Why we chose the Tyrolia Protector Attack 13: Innovative, safe, burly
Weight per binding: 1,430g
Release Value: 4 – 13
Brake Sizes: 85, 95, 110 & 130 mm
Heel Adjustment: 259mm to 386mm BSL
Price: £300
More Info
If there’s two things you want from a ski binding, it’s reliability and trust in the platform. You’re essentially putting your knees on the line every time you click into a pair of ski bindings, and start arcing your skis (and sometimes your body) into high angles to create that addictive feeling of linking energetic turns from one apex to the next.
For this reason, it’s essential that ski binding manufactures keep researching and developing new systems to keep that frustratingly vulnerable joint as safe as possible, and to allow us to ski (almost) worry free as a result. This is Tyrolia’s attempt at creating a safe and reliable ski binding that’s claimed to reduce ACL strain by more than 50%.
So what is the binding and how can Tyrolia go about claiming such things? Well the Protector Attack 12 features both lateral and vertical release in the heels to help protect your knees. Standard alpine bindings (apart from the Look Pivot) just feature vertical release in the heels. This can be pretty unfriendly to your ACL in the event of the wrong kind of fall. By placing the heel essentially on a turntable, Tyrolia has managed to bring in useful bi-lateral movement in the heel.
This 7 mm of bi-lateral movement, plus 30 degrees of rotation, is particularly useful during rearward twisting falls such as when you’re backslapping off a drop. Not only is this helpful in the kind of falls that makes your knee ligaments squeal all the way to the operating theatre, but it also just means that you’re going to be able to run a lower DIN setting in the toe and heel; giving you a more consistent release as a consequence.
