TTS updates? Field tests, advice...

Kneel, tele-skier (Frank) will give you a full rundown on the NTN tour mode. 

I have my opinion on NTN's tour mode.... Some say it's great and that they don't notice the slight resistance. I notice it. NTN's tour mode isn't as good as it could be (IMO) It's also a bit heavy, but could easily be skeletonized to lighten it up considerably. (I haven't bothered to do that to mine yet)

I don't have a fully formed opinion of TTS or the freedom binding yet. I think they are both getting their trial by fire this year because there's going to be wider group of skier's skiing them.

I really like how NTN skis, even though it doesn't tour as well as the best touring bindings. I'm done with sprung heel connections on my tele bindings, so I ski NTN regardless of it's less efficient tour mode...

I have my opinion on NTN's tour mode.... Some say it's great and that they don't notice the slight resistance. I notice it.

I'm done with sprung heel connections on my tele bindings, so I ski NTN regardless of it's less efficient tour mode...

I don't agree with tele.skier on the tour mode. At least with my so far limited experience on the freedoms. Tour mode feels effortless to me.
I'm done with the heel connection as well. I'll wait for a binding that uses the tech fittings along with the duckbutt.
Anyway, I took my freedoms out for a test ride on some softened
suncups a while back. Not the best conditions but I got a fair amount of climbing to  try the new tour mode, and also a feel for the downhill, taking into account the bumpy conditions.

Bindings are noticeably lighter on my 176 starlets,
which last season had freerides mounted. I think the skis and bindings are just
at 10.5 lbs or so. The tour mode is nice. I don't feel as much resistance as the
freerides until I get to pivot angels above 30 degrees or so. Kick turns on the
steeper suncupped slopes were so easy. Transitioning into tour mode is also
easy. Flip up release lever and push down with pole. Binding remains in tour
mode. I'll never need to reach down to pull the pink tab.

Downhill feel
seems better than freeride to me, but kind of hard to tell on the bumpy
conditions. I don't need a lot of activity so I'm skiing blue on 1. I don't get
the hingy feel that I didn't like about freeride. Much smoother flex it seems,
maybe because of the ramped toe. I think knee to ski types will like this one
better. Lateral control didn't seem much different than freeride, parallel turns
felt powerful.

a few more comments:

- The screws that come with
freedom are a bit larger dia than the ones for freeride. I tried to drill using
3.6 mm and tap just as I had done with 6 or 7 skis that I had previously drilled
for freerides and I had all kinds of problems. Ruined one of the holes. Thanks
to tele.skier for saving me. I'll try using my 4.1 mm bit next time.

-
It's a little trickier kicking into the freedoms with the ramped toe and what
seems to be a little stronger brake spring. Probably just something to get used
to, but for now I press the brake down with the boot and push forward while
tipping the toe. Slides in easy that way.

- A friend of mine had a lot
of trouble always kicking open the tour lever while downhilling. Not sure how he
does it. Anyway, the freedom has the tour lever kind of recessed between the
sides of the release lever, so this should help.

- I could do without
the double climbing wires, as the short one is not much use to me. Not a big
deal. It's not in the way, and not much weight. The taller one comes up easily
with my pole handle and can be pushed down with my pole basket or handle.

I'm kind of biased, but so far I really like them. I'm anxious to see
how they do in the powder with snow buildup and icing. And hopefully durablility
won't be an issue.

General TTS questions before I make the jump:

How do boot crampons work with the toe bellows?  It seems like the boot flex would destroy the crampon center bar??

and,     Can you mount TTS and a dynafit speed on the same ski? 
I assume one could with Quiver Killers but I'm not familiar with the mounting pattern.

and,    How does this accommodate a ski crampon?
I'm guessing one couldn't get a regular dynafit crampon in there
What about a voile set?


I'm looking for a light skimo setup so crampon compatibility (ski and boot) is a must

Thanks for any help

How do boot crampons work with the toe bellows?  It seems like the boot flex would destroy the crampon center bar??

Boot Crampons work great on my F1's.  Interesting sole degradation issue:  Early in the summer, I adjusted my automatic super-light 10 point aluminum crampons  www.camp-usa.com/products/crampons/tour-350-324.asp   to my new F1's.   By the end of the summer, I had to shorten the connector bar.  You know why?  The sole on my F1's has worn away enough to affect crampon fit!  Anyway, the crampons work great with no issues other than the boot effectively shrinking.  In fact this is one of the main benefits of loosing the duckbill.  The bellows has not affected performance for me (yet).

Man, wouldn't it be nice to have a tele demo day?...
I would totally go for a whole new set up if I could try before I buy.
Don't get me wrong. I like the rigs I have, but lighter, more powerful, no duckbill, one boot for tele and A/T, release,...
The only missing parts are an on-the-fly convertable tele/AT binding with crampon compatibility. It's right around the corner.

Mike, Like I said, everyone has their opinion about how efficient a tour mode needs to be for their preferences. Morgan skinned one lap to the top of debbies gold last year on NTN freerides in standard tour mode and thought that it's tour mode totally sucked (compared to his usual freepivoting switchbacks)

.... but anyway, This seems to be the year that both TTS and NTN freedom will be skied by a lot more skiers, so both the performance limits and the problems will be a known quantity by mid season.

The problem with demo days for both TTS and NTN freedom is that the skier has to swap boots to try the new bindings. The retailer running the demo has to have a large supply of boots in all sizes, plus skis and bindings.  It's a nightmare of labor intensive slopeside work and extensive amounts of gear. **After which, a lot of people will go online and buy the product that they demo'd from the brick and mortar retailer, giving him the expense of the demo, and less profits from it... 

If you saw the Rottefella website last year, they had an NTN freedom demo scheduled for Alpental.... that never happened...  Rottefella really has some manufacturer/distributor communications issues and has changed distributors a few times in a few years... 

TTS, I am less tuned into because neither pair of my NTN boots have tech fittings, but from what I have read, it's not an easy binding to set up for a demo day, given the variety of boot sizes that will be skiing the same skis during the demo. It also has the same issue of needing to mobilize a huge amount of gear to pull off a demo day... so I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for that to happen...

I would doubt you could rent TTS gear anywhere, but maybe you could rent NTN from Marmot in bellevue. You could call and check.

If you buy TTS or the freedom this year, you have to trust the early reports of how good they are....  Either way, If I had to buy NOW, I would buy boots that have tech fittings in them so I would have the option of either of those bindings with that one pair of boots...