NTN On-snow Test
Report-- Day Two
Springs dial
In a surprsing range of activity levels
Very little boot rocker
and a secure fit keep the boot heel nearly flush with the heel
piece when the ski is off the snow.
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January 27, 2007, Brighton,
UT-- Rottefella
is going to offer four different spring cartridge choices when
their NTN binding hits the shelves next fall, with number one
being the softest and number four being the stiffest. We
prefer active bindings so during Wednesday's NTN Day One Test at Alta we skied the binding using spring cartridges
three and four.
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We were really stoked on the
feel using these cartridges, and particularly on the way the
binding engages the tip of the rear ski in the tele turn early
and hard. The number four spring delivered a more active feel
than we had ever experienced and most importantly, this activity
started immediately, as soon as the heel began to be raised and
as the ski was put on edge. This very early activity being
the key difference between the NTN and current 75mm bindings. |
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Video |
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Rottefella's
Øyvind Aanes and Even
Wøllo discuss their NTN in detail in this ten minute video
from the event yesterday at Brighton, Utah:
29mb Windows Media |
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Rottefella's Øyvind Aanes and Even Wøllo responded
to our comments on Wednesday with knowing nods but also wanted
to assure us that tele skiers who prefer a more neutral feel
can get what they want out of the NTN by using the softer spring
cartridges. We were skeptical: in the past binding makers (including
Rottefella) have tried this approach to changing activity levels,
but have met with only limited success. More dramatic changes
in activity levels have been achieved only by moving the binding
pivot points.
So we were more than a little surprised
yesterday when we tried the number one and number two spring
cartridges on a beautiful sunny morning at the Outdoor Retailer
Backcountry Basecamp trade show demo event at Brighton, UT. Apparently
the design of the NTN binding and the configuration of the "second
heel" (under the forefoot attachment) significantly changes
what can be accomplished with various spring tensions. Our impressions
were that the number one cartridges provided a feel just a little
more active than that of a G3 Targa, the number two cartridges
felt like a Cobra R-8 with its springs set low to moderately
tight, the number three cartridges felt like a HammerHead with
its pivots in the number four or even five holes, and the NTN's
number four cartridges are pretty much off the charts.
Tele skiers interested in using the NTN
should consider their choice of spring cartridges carefully and
with their preference for an active or less active feel in mind.
At the demo we spoke with a few people coming in and out of the
demo tents with various reactions to the activity level of the
binding, but when we asked them what spring cartridges they had
used, they had no idea. This would seem to be a situation Rottefella
will need to address at demos and on the retail side of things
by educating reps and sales folks as to the importance of matching
the preferences of individual tele skiers with the right spring
cartridges.
On another note...
We also had an opportunity to try the NTN
number one and number four cartridges on new Karhu Jaks yesterday,
skis with a little more beef than the K2 World Piste and Work
Stinx models we had been using. The NTN with number four springs
mounted on the Jaks was the most fun I have ever had on hard
off-piste snow and and on Brighton's smooth firm groomers. It
was like the skis were on rails throughout the tele turn and
I really hated to have to stop and go back to work at the demo.
I could have skied that rig all day until I dropped and still
had a huge smile on my face. Stuffing your hip into a carved
tele turn with the kind of precision a rig like this can deliver
is about the most fun thing you can do on skis at a ski area
on a non-powder day. I can't wait to do it again. |