Plum Guide S Tech AT bindings
Skier: 6’2”, 210 lbs., athletic, technically proficient, fast and fluid skier.
Conditions tested: Backcountry powder, sun effect, wind effect, chalk, firm. Basically everything.
Duration of test: 25 days.
I seem to be on a perpetual quest for backcountry gear that is as dependable – and can be skied the same – as alpine gear. I want my alpine touring boots and bindings to ski hard and fast, smooth and loose, and handle cliff drops, log jibs, and high consequence couloirs. In short, I want AT gear that is able to perform at the far reaches of the sport.
Enter the Plum (pronounced “plume”) Guide S Tech binding.
I personally prefer the Plum Guide binding to the Dynafit TLT Vertical FT Z12 because of my real world experience of Plum’s retension capacity. I feel the Plum is more positive, more engaged, and overall more confidence inspiring at speed, in tight spots, and in the air.
In my experience, when I’ve taken the Dynafits over 15-20 foot cliffs, with speed and landing to pitch, they would at times release unpredictably. I feel the Plum has better retention in the heel, in both directions, and have sent numerous 20-30 footers on these bindings. It’s time now to go bigger, and I am ready to step it up on the Plum Guides to the 40-45 foot range.
I have straightlined plenty of tight chutes, aired into plenty of tight spots, and never once had the Plum binding let me down in any way. Conversely, I feel like I would have been crossing my fingers and rolling the dice on some of these feats on the Dynafit FT Z12, wondering whether they might release when I need them to stay on. And dropping into situations when you are worried about your gear can turn a sweet line into a head trip.
The Plum toe piece skis a little stiffer and more precisely that the Dynafit design. I would compare them like this: the Dynafit FT Z12 toe piece skis like a Salomon 914 (which is great, for sure, and plenty for 99% of the world), but the Plum toe piece skis like a Salomon 916 (maybe overkill for some, but an improvement for a few).
The Plum heel is also slightly stiffer than the Dynafit FT Z12′s, due to the mechanics of the heel pins, which are better supported, and will likely prove to last a bit longer than the Dynafit design.
The heel of the Plum binding is quick to adjust but does require an extra minute compared to the Dynafit design, and does require a specific tool (a torx 20 wrench) that doubles as the forward pressure indicator. I would definitely recommend skiing with the wrench in your pack. I had the Plum’s heel track loosen slightly on the third day out, but it took one minute to adjust, and I have had no issues since.
On another occasion, I brought a couple pairs of boots to test with different boot sole lengths and forgot the tool….That was a panic filled, early morning on the pass in the nuking snow. Fortunately a kind soul had a torx wrench set in his truck and let me borrow it.
The Plum Guide is lighter than the Dynafit FT Z12 (by 160 grams per pair), is stiffer, and has better retention. I also detonated a toe piece on the FT Z12 in half the number of days I have on my Plums, while skiing less aggressively than I have on the Plums, and have had absolutely no issue whatsoever with the Guide Binding.
All in All, if you are in the market for a tech AT binding, I would strongly suggest checking the Plum Guide out ASAP. I know that Escape Route in Canada and Bent Gate in Colorado have these bindings in stock and available for purchase.
Comments:
Questions? Comments? Tell us what you think.
April 13, 2011 at 3:39 pm
I think you mentioned on TGR that Plum brakes would be out soon. Any details? Does it require removing the heel piece to put the brake on, like it does with dynafits?
April 13, 2011 at 5:24 pm
My understanding is that brakes will be available by the fall. I have not seen a pair in real life yet, so I cannot comment on how they attach, or how they work, specifically.
Thanks!
July 28, 2011 at 2:10 pm
Hi there, sounds like retention is great, but did you have any situations where you wanted the bindings to release (a fall) and if so did they release ok?
July 29, 2011 at 1:49 pm
I found them to release at the specified value, so no issues there.
November 4, 2011 at 8:23 pm
Hi, I just mounted a pair of Guides and was wondering if you have thought about using a heal shim to avoid stressing the heal post when landing hard. I never worried about the gap between the ski and boot heal since I am coming from Dynafit ST and FT’s with brakes that don’t have this gap.
November 4, 2011 at 9:46 pm
great question noah, i am actually looking to glue a wine bottle cork in there to offer a little support, but have not had any issue without it last season (countless 30-50 foot airs).
November 5, 2011 at 4:04 pm
Marshal, Thanks for the info. I guess the only time I have seen a heal post (vert ft12) break was due to user error…aka a botched road gap that ended in a pavement landing. Maybe the gap isn’t a big deal. Can’t wait to give these a test run in a few weeks.
November 7, 2011 at 8:36 pm
Marshal,
I’m thinking about putting either Dynafit/Plum’s on some K2 Pon2oon’s.
Do you have any thoughts on whether there is ‘maximum’ ski width that the Dynafit/Plum bindings might be able to drive? I’m doing mostly sidecountry and sled access with limited approaches so I wouldn’t need to go with a binding system like this, but it also loose just enough weight to get that ‘one more lap’ in.
Thanks,
January 17, 2012 at 2:19 pm
Any new word on brakes for these guys?
January 17, 2012 at 8:22 pm
hi mike, the brake scenario is in holding still. i am sorry to say i have no info other than they do not have brakes, and may not.
January 25, 2012 at 3:06 pm
seem like great bindings, but the lack of breaks would make me a little nervous while skiing.
March 27, 2012 at 2:42 pm
Here are some details regarding the issue I experienced with the Plum bindings while in the field in the middle of my tour.
The setup I was using was as follows:
• DPS Wailer 99s Pures
• Scarpa Maestrale
• Plum Guide tech bindings
The issue I had was regarding the lever mechanism on the Plum toe pieces. Specifically, the lever would not switch between Ski and Walk mode correctly. In fact, when I first tried to engage the lever from Ski to Walk mode, the lever snapped in half. It appears the metal material used in the lever may be defective, perhaps some form of metal embrittlement.
Additionally, I had the same problem on the second toe piece regarding the lever mechanism. I tried to engage the toe piece into Walk mode. It would not go. I clicked in and out of the binding and checked to make sure there was no ice under the toe piece. I confirmed that there was no ice. However, I still could not get it into Walk mode. It appears the engineering behind this lever mechanism may be faulty as switching between modes was non-existent while I was in the field.
Post tour, I took the bindings to Pro Ski Seattle, an authorized Plum dealer, where their shop employee, examined my toe pieces before removing them. They confirmed that there was indeed an issue with the mechanism and that the binding was defective.
From this experience, it is very obvious that this binding has a serious issue with the construction of the toe piece lever both structurally and materially; which is potentially dangerous for the skier. I can only imagine that this has occurred to others in the field as well. I would not recommend this binding until this issue is examined in greater detail and resolved by the manufacturer.
May 4, 2012 at 12:33 am
Elliott… Between demos, people borrowing, and my own ski days there is about 60 day’s on my Plum’s…i toured up at Stevens yesterday with the same issue that you experienced…simple fix as all should take note; KEEP THE SKI/WALK LEVER LUBED. easy to get fine grit in any moving part that is that small and exposed. one shot of graphite or silicone base cleans out the grit and makes it super smooth again. Plum recommends this in copy-write. repeat after every few days or long periods of no use.
Amazing how burly they are and how good the power transfer is laterally. The most impressive tech binding on the market right now…