Since its introduction the Marker Kingpin has been one of our favorite Alpine Touring bindings on the market, and thanks to some tweaks that were introduced last season, the binding has only gotten better. The improvement comes thanks to a new toe piece that's easier to click into and provides a larger platform and toe stop. What makes the Kingpin so awesome is its lightweight and efficiency on the hike. A pintech toe piece brings the binding pivot point a lot closer to your toes. This allows you to have a natural and efficient stride as you glide uphill. The Kingpin heel stays on the ski with each step, this saves an immense amount of energy over the course of a long tour. It provides all of the touring efficiency and a lightweight build associated with a pintech toe while maintaining a confident and locked in feel on the descent. As far as downhill performance from a pin binding, this is about as good as it gets, but the Kingpin makes the most sense for skiers whose top priority is saving weight and uphill efficiency. If those things aren't as important to you as a downhill performance, you should be looking into hybrid options like a Salomon Shift. With a Shift, you get a heavier package than a Kingpin, but performance and feeling that's closer to a traditional downhill binding. That said, our test team is always shocked at how "normal" a Kingpin feels. In terms of downhill performance, the Kingpin can withstand the highest level of skiing (see Sammy Carlson's Instagram feed), it just lacks a degree of responsiveness and power transfer compared to hybrid or downhill bindings. With all of the groundwork laid to create a binding that is incredible to hike in while maintaining downhill performance, the Kingpin is also up to standards in terms of safety. Last year's improvements included high-quality steel springs in the toe to increase skier retention, impact absorption, and ultimately, increase elastic travel. By utilizing a more traditional step-in heel vs. a two-pin style like some other options, the Kingpin provides a lot more contact with the heel of the ski boot. This allows for more consistent release if you happen to fall, better retention while skiing technical terrain, and good power transfer from boot to ski.
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