Voile Swtichback feedback and retrofit...

So being single over the last few years and maintaining a low cost of living has afforded me a healthy amount of income to buy way too much gear for myself. A wonderful dilemma, of course.

I have to say of the several pairs of bindings I own I'm more disappointed each tour I ski with the Voile Switchbacks I bought last year (mounted to Karhu Storms). The list of frustrations include:

1. Within a month the springs froze to the point where penetrating oil and vice grips still made a difficult task of adjusting them
2. They ICE UP terribly, balling underfoot and making the switch back to ski mode a drawn out maintenance routine
3. Voile doesn't offer stiffer cartridge options, and the stock cartridge/rod configuration is relatively lifeless in contrast to other low-mid stiff bindings (I.E. G3 Targa w/ red cartridges)
4. Customer Service failed to respond to two requests for support regarding the frozen cartridges
5. These things aren't cheap! for $300 bucks I expect a lot more...

My mind is working out a solution to the problem, however. I'm hoping to gain some feedback from anyone out there who's into engineering retrofits on gear. My proposition is to take a g3 Targa cable set-up with their stiffest cartridges available (the world cup green ones), wrap the cables around the rod mounts of the Switchbacks and crimp the cable back upon itself. If anyone has any thoughts about the feasibility of this option I'm all ears. I also wonder if by using a lighter duty crimp (aluminum) that this may also create a breaking point in the binding that would serve as a release under high load or torque...achieving a "releasable" tele binding. What are your thoughts? Maybe this warrants a patent?

No opinion on the mods, but I'm very surprised at the trouble you've had with the binding, from other reports.

I'm even more surprised at the customer service -- Voile has a reputation for excellence, which I've experience firsthand. Have you called them, or just emailed?

OT, I did get your other email and will shoot you some info soon.

Marcus,

Only e-mail at this point, a call may be in order. Thanks in advance for your response to other matters.

Also I should add that the bindings performed well with Garmont Syner-G's driving them...however I bought some BD Customs (the stiffest tele boot out there, with 130 flex rating) this year and the bellows on the boot barely flex under low pressure turns of low angle terrain. I feel like I'm dancing like Pee-Wee Herman on a table top rather than enjoying the glide and smear of mellow skiing. It's true that the bindings and boots should match in stiffness.

Uh oh - does this mean you sat around and obsessed about your plethora of gear and you didn't go ski on it?

tons of tours in many diff conditions...dry..wet...worm...cold. The only icing i've having is a toothpick size piece where the rod impacts back of the toepiece and then does not allow the "keeper" prongs to lap over the rod when swicthing back to downhill mode.

Your going backwards to go toward a G3. Get yoruself the Axl or the O1 if you have such a beef with the SB's. There is a good used market for all of these bindings at nearly 40% off new (except axl so far). Try these and see what you think.

Sure sounds like a mismatch between boot and binding; boot just too stiff. I just replaced my Voile 3-pin hardwires with Switchbacks and had them put on my wife's new Aviatrix skis. We both love the free pivot going up. She finds them more powerful than her G3s going down; I find them much more powerful than 3-pins because I could never stand to put the hardwires on my 3 pins, hated hammerheads, busted Superloops and Rivas . She skis a t-3 and I ski a 3-buckle t-2 with no power strap. I was toying with the idea of replacing the hardwires with some old Voile spring-type/non-cartridge/side throw cables. You would bust those up first time out But I skied my Volkl Snowwolfs with Switchbacks for the 1st time yesterday in 12 inches of new snow, rapidly warming and consolidating over a breakable crust and really benefited from the power of the hardwires in digging linked trenches downhill.

As to snow build up under foot: Armor-all the ski (and boot--a Robie Pruden standard); remove the forward heel lift; use a teflon or silicone or other lube inside the binding; I like Peak Rigs Slather silicone paste on both my Dynafit Verticals & Comforts and my Switchbacks (I had to use it on all my tele bindings). Unfortunately, I can't find more Slather so I'll be searching for other silicone pastes. Even with Slather I've never had an AT or tele binding that did build up snow underfoot, especially new sun just getting radiation and started to sinter, especially with risers on tall heel blocks. My wife did have a little icing problem with here Switchbacks, but she now uses Slather and checks them each time she de-skins.

Good Luck!