Dynafit Beast 14 Binding

Dynafit's Beast took the backcountry freeride world by storm last year, and it's back to rule the out of bounds world again, now with a few tweaks to make it lighter, safer, and more versatile. It's still a tech binding that loves to go big, fast, and hard, but it's been refined in its second go round to make life a little bit easier for big mountain rippers who need serious performance on the way up and down. Last year, the Beast had a release value of 16, but this year a 14 release value version has been added to the lineup, giving lighter, weight conscious, or approach minded skiers a friendlier option. The biggest difference is in the toe. While the old Beast, and the new 16, feature a specially designed toe piece, the 14 cribs the toe from the Dynafit Radical but mounts it to a rotating baseplate and calls it the Radical 2. 0, if you're wondering, giving you more elasticity and retention than you'd get from a classic Radical. Apart from that, it's totally recognizable four springs, two pins, and a skihike lever to prevent releases when you're on the way up. While the change might be most noticeable in the front, don't think for a second that Dynafit didn't improve the heel, too. It's been mounted on rails, letting it move slightly to accommodate ski flex, improve retention, and give you a more supple, less chattery ride than you'd expect from a tech binding. Spring loaded pins provide a super solid connection to the horseshoe heel insert like last year, boots will need to be retrofitted to work with the Beast, and dual climbing risers give you the ramp angle you need to cruise up steep slopes. When the lower riser is in place, hard heel pressure will lock the brakes in a retracted position to prevent drag, but they'll snap back into place if you release on the way down.