PNW Quiver?

My quiver

PNW powder touring- Mt Baker superlights/silvretta 404 bindings/Garmont megarides.
PNW powder resort- Mt Baker superlights/fritschi bindings/Garmont Adrenalin's
PNW spring touring- Mt Baker superlights/targa telemark bindings/ Scarpa T2's

ROFLMAO!

Do you really have 3 pair?

My Baker Superlights were decent in fresh powder but left me wanting under any other circumstance.  I needed something with more torsional stability to deal with the thicker stuff that's so common around here.  The Atomic Aspect, (and predecessor the RT86) are nearly identical weight and dimensions as the Baker SL, but a bit firmer flex.

D00d, you need to pay closer attention and....

Turn up your
http://www.orangepower.com/attachments/sarcasm-meter-jpg.8323/

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I'm narrowing in on a setup .

I'm seriously considering a setup where I can swap bindings on a pair of skis. In deciding between plates and inserts, does anyone have any insight on that decision? Would rather do inserts since they don't add height and weigh less. But what about all the holes it requires?

I don't really have many nice things to say about plates; they're over designed and ruin the ski's flex pattern.

Inserts are lighter, but its a pain to realign your bindings every time.  Swaps will probably take about 10 minutes per ski even for a skilled user as you get a few degrees of toe piece wiggle that need to be sorted out and torqued slowly and in sequence.  You probably won't want to swap your bindings on inserts in the parking lot, but you will want to carry extra screws and use blue loctite every time to keep them from backing out in a non-opportune moment.  In any case with the stainless steel inserts you realistically get about 10 swaps before you are likely to degrade the insert's internal threads.  I would not reuse a stainless machine screw more than once or twice.  Again, use loctite every time or you will reap the consequences due to the large amounts of vibration and load cycling.

If you haven't guessed, I view inserts as more of a once a season thing than a once a weekend thing.    To me, a better solution is just to have two pairs of skis.

I'm seriously considering a setup where I can swap bindings on a pair of skis. In deciding between plates and inserts, does anyone have any insight on that decision? Would rather do inserts since they don't add height and weigh less. But what about all the holes it requires?

E_N hit the nail on the head.

I have QK inserts.  Lighter than plates but still noticeably heavier than stock. Installation is pretty straight forward.  Swapping Dynafits with brakes has proved to be more of a hassle than anticipated, but it definitely saves some money.

I don't really have many nice things to say about plates; they're over designed and ruin the ski's flex pattern.

If you can really tell the difference, and think it presents any sort of performance disadvantage, beyond theoretical, you must be a much better skier than I am (and handful of others that I can think of), and have a lot of experience on this system.

To each their own. My point of view here is that the extra stack height gives me a leverage advantage when I get a wider ski on hard pack. You can take that with a grain of salt though because i skied on Debryflex plates on race skis for years with no apparent ill effect.

Regarding "ruined ski flex"... The plates are tapered under foot, and the mounting hole pattern isn't wide enough to make a difference. I would also point out that if you are running dynafits, that swap plates offer a more secure mount to the ski because the mounting pattern to the ski is larger than the 5 hole pattern of the toe. I've seen a lot of people either pull their toes out over time, or have the ski break right the mounting point. Swap plates side step this problem for the most part due the increased area of the mount.

Inserts are lighter, but its a pain to realign your bindings every time.  Swaps will probably take about 10 minutes per ski even for a skilled user as you get a few degrees of toe piece wiggle that need to be sorted out and torqued slowly and in sequence.  You probably won't want to swap your bindings on inserts in the parking lot, but you will want to carry extra screws and use blue loctite every time to keep them from backing out in a non-opportune moment.  In any case with the stainless steel inserts you realistically get about 10 swaps before you are likely to degrade the insert's internal threads.  I would not reuse a stainless machine screw more than once or twice.  Again, use loctite every time or you will reap the consequences due to the large amounts of vibration and load cycling.

If you haven't guessed, I view inserts as more of a once a season thing than a once a weekend thing.    To me, a better solution is just to have two pairs of skis.

I share the same opinions on the inserts FWIW.
Installing inserts requires much more attention to detail when installing.
You need to be very careful to ensure that your hole depth is correct, the inserts need to be exactly flush with the top sheet of the ski. If the holes are too deep, and the insert sits below the level of the top sheet, you will end up breaking them loose and pulling them up when you torque on the mounting screws.

Another note on Loctite...
Not sure what bindings you will be swapping however, there are known issues with the compatibility of certain types of loctite and some plastics used in the manufacture of bindings (Salomon specifically AFAIK, maybe others). Loctite has information on their site that covers this if there is any doubt.