As skiers across the globe continue to explore the backcountry, there’s a growing need for bindings that offer the best of both worlds: proficient, easy-to-use tech for the uphill with impressive performance on the downhill. For years, Marker has been working toward satisfying this massive consumer need and, this season, it’s coming out swinging with the Marker Duke PT 16. In alpine (downhill) mode, the binding boasts every quality you’d expect from a Marker product; a healthy 6-16 DIN range, solid alpine heel piece and a toe piece that safely wraps around the front of your boot. This ensures the sendiest of skiers can really crank ‘em down but expect to release safely should anything go south. However, the real innovation here is centered in the Transformer-like toe piece. To switch the binding from ski mode to walk mode, just unlock the upper part of the toe piece, rotating it forward, toward the ski tip. Underneath—voila!—you’ll find tech pins for your touring boots. At this point you can choose to leave the 300-gram toe piece on the Marker Duke PT 16 attached to the baseplate or remove the upper portion and stow it in your pack to save weight on each step. When it comes time to re-attach, Marker’s Auto Quad Lock ensures the binding stays in place thanks to four different locking points. Like we said, the best of both worlds.

Explore the 2021 FREESKIER Buyer’s Guide