About this Review: This review is my honest opinion of the bindings which I purchased with my own money in December of 2021.

My take

The Look Pivot 12’s are a high-performing, durable binding that I feel comfortable skiing aggressively on. Look Pivots have a heavy duty construction with durable material while the rotating heel piece provides ease of mind when it comes to rotation and protecting knees.

About the gear

• Model: 2022 Look Pivot 12

About me

• Height: 5’10”
• Weight: 165 lbs
• Preferred DIN range: 10-12
• Experience: 26 years of skiing

Test conditions

• When I bought these: December 2021
• Days tested: 60+ days
• Boots: 2020 Full Tilt Drop Kick Pro
• Boot Size: 27.5
• Skis: 2022 LTD Edition Stash x K2 Poacher
• Where I’ve used it: Colorado: Aspen, Copper, and Arapahoe Basin; Utah: Brighton, Snowbird, and Alta; California: Palisades, Tahoe; Oregon: Timberline, and Mt. Hood
• Terrain: Terrain Park, Groomers, moguls, trees, powder (less than a foot)

How they perform

What I was looking for

As an aggressive freestyle skier, I am constantly looking to push my limits, which leads me to be constantly seeking new gear that will help me achieve this goal. The Look Pivot 12’s have me feeling supported no matter how big of a jump or cliff I’m dropping, whether I’m landing backward or forward, spinning in the air, or carving high speed. Not to mention they hold up to the test of time better than any binding I’ve come across with a max DIN of 12.

Why I chose this gear

With regard to ski bindings, I’ve come to trust fewer and fewer options out there. The Look Pivot’s are the Holy Grail of bindings for aggressive freestyle skiers of all sizes. The rotating heel piece allows for less force/twist to reach my knees, keeping me safer than other options. Absolutely bombproof- I cannot count how many pairs of other bindings I’ve blown up by jumping and landing switch, the Look Pivot 12 has my back and I’ve grown to love them via experience. Other options I considered were the Look Pivot 14’s or Pivot 15’s.

What I love about it

• Downhill Performance: Superb on the downhill, this binding has the ability to stick to my boots and get me in/out of those no fall zones with confidence.
• Durability: Look Pivots are the strongest downhill binding on the market, in my opinion. The 12’s use a super heavy-duty, non-metal material in the toe and heel piece construction only upped by the solid metal build of the Look Pivot 15’s and 18’s.
• Power Transfer: Exceptional power transfer allows these bindings to offer a clean and crisp edge to edge transition and a responsive ride no matter which ski I’ve got 'em on.

Issues I’ve encountered

• Release Reliability: These bindings keep me bolted to my skis and perform exquisitely when they need to release if there’s any twisting motion or rotation in my upper body. I will say though that if I crank my DIN up, these bindings will not come off if I go head over heels, they’re more likely to come off if my upper body is rotating or I have some lateral motion while my skis are planted.
• Weight: The Look Pivot 12’s are on the heavier side of the weight range with regard to standard alpine bindings.
• Versatility: Once mounted, the Pivots do not have a wide range of boot sizes that they will accommodate… so, if you get them mounted and your current boot size is a 27.5 then you go up to a 28.5, you’d have to remount the Pivots to the right boot sole length.
• Any workarounds? Look only offers Look Pivot bindings in 75mm, 95mm, 115mm, or 130mm options, so if you have a ski that sits just over those widths you can manually bend the brakes to accommodate for a few mm of space. For example, I have Pivot 12’s with 95mm brake width on my K2 Poachers with a 96mm width. At the shop, we just gently bent the brakes to give us an extra 1-2mm and a nice snug fit on the ski.

Favorite moment with this gear

Most of my favorite memories with this binding stem from experience within the terrain park- most recent fond memory is of me landing my first switch misty 900! The Pivot 12 has allowed me to push my limits in the air on jumps and spinning onto rails. Its durability and high performance rating combine to create an unstoppable force, allowing me to get more days out of my ski setup than a lighter binding with the same max DIN.

Value for the money vs. other options

Although the Look Pivot 12 tends to be slightly more expensive than alternative binding options with the same max DIN, I end up saving money in the end because of how durable they are and how well they keep my lower legs intact. I don’t waste time if my lighter weight ski binding blows up. I move on and upgrade to a heavy duty binding like the Look Pivot 12 and avoid these issues recurring.

Final verdict

The Look Pivot 12 unlocks a consistent connection between a skier and their ski. It provides crisp and precise edge control while keeping skiers bolted in those no fall zones and only releasing when it matters most.