The first look starts with the weight, which is spot on to the bindings name: The Plum R170 at 176g sans screws.
Fixation Plum, manufacturers of Plum bindings, is France-based and rooted about equidistant between Geneva and Chamonix. They are proprietors of tech ski bindings (splitboard too) that, like some of their Euro competitors, fabricate metal with attributes in mind: functionality and eye candy. The latter is immaterial to safe and efficient skiing but is a bonus.
Let’s start with the superficial to get that over with. This first look at the Plum R170 binding draws the eyes straight towards the red. It’s a metallic red with a hue not trending towards candied but pivoting more towards the racy, and pardon the nod to Italy, but Ferrari-like. The red aluminum is offset tastefully by black parts, including the adjustment plate.
The Plum R170 toe with a time tested double spring on both sides of the pins.
The heel sports a fixed released U-spring at a rated 8 for vertical and lateral release.
And although I derisively want to butcher Plum and call it a nasally “plum,” one look at these beauties and you’re more likely to say “plume” with an emphasis on the “oooh,” like a wisp of snow, or a plume of snow, kissing the sky as it sweeps off a Mont Blanc ridge. And Plum means feather in French, which is apt for goods weighing so little.
Cutting to the chase, these bindings are verified at 176g (heel + adjustment plate + toe) sans screws and ski crampon slots, which add another 10g. So yes, in the spectrum of feathers, this qualifies as feather-light for a go-to touring binding.
