Meidjo telemark bindings: M-TN

As you might heard, there is a new telemark binding created in France.

www.the-m-equipment.com/en/products/bindings

Some us including myself have experimented on combining the tech toe and various heel holding scheme.  This one combines the tech system and the NTN mid-heel, but it is designed and manufactured from scratch.  I'm no mechanical engineer, but pretty impressed how well it is designed and fabricated.

Anyway, I've decided to go ahead and try them myself instead of waiting for a few years.  Can't wait too long when you are getting...  I had to wait over a month for a 2nd batch since they had to make some changes based on some feedback from the first 100 sets.  Btw, there is no US distributor yet.

Installation:
My immediate problem was how to mount them on my skis which have inserts for NTN Freedom.  The hole patterns are completely different with some partial overlap for the recommended position.  Since I wanted to be able to switch between NTN and MTN but without more new holes, I made adapter plates w/ stiff palstic plates and T-nuts.  However, this approach ended up losing the half of the weigh gain since they need 14 screws total.  It'd have been fine for experiment, but ended up just directly screwing to the skis, 10 new holes!  Good thing Cham HM has metal binding plates. 

Here is a pic and the final weight:


Now you can compare w/ Freedom:


The weight difference is exactly 1lb for a pair, which is about 10% of the total.  I'd say it's not that much in practice.  I'd need much light skis to really feel some difference.  Well, I now have a good excuse for a pair carbon skis. Btw, yYu may notice I kept the Hummer heels, that's intentional since I like them best over all others. The Meidjo heel risers don't seem BC friendly, nor Freedom ones.

Field test, part 1:
I used the new setup last weekend for our Wilson trip, up/down of ~4500'/9M.  I was a little nervous using them for a real tour, their first time out.  Basically they toured well and skied well without any incident.  Stepping into the binding was easy in the ski mode, a bit fiddly in the tour mode though that just me needing to pay a due for "dyna-fiddling".  Wet new snow tended to pack a bit on the plate near the heel lock needing to clear of snow before locking into the ski mode. 

The tele-activeness is a little less than Freedom (blue spring at 1), but the tension is immediate.  They hold the boots solidly and securely, which helped a lot in hard/breakable crust.  I had one hard crush into a wind drift at the bottom of crusty slope, and I though the bindings might release, but they didn't.  My Freedom never released for 3 seasons anyway, so I'm not drawing any conclusions here.  Overall, they ski fine and fit my style well.

More reports coming as I use them more, especially for Spring volcano trips.

thanks for the info Kenji.

kenji,
thanks for posting that. I am seriously considering the same purchase.
sounds like you have skied the hammerheads, can you compare the flex between the two?
any impressions about the company from a service perspective?
great review, thanks again,
alex

Awesome.

What boots are you using?

Cool! I guess this means your carbon project gets put on hold?

Also, i heard that the TX boots are discontinued next season, with Scarpa putting all their eggs into the TX-Pro and Comp baskets. I at least need to snatch a pair of the vanilla TX before they're gone!

Yes, I have used the Hammerheads, actually the very first prototypes and the 1st commercial version followed.  But I didn't continue using them for some reason, probably felt too heavy-duty for my style, or simply too heavy!  Anyway, it was too many years ago to say anything useful.  The company is tiny and the consensus so far is they may be too busy to be responsive.  I got mine through Telemark Pyrenees store, and they are pretty responsive.

I've been using orange TX, almost picked up a 2nd used pair last week.  But I'm hoping a light model would eventually show up.  My duck-butts are wearing a bit, but should last for a few more seasons, I hope.

One thing I desperately need is a better crampon attachment.  They do have two screw holes to mount a piece for holding a Dynafit type crampon on top of each flex plate.  But those pieces didn't come with, nobody seem to have them yet.  I'd definitely prefer more solid attachment near the ski surface, not an inch above.  Almost ready to start modifying them, but I should wait a little longer.

Web, you are right on about my carbon project.  They may be ready to test next season.  Meanwhile I can play with these MTN to get inspired for a better design!

Surely you're already aware, but in case you aren't, there are after-market crampon attachments available from B&D ... It looks like there may not be enough space under the Meidjo. Food for thought anyway.

I'm curious how easy it is to step into the pins on this binding. Is there anything that helps you index the boot before stepping down on the beartrap?

For example, the Dynafit Radicals have stationary bosses under the pins that allow me to find the pins immediately, and it makes a world of difference when using the TX boots.

Awesome. I saw these bindings in Japan, and I was sold. Whenever I come up with the funds, I'm gonna try and pick up a pair of these. A long time ago I tried out the first version of the NTN and I didn't like the stiffness. Too stiff for my taste. Perhaps they've worked on that. I haven't tried again, because they are even heavier than a regular tele binding. That being said, I still have the boots, so checking these out has been on my to-do list. Let me know about durability. I tend to put my gear through the ringer, and so if there are still weaknesses, I'd rather wait.

Keep us posted on how you like 'em. As you are probably aware, there are pages and pages of speculation and first hand experiences on the Meidjo on EarnYourTurns:    www.backcountrytalk.earnyourturns.com/vb...-early-November-2014

Exciting time in the tele world with this binding, 22Designs currently have their NTN being beta tested, Moonlight has a TTS out, and maybe others next year. If we only had some new boot options...

Love my duck-bills and voile switchback bindings. I hope these non duck-bill "advances" don't signal the demise of the of the set up. Maybe I should stock up while they are still plentiful...

I also really like the voile hardwire three pin...a shame black diamond no longer accomodates three pin (no holes..)....pretty hard for these to pop off...

...a shame black diamond no longer accomodates three pin (no holes..)...

That was a weird move on BD's part, actually their whole entry into ski boots was ill conceived . Water under the bridge now, they officially announced they are done making tele boots and their AT boot line is slated to be killed too. I definitely would stock up on any 75mm stuff you like...

Keep us posted on how you like 'em. As you are probably aware, there are pages and pages of speculation and first hand experiences on the Meidjo on EarnYourTurns:    www.backcountrytalk.earnyourturns.com/vb...-early-November-2014

Exciting time in the tele world with this binding, 22Designs currently have their NTN being beta tested, Moonlight has a TTS out, and maybe others next year. If we only had some new boot options...

yes, lots of nice tech discussion over at EYT on the M.   Not much on the Outlaw anywhere, which seems to be 22's way, although out in beta..   TTS still has my attention.   Waiting for the spindrift to settle..    Hoping to support a US maker.  Cool times..  Yeah, boots...

Stocking up!

Great Post. I'm sure I'll get this binding. Currently I'm loving my TTS's and am looking to get rid of all my 75mm duckbills and bindings.

Kenji... have you skied TTS? curious how you might compare. I like the TTS because it is stiffer than the Freedom. The freedom is too sloppy for my taste.

But I really like the TX Pro on the TTS. Lightweight, stable, and springy. I held off on trying TTS for a long while and finally took the plunge last spring and I'm not looking back. Better than the Freedom for me for sure.

So, anyone looking to stock up on BD Customs 26.5, Seekers 26.5, and maybe Pushes 26.5 (I'm thinking to hang on to the pushes for a little while), and O1's or Axls or Freedoms, mounted on Aspects, Drifts, Gurus, and Amperage skis, send me a PM. Not looking to make much, just want to give them a worthy home I need to make a better post with pictures in the For Sale thread.

Boots: I really hope the TX Comps get tech fittings.

Here is a quick part 2 for my MTN experience so far. Actually not much new, since the bindings have been good. No breakage, no malfunction except some snow buildup, which is less problem in Spring snow anyway.

I've modified them a little to better fit crampons, and yes they are on brand new G3 skis! This combination has been so great: light, maneuverable, easy-to-carry, etc. I haven't used my Freedom+Cham since getting these.

Dan: I have never used SST, but as you can see from a pic, only difference between the two system is in the heel/ntn-hook attachments. I'm now working on a system with Dynafit Speed toe and Freedom spring box. I'll be done soon hopefully before the snow is all gone.

One more for weight comparisons:

what boots are those?

I'm curious to know how the stiffness compares between the Meidjo and TTS.

and it looks like your ski crampon will work, even though it doesn't go all the way down.

Curious to know if they will develop a solution.

Currently I'm quite happy with the TTS giving me a ski crampon, light weight, powerful etc.

Also hoping for a stiffer boot than the TX Pro.

what boots are those?

Terminator X I think? 3-buckle

Yes, they are TX with a minor modification. Since I never lock the cuff, I removed the steel parts and ground off the plastic part. Now they are at least 1 oz lighter each, 2 oz off my feet!

As for the crampon, I cold cut out square parts to sit them flat. But they seem to bite deep enough, it would be nice if the 1st teeth bite a little more though.

I'm now working on a system with Dynafit Speed toe and Freedom spring box.  I'll be done soon hopefully before the snow is all gone.

Just curious, what do you hope to achieve re-using the Freedom spring box that isn't already offered by the Meidjo or TTS? Like Dan, I don't like the slop in the Freedom and it seems like it would just add weight compared to Meidjo/TTS.

Thanks for your thoughts on the Meidjo. It is probably the only newer tele binding that I don't own and I may purchase it once the teething phase if over.

Just an update on my M-TN project in case someone is considering Meidjo bindings for this season. I've used them most of the last Winter/Spring (though it was a little short as we know) in powder, corn, breakable/hard crusts, all typical back-country conditions. They've worked as good as any other bindings I've used and no breakage so far. One problem remaining is the snow buildup especially in the hook holding pockets even with the Spring snow. I just put Teflon tapes there and will see if that helps. Overall I'm pretty happy with the design. They are to ship V2.0 soon with minor changes to the toe parts.

what do you hope to achieve re-using the Freedom spring box that isn't already offered by the Meidjo or TTS?

This is my attempt to address the snow build up in the heel cups, since the Freedom spring box is more open. Also it'd be a cheaper alternative if works. But the spring seems a little too short for this application. I could ski carefully as they are, but they'd bottom out easily. I need to look around for longer springs. here is the current state:

Franken-M ...  incorrigible..   ;D   keep us in the loop

I was going to get a pair until i saw the price and compared it to 22 designs new ntn offering.