Video Transcript

A fun topic to discuss today is binding comparisons. My name is Leo, and I am a curated.com Ski Expert. Today, we're talking about the Salomon Strive 14 GripWalk versus the Look Pivot 14 GripWalk. At first glance, looking at their titles side by side, you might think these two are quite similar. To a degree, they are. The same people could use them, and they could go on the same skis, but their constructions and performances couldn't be more different. So, let's dive in and talk about them.

Salomon Strive 14 GW Ski Bindings

Starting with the Salomon Strive 14, which is a new binding this year for Salomon and the rest of the Armor Sports family, Atomic Armada. They're all making the same thing, just with different logos and colors. I love the selection and the break with options. This is a great binding. I've skied this binding on a lot of different skis. It's taking over for the Warden and comes in a multi-norm model as well, if you want to use it with touring boots.

The real upgrade from the Warden, and you'll see a lot of the same parts reused, is the fact that it's significantly lighter weight with a much lower ramp. Go to the ski, they're called a lower center of gravity. When you lower the center of gravity on your bindings, you're more directly on the boards. This, on a very subtle level, transfers power quicker and connects you more to the ski. Lightweight is always really good.

It takes a lot of style cues from the Shift binding. So, you'll see a lot of similarities in the toe pieces, and this also echoes back to the Z10 and Z12 and original STH series of old. This is a Salomon binding through and through. It's a binding we know, love, and can rely on. However, there has been some talk amongst harder charging experts that there are times where we feel like we potentially outski this binding. While lightweight is good, there is a lot of plastic in the construction of it.

Look Pivot 14 GW Ski Bindings

For my skiers that are skiing super aggressively and need the best of the best in retention, release performance, feedback, and for whom no price is too great, we all know the Look Pivot 14 really stands alone in the industry with its unique technology. From the get-go, it doesn't look like any other binding. It has a 360 rotating heel piece. This binding heel piece spins all the way around, and there's a lot of benefit to that in terms of elastic travel. This allows us to stay in the bindings when we are skiing super aggressively.

When we do trigger the necessary force for a release, those heels will spin, and it will reduce the force on your body when you are in a pretty extreme fall. On top of that, the toe piece, which in the 14 is a more plastic construction compared to the 15 which is more metal construction, has some vertical elastic travel as well. This pairs really nicely with that. In terms of low center of gravity, this has the least amount of dead space out of any binding on the market. It's very flat to the ski, and you are right on the boards. Your performance with it is pretty much second to none.

There is a reason why you see just about every single Olympic level park skier, X Games athlete, and mogul skier using Look Pivot bindings. It's the binding for top levels of performance. However, there are some downsides to it. Binding that heel up can be a real pain in the butt when you're trying to put your skis on. You have to make sure it's centered on the ski, and it can be really difficult in powder because there's a lot of dead space where powder can get in and make it difficult to close.

They're certainly not the lightest weight bindings. The 14, and definitely the 15 with all that metal, adds a lot of weight. They're also a bit pricey, which not everybody needs this level of performance. It's not necessarily a drawback, but it's definitely a big value add to get into something like the Look Pivot.

Similarities and Differences

So, that's a lot to think about, and of course, we don't expect you to make your decision on your own. That's why we're here. Come jump into the chat and talk to us here on curated.com. We'd get you dialed in to your perfect pair of ski bindings.

Comparison Table