Gear Preview

Silvretta Pure Freeride

1. lightest step-in binding
2. no dedicated toe release
3. more 'wobble'
4. durability?

If my German is correct, the venerable Silvretta has been making ski gear since 1923. Silvretta designed and built several 'first-generation' Alpine Touring bindings, many of which enjoyed a healthy measure of popularity. Ultimately, Silvretta's vintage bindings were surpassed by innovative products from other makers, and the company has been looking to reclaim the lead ever since.

The Pure/Freeride represents Silvretta's attempt to offer a modern A/T binding that can compete with market leaders Fritschi and Naxo. After reviewing prototype data on the Pure, I was soon convinced they would be my next bindings.

The Pure (also marketed as the Atomic MX412) nicely carves a niche between Fritschi-style step-in bindings and Dynafit.

Like the Fritschi and Naxo, the Pure is a step-in binding, offering ease of use and convenience.

Unlike its competitors, however, the Silvretta Pure is also an extremely light binding—nearly as light, in its early drafts, as the uber-slim Dynafit.

For many of us, the Pure thus looked like a dream come true: a way to enjoy Dynafit weight savings without having to put up with Dynafit quirks.

Alas, as you may have noticed, I'm still using Fritschi bindings. Why?

For me, the first sticky point is the Pure's toepiece, which lacks a dedicated release mechanism.

Release functionality with the Pure is built into the heelpiece (a carry-over from original Silvretta designs, and most other early A/T bindings).

The toe is shaped to force the ski boot backward as a lateral or twisting force is applied to the boot.

This rearward-force, in turn, trips the heelpiece's release.

If that doesn't sound like something you'd want to trust your knees to, you're not alone.

It's easy to envision situations in which the toe will fail to release—for example, any fall which generates intense forward pressure, jamming the boot lug in place. To be fair, these hook-the-tip style falls are rare in backcountry skiing. And you really don't want to be taking a lot of falls on any backcountry binding.

The releaseless toepiece is not without its advantages, however. Since the toe unit is so small, Silvretta was able to put the pivot in a more ergonomic position, allowing one of the most natural kick-n-glide strides in step-in A/T binding history.

So, fine, we can live with the funky release system. What's next?

Slop, unfortunately—and lots of it. You'd think with a motionless toepiece that the Silvretta Pure would offer one of the most solid boot-binding interfaces. Of course, the opposite is true: to allow the motion necessary for the binding to release, the toe must be set fairly loose, which puts that hated 'wiggle' into the system.

While this is a subjective assessment, most users report a noticable increase in binding play compared to the already-wiggly Fritschi. Wiggle and release issues certainly diminish the appeal of the Pure's weight-saving design, but for me the dealbreaker has been a more serious issue: durability.

Early Pure models (2005-2007) have been haunted by questions of reliability. Relatively infrequent but persistant reports of catastrophic breakage can be found on the message boards, prompting WildSnow.com's Lou Dawson to initially declare the Pure unacceptable. Dawson has since softened his stance, but he still feels the Pure is safest for light, less-aggressive skiers.

With each iteration, the Pure (especially the Freeride version) has seen substantial reinforcement, obviously to remedy breakage problems. The current model appears to be the strongest of the bunch, hopefully putting to rest once and for all these scattered failures. Note, however, that this extra beefiness comes at the cost of weight. The Pure binding has steadily grown heavier, partially negating its status as a potential competitor to Dynafit.

Despite the Pure's checkered introduction run, I remain highly interested in the Pure. The prospect of a reliable step-in A/T binding with significant weight savings over the heavier Fritshi and Naxo models remains a savory possibility. Is this the year the Pure delivers on that promise?

» back to Ski Gear