Dynafit Beast 14 AT Binding

Transitions

Setting the binding to Tour mode is quick and easy, and can be done without even bending over.

The toe piece clicks in exactly like a classic Dynafit toe, and the lever can be raised with a ski pole grip just as on other Dynafit bindings. There is, however, a slight additional fidget factor on lining the toe up straight before engaging the lever due to the rotating mechanism.

Setting the heel to Tour mode is similarly very easy. I find it easiest to do by flipping the lower heel riser into place over the AFD on the brake assembly, and just stomping down on it with my heel.

Going from Tour mode back to Ski mode is a little harder on the Beast 14 than with other Dynafit bindings—it requires breaking the heel riser free from the AFD, and takes a fair amount of force.

It’s unclear to me why I could reach down and do it sometimes without removing the ski, while other times, I needed to take the skis off and pull quite hard to separate it.

It may have been related to temperature or snow conditions, or that I was just more tired on my fourth or fifth lap of the day. But it was always a little challenging for me, and I could not find a way to easily do it with my ski pole. I almost always transition without taking my skis off (because it’s faster, easier, keeps the toe inserts in the boots clear of snow & ice, and keeps me from having to post hole into deep snow) and the Beast 14 makes this a bit tougher.

Uphill

Once you’re skinning up and are engaged in Tour mode, there are two primary differences between the Beast 14 and other Dynafit offerings. The first is the way in which the different heel risers are engaged. I am starting to figure out how to quickly adjust from the middle to high riser with the pole grip of my Black Diamond poles, but I find it a bit trickier than either the classic, rotating Dynafit Vertical or TLT-style heel piece, or the new Radical style. A few times, I’ve had to reach down and pop the high riser up or down with my hand when I just couldn’t hook it with my pole.

The second major difference is the lack of a flat Tour-mode setting. For most of the touring I did in Japan this trip it was not a big issue, and I don’t think it will be a deal breaker for ski touring in Alaska this winter. For long, flat glacier or valley approaches, I could see it getting a bit uncomfortable, however, and it would not be my choice for long traverses.

This limitation can be overcome with a little bit of extra work by rotating the heel piece 90 degrees (same with the Radicals), then using a ski strap or rubber band to hold the brakes up. I’ve played with it on the bench and have had friends do it with the Beast 16, but haven’t yet tried it myself.

One other thing I noticed a few times while skinning in deep snow is the tendency for the little metal ramp, which guides the boot into the binding when engaging in Ski mode, to sometimes slip forward and catch my heel when stepping down. It’s quite minimal and I think it’s unlikely to be an issue for most people, but it was something I noticed occasionally.

Downhill

Any skier interested in bindings like the Beast 14 or 16 is probably primarily interested in the descent.

After spending the majority of my time skiing the last ten years on Dynafits with the toes locked upward into touring mode, my primary hope was to have a tech binding that I felt comfortable skiing with the toes unlocked, thereby maximizing the chance of a clean, injury-free release if needed.

Especially with fat skis on firm or unpredictable snow, I have suffered more than a few pre-releases when attempting to ski in the proper, unlocked, Ski mode with other Dynafit models, and have been looking forward to a binding with increased retention and elasticity that I could use as intended.

To this end, I clicked into the Beast 14 on my first run and shortly thereafter dropped into a long, steep run covered in light, untracked pow on top, then transitioned to slightly cut up, higher density snow, then a bumpy, tracked-out run out to the bottom through a ravine.

I was immediately impressed by how much more the Beast 14 feels like an alpine binding compared to other Dynafit models I’ve used.

I felt an immediate increase in dampening and a significantly less harsh ride than I am used to, despite being in stiff carbon-cuffed boots (Vulcans) and lightweight, carbon-construction powder skis (Redeemers).

Some of this may be attributable to the construction of the ski (Whitedot claims that the flax they use in the construction of their update Carbonlite series creates significantly more dampening than traditional, lightweight carbon construction—see our upcoming review).

Combined with the lower, more alpine binding-like ramp angle, the increased absorption and dampening create a very different tech-binding feel than I’ve felt before. (I have yet to ski the Fritschi Vipec, G3 Ion, or Marker Kingpin, but hope to have comparisons soon.)

Most of our Japan trip was spent skiing untracked powder, where the dampening and retention traits of a binding are less important. But anytime I was on any kind of tracked or firm snow, I much preferred the feeling of the Beast 14 to the Radical FT12.

It’s difficult to compare the Beast 14 directly to my most often-used alpine bindings, the Marker Jester and Salomon STH2 916, because of the dramatically different skis and boots that I’m using with those bindings. But I can certainly say that the Beast 14 is definitely a lot closer to skiing an alpine binding than other Dynafits.

Binding Retention & Release

To me, these characteristics are at least as important as the feel of the binding while skiing down. I did my best to fully evaluate these areas, and came away impressed.

My first three days on the bindings, I never had a ski come off. I gave the bindings little thought when taking air, skiing fast, or absorbing compressions, and came to trust that I wouldn’t lose a ski unless I was supposed to, even at a weight of over 220 lbs. once you include boots, clothing and pack.

On my 4th day skiing, I came off of a small pillow line with the final drop of about 15 feet, and found my skis punching through a rain crust that was about 70-80cm under the light pow we had been enjoying all day. I got high-sided on my skis, and took a tumbling fall right next to a couple of small trees. One of my ski tips clipped the tree and resulted in an immediate release of that ski.

I don’t think an alpine binding would have come off as easily, and it took the help of a good friend and quite a bit of deep-snow fishing to locate the ski, but it’s hard to complain when the only release I experienced was related to a big fall and a ski hitting a tree.

Later in the trip, I spent most of a day riding lifts in an area that offered a lot of small cliffs and pillow zones. I skied with the toes unlocked all day, and did not have any release issues. This includes a time when I misjudged the upcoming cat track and fell 5 feet to flat at relatively high speed. My back was a little sore, but the bindings stayed on.

Then at the end of that day, I completely miscalculated a triple pillow drop and came in way too fast off the second pillow, completely missing the third pillow and resulting in hitting a flat, almost uphill landing from 20-25 feet. Thankfully, the landing was soft, but there was a hard crust that was still quite palpable on impact. Both skis stayed on despite landing way too far forward on my skis and somersaulting out of the hit. There’s no way to know for sure, but based on many days in tech bindings, it’s hard to imagine that any that I’ve used so far would have stayed on during that crash.

Bottom Line

The Dynafit Beast 14 was the perfect binding for my trip to Japan. I felt like I could ski hard inbounds; take air and ski with relative confidence that I would not pre-release; and that I could finally ski a tech binding with the toes unlocked for a more reliable release, when needed.

The extra weight, slightly increased difficulty transitioning to ski mode, and the lack of a convenient flat touring-mode setting might prevent me from using them for a big traverse, mountaineering objectives or super big vert days, but overall, these are the most versatile and functional bindings I’ve clicked into for all around use.

While I still see a place for frame-style bindings such as the Guardian and Duke, with bindings like the Beast series available, I doubt that a pair of them will accompany me on any future ski trips.