Rottefella Xplore System .. Same Old Hype..

Now here's a strange system I have never seen before. And it actually looks better than that thing above without the need for a new proprietary boot.

Wow, I just read through what was being said at Ttalk and here's something that is so far off as to be laughable:
"The pintech, the binding, and the torsional stiffness in the boot give you bombproof lateral control. It's way stiffer than a 75mm on that note."

Don't know what that guy (Crister) is smoking, but from the video you san see there is NO real stiffness in the boot, and that boot is a noodle compared to even an Excursion class 75mm, let alone a T4! So where this "bombproof lateral control" is to come from is a complete mystery. The pin tech AT THE TOE may be stiff, but that does nothing to increase torsional stiffness in that floppy boot sole which will twist around those pins like a wet wash cloth. The only sense I can make of what he is claiming is that the interface between the toe of the boot and the binding is stiffer than some 75mm, by which he perhaps meant it was a stiffer connection than that of a simple pin binding. I don't really see how that setup is really significantly better than NNN/BC , I mean sure the pins should lock in tighter than the bar does with NNN, but that's not going to translate as a revolution in XCD let alone Telemark especially with about 0 heel lift resistance.

Half tech toe, half XC, about 0 Telemark. They could have made it more interesting by locking the heel down for a more stable and powerful alpine turn, why not, being that this is going nowhere in Telemark overall.

It's kinda this and kinda that and not really anything, but they will try to sell it as everything. 99.9% of Telemark wants some kind of heel resistance that levers the tips and increases lateral stability FROM TOE TO HEEL and this sure ain't got it. A removable cable setup would have made this system far more attractive to the XCD crowd that is more downhill focused. Conditions vary and this binding has a narrow application.

So Mark, I agree there's a huge advantage to having the cable, even with "softer" leathers, but it's less than even a modest plastic boot. An Excursion or T4, even in plain pins, is a step above the best (current) leathers and a cable.

The advantage of the cable mainly being keeping that rear ski in contact with the snow and not getting bounced around too much as well having a good feel of balance fore/aft.

For me, even the spingy cable just gives me a really good feedback on how close I might be to being to0 much "on my toes", it also helps keep my from getting KNOCKED too far forward -- and those 2 things are related -- in addition, it tightens things up laterally so rolling and pressuring the tips both are more controlled and even.. The cable also works as a lever to activate (if you will) the bellows..It levers right at the start of the bellows, and that really helps keep ya off the toes! That having been said, I can unbuckle my boots and release the cables and still do an "alpine" turn down at least lower angle slopes, so it's not like i have bad balance, but Tele with heavier gear and plain pins ( or NNN for that matter ) demands the very best centering on the skis.
OTOH, TD and I were skiing some firm conditions yesterday, waiting for more corn on some runs, and he made a Tele run with his hardwires off of his HW3pins, so yea, some people can - at least sometimes - make some agressive runs in the likes of a T-race and simple pins. Not me.
If I had the choice between a leather boot with a really stiff sole and 2 buckles and a cable or my T2's with just pins, I would actually go with the leathers. The kind of leather I am thinking of may not exist anymore, however, at least not in the states.

Parenthetically Mike, Tele on ice is Tele at its worst if you are in the habit of doing a lead change by retracting the lead ski; it's like hitting the brakes-- the retracted ski IS not just retracted it is also the inside ski, and so no matter how many times you hear people preach to go 50/50 on the skis for Tele, that is pure bullshit as far as icy or really hard snow goes. Sometimes ( soft snow, deep snow, heavy snow ..) retracting with emphasis is just better - avoids tipping over the front, but on hard snow - and especially ice - that is ( perhaps obviously ) not the best option. In general, scissoring the lead change seems the most functional way to Tele, though more weight on the lead ski is sometimes the better thing for balance -- or if you are trying to carve or just get higher edge angles.