# Fritschi plus or Duke's



## liquidchaos (Jul 11, 2005)

went through three pairs of freerides, got the dukes, not going back. get a dynafit setup for long tours and the integreated dukes on a pair of Blizzards for your side country set, you'll be stoked.


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## catfishjon (Jan 27, 2007)

I ski the dukes every day. there is no reason not to get them. if it is weight you are worried about, marker cam out with a scaled down duke called the baron. check them out. pretty much the same binding, just lighter and not quite as sturdy all around.


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## bobbuilds (May 12, 2007)

*barron is junk if you are hard on your gear.*

then again I am a big guy, 300lbs and I was told that the barron is a resort binding made to look the part, the duke is a better binding but heavyer in its build, the barron has a lower din setting and weaker springs. it is great if you want the look but the duke has the parts you are going to want if you are in the backcountry, some of those other pos are made with to much plastic in the wrong places ie the bd freeride, there is one other and im not sure of the name but its a nixon or somthing. that is the only other that is worth the money. dyna-fit has the good stuff for long tours and a good bc descent. look might have one as well

good luck


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## bobbuilds (May 12, 2007)

the other binding is the naxo not nixon and there is also the silveretta, both are good but the duke is where it is at get it, at... ha you kill me missus H.


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## adrock (Apr 28, 2004)

I love my freerides (fritchi plus), never had a problem over 5 years of skiing the plus and model before that.


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## Porkchop (Sep 19, 2007)

*Its all about weight*

IMO it all about weight. If you are heavier 185 + and ski aggressive you want the dukes. If you want a light weight binding that tours very, very well go w/ the freerides. I haven't skied the dukes but have heard an seen they're bomber. after skiing free rides the last 3 seasons there is no way that there claim of "12" on the din chart holds any water. its more like a 9 i go flyn out of those damn lego binders all the time on 12(even w/ the forward pressure bumped up), however they tour sweet. i'm goin dukes and dynafits this season....


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## jbowler116 (Mar 14, 2007)

You have to decide what you want to do with the skis, i know that these days we all want to do it all on one pair of skis but the fact remains that certain things are best handled by certain gear. If you want to tour alot and actually hit the backcountry get the fritschis if you want side country go dukes. If you are yo yoing backcountry do you want to take your skis off at the top and bottom of every run and deal with clearing snow out of your dukes or if you are just trying to get out gates at the resort you might want the less efficient but more bomber dukes, they both have apllications at which they excel. Just depends on what you want. Id go fritschis and hike all day personally


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## HogFabrications (Feb 5, 2008)

John, 
If you plan on using skins and already have a boot dialed, go FF. Deal with the low DIN setting as we have all done so far. Dukes are no exactly motivating for travel up-hill and always having to take the boot out for walk mode sucks for near country. Might as well shoulder skis with real binding for East Vail, unless your yo-yo'n out there. DONT bump the fwd pressure up as it will usually release easer, not harder. I found increasing downward toe pressure and DE-creasing FWD pressure helped with a harder release. GOod luck, I'm going Dynafit FT12 to max the amount of powder. Something to think about.


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## joggyj (Mar 21, 2006)

Jonathon,
thought I'd add my $0.02. I have both bindings. I've been through several pairs of fritschis and just got the dukes last season. Once you're skiing you can't beat the Duke for it's alpine binding feel and bomber skiability, but beware the climbing bar on the Duke is substantialy shorter than the freeride and sucks for climbing up steeps. While the freeride does not have the same feel for skiing I've found it to be very reliable in-bounds, sidecountry and BC touring and I'm able to climb the steepest climbs without problems . For what it's worth, this year I'm planning on getting the Baron and trying to retrofit a taller climbing bar.


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## riverdoghenry (Nov 18, 2008)

Jonathon,
More info on how you mainly plan to use these would be helpful on recommending you to the right binding.

I've owned several pairs of various models/generations of the Fritschis. I've spent hundreds of days touring and patrolling in them. I've broken at least five pairs beyond repair, but this only happened in or just out of bounds. I liked the mobility they offered in the resort and how fast/easy I could switch from ski to hike mode. I've never liked how different they make a ski feel compared to skiing the same ski with a good alpine binding. The Fritschi have a huge flat spot and akward ramp angle.

Last season, I was able to use the DUKES and was really impressed how they skied and felt just like a real good alpine binding. They also seemed like they would be a lot less pron to breaking from my hard use like the Fritschis. I don't like having to take them off to switch between ski/hike mode, but that is also why they ski so good with the shorter frame and etc.

I ordered the new Barons for this season. I did'nt need to high DIN of the Dukes and the Baron is the exact same binding and all of the parts come from the same mold and only a few of the parts are made of a heavier material. The Baron is actually pretty beefy. 

I'm willing to live with the trade offs of the Baron/Duke, because majority of the time they'll be used skiing. I use my Dynafits for true backcountry hiking.


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