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Eagle Takes Flight — Fritschi First Look

By Lou

Fritschi Eagle

While mostly an iteration in Fritschi’s Diamir model line, the new Fritschi Eagle departs in several significant ways. Mainly, a relocated touring pivot provides much needed ergonomics (i.e., no more Fritschi Frankestride), and a wider binding support foot under the boot heel yields enhanced stability. Weight remains similar yet somewhat lighter (35.5 ounces per binding, Freeride is 36 ounces), stack height is the same, heel unit looks and performs as with previous models, and ramp angle stays identical. In all, we’d call this an excellent improvement to what’s easily the best step-in step-out touring binding line on the market.

Fritschi Eagle backcountry skiing binding.

Check out the new pivot location, fully 23 mm behind boot toe!

Fritschi Freeride touring pivot lines up with end of boot toe, resulting in less than ideal stride ergonomics.

Fritschi Eagle has the excellent 'anti-insta-tele' feature that Fritschi came up with a few years ago.

Eagle support foot under boot heel is 6 centimeters wide, a full centimeter more than earlier Fritschi bindings. While not much of a contributor to static rigidity as measured on the bench, a wider platform definitely makes flexy plate bindings feel less like skiing in boots full of jello.

Any Fritschi binding is susceptible to damage from a 'knee fall' in touring mode, meaning you take a nose dive that drives your knee towards the ski tip and pivots the binding up to its limit, where the screws rip or worse. Eagle mitigates this problem by mounting the toe on a track that moves back if a knee fall stresses the binding. This system still has a limit, but your knee will probably hit the ski before the binding gets damaged (ouch).

Boot clicked in, showing stack height, delta, and the pivot that's located even farther to the rear than the Dynafit socket in our pair of Radiums! (Note that Scarpa sets their tech fittings 4 mm back from most others, so when used with Dynafits, Scarpa boots will be closer to this optimal pivot location.) Rear stack is 43 mm, front is 39mm (both same as Freeride). If you need about 4mm more ramp angle (delta), it appears the front plastic plate could be removed, provided you left the sheet steel ski topskin protector and were willing to accept the possibility of less protection from knee-fall damage.

Testing this binding didn’t yield any surprises. Performance is similar to earlier Diamirs, and the better pivot definitely makes a difference in comfort and efficiency. So far, thumbs up. But remember this is only a first look.

More Fritschi backcountry skiing binding information.

Fritschi factory visit!

SHOP FOR FRITSCHI DIAMIR EAGLE

Posted by Lou on March 30, 2009 | Filed Under Binding Reviews, Technique

Comments

42 Responses to “Eagle Takes Flight — Fritschi First Look”

Pete Sowar March 30th, 2009 7:39 am

Can you explain the benefits of the pivot being further back. It seems with a hard boot it shouldn’t really matter where the pivot is. The whole system is going to move anyway.

Also, it looks like that guy only goes to 10. Will the production go to 12, or do we have to wait another year for the Free Eagle?
Jordan March 30th, 2009 7:49 am

I had the same question about the din setting myself. Though I am loving the FT 12’s lately.
El Jefe March 30th, 2009 7:50 am

lou,

anything change on those Kilowatts?
Ken March 30th, 2009 8:07 am

Correction on 4th picture….

“Fritschi Eagle has the excellent ‘anti-insta-tele’ feature that NAXO came up with a few years ago.”

Not exactly the same, but first.
Lou March 30th, 2009 8:10 am

Ken, hmm, yeah, Naxo came up with the idea but did it by adding a locking mechanism. Fritschi’s solution is quite different. But sure, we can give Naxo the award for bringing a solution to market first. I’ll let what I wrote stand, as Fritschi did come up with their own anti-insta-tele feature…, and I said nothing about who was first…
Frank Konsella March 30th, 2009 8:45 am

A few nice little changes there, I guess.

Are they working on anything else, like a “tech” binding, or are they sticking with what they know and do well? Because I would love to see some more players in the “tech” game besides dynafit and G3 (and maybe skitrab some day).
Scott March 30th, 2009 8:54 am

Lou,

Did Fritschi do anything to improve the elasticity of the release?

I’ve been skiing BD Verdicts with Freerides inbounds on soft days. I’ve been having problems with one binding (always the left foot– may or may not always be the same ski) ejecting me when landing mid sized jumps. I think it is usually or always the forward release. I haven’t figured out whether its my landing technique, the DIN setting, a problem with the binding, or snow on my boot sole. I don’t have the same problem with a similar DIN setting on my alpine skis. Any ideas what is wrong?
Lou March 30th, 2009 12:08 pm

Scott, nothing wrong, AT bindings other than the Markers (Duke/Baron) are all a compromise. They are not alpine bindings.
Lou March 30th, 2009 1:32 pm

Frank, I’ve asked over and over again if Fritschi was doing something Tech compatible. No clear answer. If it’s coming I’m not surprised it’s slow out the chute, as there is a national pride issue involved.
ScottP March 30th, 2009 1:34 pm

Lou,

Any idea where this is going to fit into Fritschi’s product line? I assume they’re eventually going to phase out the Freeride and Explore and bring in a couple versions of this, but in the near future is this going to be their flagship with the others in there? Any idea on the price point?
Lou March 30th, 2009 2:20 pm

Funny you should ask that Frank. When I finished writing the post I thought, we’ll, perhaps we should find out what else they’ll be selling! Here you go:

Fritschi line will be the Freeride, Eagle and Explore.

MSRP for Eagle is $419.95
dug March 30th, 2009 3:51 pm

“Any Fritschi binding is susceptible to damage from a ‘knee fall’ in touring mode, meaning you take a nose dive that drives your knee towards the ski tip and pivots the binding up to its limit, where the screws rip or worse.”

wow, it’s like you were there. half hour up flagstaff above alta, frozen skin track, i took a knee fall, and the binding just ripped off the ski. lonely boot out as my companions headed for upper days.

black diamond replaced the binding no questions asked.
Samo March 30th, 2009 4:09 pm

Hi,
Nice to see so much progress: G3’s Onyx, Eagle and hope Trabs TR-1. Too bad that Fritschi didn’t put higher din in Eagle. It must be better torsion torque at wider plates and pushed back pivot.
Lou,
I damaged inner right dynafit toe hole on my boot Axon meanwhile i spent 20 days on FT12’s alpine and touring. Actually upper hole shell is twisted and it could be seen clear small lines. Seem it was to much torsional pressure on the hole. Dealer already sent the boots to Garmont and i hope they will be repalced. But now i curious if this could happen again. Do you have any experience about this problem? Thank you for your halp.
Best regards!
Samo
drew March 30th, 2009 4:35 pm

Great first look Lou! Can’t wait to hear about those skis that the Eagles are mounted on…
Nick March 30th, 2009 6:27 pm

Scott, could there be a difference between your boots that is causing the left sided releases? Perhaps the sole wear is different on the two boots?
Njord March 30th, 2009 6:34 pm

Aarrggghhhh! I wish they would have “fixed” the ramp angle issue…
Lou March 31st, 2009 5:17 am

Njord, it appears that to increase ramp they’d have to raise the foot even higher off the ski, that’s probably whey they have not done so. At least there is some positive Delta in the Fritschis now, remember the days when it was neutral, or even negative!? As it is, the Fritschi delta can be tuned for and gotten used to, but if you’re switching from a binding with more the feeling can be quite disconcerting. I was testing them with our Garmont Radiums, which have less delta/lean anyway. Switching from ZZero/Dynafit ST/FT to Radiums/Fritschi was a bit much! But after a run or two I was getting used to it.
Mac March 31st, 2009 6:05 am

Lou how about the hole paterns? If you want to switch from a current model Freeride to the new Eagle for the better piviot are the mounting holes the same?
Lou March 31st, 2009 9:30 am

Not sure Mac, they look the same but for/aft position might suffer in a swap.
Wes Morrison April 1st, 2009 7:28 am

Really glad they did not “fix” the ramp angle. There are tons of people out there who need less delta. Many AT boots have way to much internal ramp, especially in the smaller sizes. And of course, any binding ramp is increased in smaller bindings and boots. Make it as neutral as possible, it’s easy to add, and much harder to take it away. This is related to why some of us like 2 forward lean settings in out boots; if there is only one, it’s often too forward.
Tracie April 2nd, 2009 7:57 am

It’s nit-picky, but did they find a way to dampen the clackity-clack while touring? Even the Markers are quieter than the Freerides. I didn’t realize how loud it was until I started Dynafitting this year. I went out with a couple of friends with Freerides recently and we couldn’t even have a conversation over the clacking!
John Gloor April 2nd, 2009 12:51 pm

Tracie, I agree with you. I recently converted to Dynafit, and I ask my Fritschi equipped friends if they are going to make that noise all the way to the top. I wonder if a piece of rubber could be glued to the steps on the heel lifters to quiet them down.
Dale Persing April 2nd, 2009 2:15 pm

Lou (or others, while Lou’s frolicking overseas),

Looking to swap out my Fritschi Freerides for Dynafits (likely Comforts or Classics) on a pair of Crossbows. Any way to tell (like finding a template that I can match up) whether the current holes will allow appropriate mounting of the new bindings? I’d rather not have a shop pull the old binding and then say ‘no joy’ and have to remount the Freerides.
TIA.

Dale
Lou April 2nd, 2009 2:16 pm

Dale, a good tech will be able to mount the bindings, shift a few mm back if need be.
Lou April 2nd, 2009 2:17 pm

Still clacking as far as I could tell…
Dale Persing April 2nd, 2009 2:23 pm

Danke, Lou (aren’t you supposed to be skiing somewhere?).
Dale
Chris Lane April 2nd, 2009 8:41 pm

Regarding John Gloor’s comments about noisy Fritschi bindings…I agree with him; I’m not sure i can ski with people in Dynafit bindings because they are so quite it’s painful. The silence is a constant interruption to my clamorous clanking. :)
Joking aside, I look forward to getting some Dynafits.
Lou April 2nd, 2009 8:42 pm

Heading up to the Silvretta in a few hours. Takes a while to get from Colorado to here/there!
Lou April 2nd, 2009 9:33 pm

Here in Austria, you can hear the clacking from from all the way over there in Switzerland! I’d always wondered what that sound was, thought it was a rare bird or something. Now I know (grin).
Geof April 2nd, 2009 10:53 pm

Perhaps the lower din is a result of too many people cranking down on the higher settings and breaking toe pieces. With the lower setting, DIN becomes a real deal not an ego booster. IDK just a thought. Looks like a winner. And, with NAXO out of the picture (for now anyway) Fritschi can run with it!!
Jason Mitchell April 6th, 2009 2:38 pm

Just minor tweaks, but all excellent progress. I’m guessing that the pivot location will make a difference in stride, but we’ll just have to see on the snow. Thanks for the advanced look!
Elliott Piggott April 15th, 2009 2:31 pm

Just got some and have done some day tours from Chamonix. Very impressive. To answer a couple of questions they do need a new jig for mounting. The toe box seems to be lower profile than the FR+ but otherwise the stack works in the same way. The weight saving comes from having less depth in the base plates despite the pivot position. I am told that the FR+ will be phased out in a couple of years. o idea about DIN plans.
Lou April 15th, 2009 2:37 pm

Thanks Elliott, good info on hole pattern, but the Freerides I have here have the same front/rear stack height as the Eagle. Perhaps different Freeride model years are slightly different. Mainly, thing to realize is this binding is not going to give you any noticeable change in stack or delta, only saves a bit of weight, but has a VERY nice stride ergonomic.
Colin October 9th, 2009 3:53 pm

My Eagles didn’t come with a jig and I can’t find one on the web. Anyone know where to get one?
Lou October 9th, 2009 4:36 pm

I guess I’d better make a paper template, eh? Won’t be able to get it done till sometime next week…
Clyde October 10th, 2009 10:18 am

Lou, I just mounted some Freerides last night and used your paper template. It worked well but I think the templates would be even better if you put front and rear centered on separate pages with a very long center line. Add some parallel lines about 2″ on either side too for easier trimming. And some WildSnow logos to remind people they owe you a beer. Of course an NTN template would be nice for some of us but I don’t think it’s that cold in hell yet.

Also, I’d suggest people not bother with measuring distance for the heel unit. An easier way is to trim your heel template narrower than the ski and put tape at each. Then set the template on the ski with the heel unit on top. Raise and lower the plate a dozen times while aligning the heel unit and centering template through the screw holes. When satisfied, tape the template down, punch and drill. Seems to me there is less chance of screwing up this way but YMMV.
Lou October 10th, 2009 4:41 pm

Clyde, thanks, yeah, I’ve realized that having nice long center lines on the template makes this whole process easier, so I’ll divide the template into two pages. Probably pretty easy to do, but I won’t know for sure till I try, as it’s been a while since I messed around with those things…
DeSean October 26th, 2009 7:03 pm

Are brakes included with these? And if so, what\’s the width?
Lou October 27th, 2009 6:42 am

Brakes are included. Anyone know what width the brakes are? I’ll find out later this morning.
Colin October 27th, 2009 8:16 am

My Eagles came with a 100mm brake which required a little bending to get around my 96mm in the waist skis.
Anyone found a paper jig for the Eagles?
Lou October 27th, 2009 8:56 am

I’m working on the jig. Dang. Don’t seem to have enough time!
Mark Worley October 28th, 2009 7:40 pm

The Eagles I have on the bench have 80 mm brakes, and yes, the jig needed has significantly different front screw position when compared to the Freeride Plus. Guess I am going to need another jig for the shop!