This time we’re covering an interesting 1980s variant on the Ramer Universal, which we call the “Universal Military” or “UM.” See the display.
Ramer Universal “M” model.
WildSnow.com publisher emeritus and founder Lou (Louis Dawson) has a 50+ years career in climbing, backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering. He was the first person in history to ski down all 54 Colorado 14,000-foot peaks, has authored numerous books about about backcountry skiing, and has skied from the summit of Denali in Alaska, North America’s highest mountain. For more about Lou, please see his personal website at https://www.loudawson.com/ (Blogger stats: 5 foot 10 inches (178 cm) tall, 160 lbs (72574.8 grams).
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3 comments
Lou, just so you know…there was a military version of the MT-2000 as well, using the same c-channel instead of the solid aluminum stock. I have several pairs in my parts box, since everything is interchangeable with other Ramer models. If you want a pair of them for your collection, let me know…I’ll hook you up. In turn, if you ever see a source for either Universal or MT-2000 heelpieces, give me a shout. Also, there’s a guy who is selling a military version of the Universal on eBay right now (July 06), sans heelpieces, sans screws, etc. He’s on his third or fourth pair, so he must have a stash. These pairs have the pretty gold tuning-fork arms shown above.
Thanks for the info Bob, but shoot, yet another binding I have to get for the collection, it’s amazing how many of these things there were over the years! I’ll send you an email about some trades.
As for bindings without heel units (the uphill/downhill mode change clamp), In the 1980s Outward Bound used hundreds of pairs of Ramers without the uphill/downhill, and I suspect other institutional outfits did so as well, hence the incomplete bindings that keep popping up. Such are perhaps useful for spare parts, but not very collectible unless the price is right (pretty much free) in view of having to seek out the missing parts.
Hey Lou,
I just picked up a pair of the same purple TLT4 boots you have for sale on the Fleamarket page. Any idea which year(s) they were made? They are crazy light, pretty stiff, and so damn ugly I don’t need to worry about anyone ganking them. thanks Drew
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