or the proverbial "going over the bars." When springs
go solid in such situations, bad things can happen.
But we will leave such speculation to others,
and conclude with this simple statement: based on our experience
so far, if it doesn't break, the NTN is going to be a huge, huge
success.
Addendum:
There is one other important factor to
note in evaluating the NTN binding's chances for success: marketing.
No, not the razzle dazzle, baffle 'em with bs kind of marketing,
but rather marketing that educates and matches the needs and
desires of the user to the right setup. As mentioned, the feel
of the NTN binding can be made to change from a close approximation
of a three-pin binding on up through a HammerHead with its pivots
in the number five position.... and beyond... thus it is very
important that those who demo the binding head out with spring
cartridges that are appropriate |