What bindings should I buy for 2008 Monster 78

[dmaizers]

I just purchased the new monster 78 in a 165. I'm 5'5" 145lbs and am trying to decide what binding to buy. I'm a girl and and am sick of being undersold, I like speed and women's ski suck in the stability category. I like the idea of the railflex but don't want to add weight to the ski. I mostly ski steep pow or crud so like like the option of moving the position. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks!

[jim-ratliff]

dmaizers:

Welcome.  If you want to be able to move the binding around, then the only options are a Railflex setup or a demo binding setup, and I think demo bindings are usually heavier than Railflex. They are certainly clunkier looking (but easier to adjust in some ways).
Also there are some ramp angle differences between various brands, so you should consider sticking with a particular brand if you really liked the stance that your boots/bindings gave you.
I would also recommend mounting 1cm forward since it's a Unisex ski (the whole Jeannie Thoren thing that is now accepted as gospel), unless you have found from past skis that you don't like that.

What DIN setting do you normally ski with.  I would think the LD11 or LD12 would be fine, and those are somewhat lighter than the LD14 (assuming that the DIN settings you ski with is in the 4-12 range.

The down side of the railflex is a slightly reduced snow feel (but increased leverage when edging).

I'm curious, were you able to demo the iM78 before you bought.  I would certainly say that you probably haven't been undersold on this one, and a 78 width will give you a lot of float given your lighter weight.

[dmaizers]

I didn't get to demo the i78, but I did demo last year i82 which were awesome for flying through the crud and cutting up pow but the length I had too long, 172, and heavy for me since I was looking for a 1 ski quiver. I also tried the Wild Thang which was fun but sucked at slow speeds... I have to kids, the Sweet Fat Thang was great for pow but again length was a issue, 156, made me feel like I was on the end of my boots. My husband bought me the K2 Lotta Luvs for Christmas, they were very easy to ski, but they were too squirrelly feeling at higher speeds.  I like to ski the deep but I also like my skis to feel solid if I'm flying to the lift. I also demoed the Elan Speedwave 12, great fun on the groomers, not so great in the pow, Elan Wavemagic, easy to ski but definitely limited on the speed end, Elan magfire 10, which was very stable, but I didn't get a chance to try it in powder... in fact it was the last day so it was sticky snow by 2, but still really liked it. Last but not least I tried the Fischer Vision 76, and if I would have bought a women's ski that would have been it. It was stable enough, quick edge to edge and easy in moguls and powder if you have some old school moves or speed.

So what do I do, on a whim thanks to the recommendations on realskiers.com I buy a pair of skis I have never demoed based on the assumption that these will be more versatile than the Wild Thangs and Sweet Thangs and lighter than the i82 with the demo bindings! Maybe I should get the railflex in case I hate these skis and have to sell them! I doubt it, I went from 195 Volkl straight sticks to 180 P40's to Valant 167 Machete Truth (these shredded on the sides, why didn't they extend the metal to the edge??) to the Line 156 Assassin MTX (which by the way are great little fun skis) to this. I'm not really into gear as much as this may sound but with my history you can see it's been about 10 years since I've have the latest and greatest gadgets so I thought I better do some research before I drop the dough. I took my Lotta Luv's back and retired my 12 year old Rossignol Course concrete boots for the Atomic W90. So know that I've spent my kids college fund on my ski equipment I thought I should ask some help on bindings since my other ones are bent and flared out something nasty on my Lines. I have my DIN on 9 but I probably don't need it set that high. Another question with the railflex would I be able to share skis with my husband who has a mondo size of 26.5, I have a 24? He seems to think I would want to share... somehow I doubt it! Sorry I rambled on... thanks for your insight and input!

[Gary]

U da woman dmaizers...you gear freak you....nice!

Ok...if this is your one and only ski....get it with the Railflex. Before I got fatter, I was on the Head IM 75 and then IM77 both with the railflex. Then moved up to the 82's.....since gone to the Watea 84. If it's your powder ski....go flat.

Both the 75 and 77 had the railfex set up and last year Jan at Aspen, I skied 2 feet of fresh pow with the 77 set up and it was very fine. My 82's as my Watea 84 were and are flat mounted.....BUT these are my "other" ski.

Sounds to me like the 78 is an excellent choice for your use. The bindings and release..keep in mind you do want them bad boys to come off if you get into trouble but not just from wacking a bump. With family, age and work...use good judgement here.

and oh yeah....tell your hubby to go rent a pair, to much hassel moving the binding around.

Best,
Gary

[jim-ratliff]

dmaizers:

Excellent write-up of background and ski interest.? Cool. Spend the kids college fund so you can ski, at least you have your priorities straight.? ?

Yes, go with the Railflex.? Two advantages.?
1) Since the bindings stay a fixed distance apart when the ski flexes (not true when bindings are flat mounted) the DIN can be set lower and still not prerelease.? You could then go back to the chart value for your height and weight and probably wouldn't need to increase any at all.? I'm 5"11" 195+/- 20 lbs and I ski with a DIN of 6.5 (but I'm not as aggressive as you and have a longer boot sole).?
2) No matter what Gary says, it's a 10 minute procedure to change the bootsole length on the Railflex and adjust the forward pressure so that you husband can share (assuming he gets your permission to share YOUR skis).? 'course, I'm assuming that 165 isn't too short for his height and weight.? All it takes is a screw driver to loosen the center screw, no other tools required.? If you can press Legos together, you can remove and reconnect bindings from the rail with a different boot sole length.? Understanding checking forward pressure is crucial.

Agree with Gary, based on your liking the iM82, I think the iM78 is a great choice.? At your size, you'll get as much float out of that as Gary on his 84's and still have a good hard snow ski.? FWIW, I wouldn't expect slow speed versatility to be a strong suit of the iM78 any more than it was the Wild Thang.

DIN of 9 (or maybe a bit less) I would pick the LD11 just because it saves a couple of ounces over the LD 12 (and will not consume as much of the kids college fund).

[Gary]

Jim, last time I adjusted the railflex binding for a different boot..

1) you unscrew the center screw
2) you carefully lift up the heel piece and start to slide the binding and guide rearward
3) when you reach the half way point where the the toe piece passes the center screw, you lift carefully holding the brakes up and slide back.
4) now slide the whole piece off....that's the easy part
5) you flip over the rear and front section making sure the guide track does not separate from the bindings, and note what number the the push releases are on....remove same and set up for the next boot.
6) sliding the track back in place by starting the toe piece in first
7) when you get to the half way point, lift the brakes and carefull make sure the heel piece is aligned with the track
while holding the brakes up, carefully and slowly guide the entire piece forward until you re-align the center screw.


I think this is time comsuming and frustrating cause the guide rail slips out, and it's sometimes difficult to get the track aligned. Then, while sliding it back into the binding, the guilde rail sometimes slips out. Also, if you use reading glasses, you'll need to have them with you to see the bloody numbers to set for boot sole length.

Unless you've got a magical wand Jim or a more simple procedure that I need to learn about....

Still think the hubby shouldn't mess with the Mrs. skis....it's more trouble than it's worth.

Best,
Gary

[jim-ratliff]

Gary:

I agree with all of those potential frustrations.? ?  (However, using the rubber band from a Sport Tube to hold the brake out of the way helps a little).

However, I think it is still less than 10 minutes for the whole process.

I can't imagine that they would do this sharing every day they ski, but maybe one time so hubby can see the value of why his wife spent the kids college money on new skis.? ?

[Gary]

Ah yes Jim....Kudos on the rubber band thing....just have one iin your pocket at the mountain.

I see your point JIm....If either of the two have pateince and some minor mechanical skills.....it's doable.

I think it's still a PITA!

She gonna love that ski. Be interesting to hear what she decides to do with the binding and maybe her review of the ski.

Best,
Gary

[dmaizers]

So the town I live in is lame... has two ski shops, one that only sells K2 and Salomon, and a few Elan, and than Sports Authority... which you can pick up good deals on three year old skis or entry level skis but that's it. I know the rep at the one shop hates Head and really hates Tyrolia bindings... so do I have the bindings mounted by them or do I take it to generic Sports Authority or should I wait till I'm at a ski shop in the town we ski at? I found the SLD 11 for a great price online... is this the same binding as the LD 11? For the record my husband will be lucky if he gets to try them once... he's 5'10 so they are short but he want to try them to rationalize why he's got to get different skis when I beat him to the lift... He skis 178 or 172 Outlaws which he loves except on the rare occasion we have a ice day... Anyway, thanks for the feedback, your comments are great!! I know I limited my selection based on the fact that Tyrolia kind of goes hand in hand with Head skis but do you guys prefer any other brand of binding? Also, what do you think of the Freeflex? Is it adjustable in the sense of boot postioning? And last but not least since I'm use to skiing unisex skis would your recommendation be to still move my binding forward 1cm? Thanks!!!

[gandalf]

1)? yes the SLD11 is what I was referring to.
2)? For mounting, I would go somewhere that the techs do a good job (whether they like the bindings or not).? If you are paying them to mount bindings, then they shouldn't care.? I would probably wait and have them mounted at the mountain if you can have that work out logistically.? If they don't sell Tyrolia, they may not have the templates/instructions to mount them.? You might ask the people at Sports Authority and see what they say?
3)? For him, at 5'10" it will be like a slalom footprint (and that may be ok).? My east coast ski is a 165 (Head i.SL Chip) and I'm 5'11 and 200 or so, but I don't believe the iM78 is intended to be skied that short for someone my size.
4)? Freeflex has multiple mounting holes so will accept different boot sizes, but you have to unscrew the bindings from the plate and then screw them down in the new locations.? Not really designed like the railflex, and no selection of +15 or -15 once the bindings are screwed on.
5)? Have the rail mounted according to Head instructions (that way they just use the template and aren't as likely to make a mistake).? You can then adjust forward or whatever you want with the rail yourself.? You can adjust +15mm on the rail, you can adjust even more by connecting the bindings to the rail in an offset fashion.? My guess is that the +15 will be fine, since you are used to Unisex skis and are a pretty powerful skier.? ?If it were me, I would attach the bindings to the rail at +10 so that I could then go forward a little more just to see what I liked.? It's easy to play with.

[jim-ratliff]

I have a dumb question.  Does the iM78 have the rail already mounted or is it flat.  The SLD11 is the binding name but you need to make sure that is for use with a Railflex system, and if the ski is flat then you will also need to buy the rail to mount on the ski.

I just wanted to make sure you are understanding and getting all of the pieces.

[dmaizers]

Yes, it is a flat pure ski... no holes, plates, dings chips, missing sidewall chunks... yet  The railflex plate looks like a lifter plate right? I found some ski shop display ones for cheap... Any other ideas? Thanks

[jim-ratliff]

no holes, plates, dings chips, missing sidewall chunks

Gary heartily recommends 28 coats of topsheet wax to keep them that way.

Sounds good.? And the SLD11 you found was for Railflex, because that includes the metal pieces to connect the bindings and "ride the rails"??

You sounded like you knew what you were doing, I just decided to double check.

Also, there was a Railflex-I 4 years back and then they introduced Railflex-II.? The two aren't compatible, but there shouldn't be any Railflex I stuff still around.