NTN in backcountry

Had my first semi-legitimate tour today on the NTN setup -- I have to say, very few complaints. Coming off of the 7TM Tour's free pivot and huge range of motion, I can notice the slight spring tension and the limited range of the NTN on steeper kick turns, but it's nowhere near the issue I was afraid it would be. More than worth the tradeoff for the considerable increase in downhill power and control, and the super-comfortable boots with Dynafit fittings. Good times.

Mike sent me his broken binding, which I'm hoping to do some experiments with.  Each part actually looks pretty simple.  Some food for thought.

awesome Kenji. That's the first photo I've seen that really shows the part breakdown. I've always thought that the system isn't nearly as contrived as many believe.

What's that central tube do on the duckbutt grabber? I wonder if that was (or is) a possible location for a third spring that would independently control the release tension... Otherwise, just extra weight?

What's that central tube do on the duckbutt grabber? ... Otherwise, just extra weight?

The central spring is to push out the grabber to dis-engage from the "duckbutt" when the main lever is pulled up. I guess you can live w/o it by pulling the boot back to step out. Save a few oz, maybe.

Ahh, gotcha, that makes sense. I don't expect I'll be performing that much surgery on these, given that the step-in/out is one of the bigger perks.