Why we chose the Plum Summit 12: Lightweight, durable, downhill-focused

Weight per binding: 559g
Release Value: 5 – 12
Riser Heights: 59 mm – 84 mm
Brake Sizes: 85 – 100 mm & 100 – 120 mm
Heel Adjustment: 35 mm
Price: €540

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We first featured Plum bindings in our Backcountry Ski Guide last year with the Plum Pika and were blown away by the superb craftsmanship of these bindings. The Plum Summit 12 carries that same high quality craftsmanship that Plum have become known for. This lot make the kind of masterpiece bindings you’d rather mount on your living room wall, than bash up on your touring planks.

Like the rest of the Plum range, the Summit 12 relies on the tried and tested tech binding design based around Fritz Barthel’s original 1990 tech binding design (with a few improvements, mind). Whereas many bindings of this weight rely on reinforced plastics to keep the weight low, Plum CNC a single piece of Aluminium to create each piece of the binding – improving the durability and power transfer tenfold.

“Plum CNC a single piece of Aluminium to create each piece of the binding”

Plum Summit 12 Build

The Plum Summit 12 is new this year, replacing the heavy duty Yak binding. The Summit now sits at the top of Plums extensive tech binding collection. The Summit 12 is based around a wide platform, that’ll favour wider freeride planks and promote larger power transfer.

The wider platform is created by sitting a regular tech binding toe unit on top of an aluminium stack. This not only improves the width of the toe, but also brings the ramp angle to that of a more natural position – one that’s closer to an alpine binding.

The retracting brake system is pretty clever, with the option of 85 – 100 mm & 100 – 120 mm brake widths. The brakes cam in when they are compressed, to avoid any unwanted brake overhang. If you’re someone that uses inserts with your skis, you’ll find that the Summit 12s are able to cover a wide range of widths without having to swap out brakes.