Review: CAST Freetour 2.0 Binding

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We already introduced the newly updated CAST Freetour 2.0 binding earlier this year when the Driggs, Idaho-based brothers and designers Lars and Silas Chickering-Ayers first released it, and have since had the better part of the year to put the innovative touring binding through its paces.

For anyone who still haven’t heard about the CAST, this freetouring binding is designed to provide the strongest, safest, and most performance-oriented touring binding option on the market by letting you descend on a true alpine binding (the Look Pivot 15 or 18) and ascend by swapping the toe piece during your transition. Yes, it requires carrying part of your binding in your backpack when you ski our tour, and it demands slightly longer transitions than if you’re skiing with a lighter-weight pin binding. But, it allows for unparalleled downhill performance, safety, and reliability.

After Cy Whitling tested the setup on some Rossignol Sender Free 110 s, I tested the Cast Freetour 2.0 on a pair of Valhalla 115 Smoc skis, a midweight freeride powder ski that’s exactly the type of ride I would pair these with if they were mine. I mostly used the Atomic Hawx Ultra XTD BOA with both an Intuition Power Wrap (way stiffer, shitty ROM) and the stock Mimic liners (less stiff, better walk mode) to test touring, and spent plenty of time skiing various dedicated alpine boots like the Fischer RC4 130 and Phaenom FS120 in them.

In A Nutshell

• DIN: 15 or 18 depending on model
• Compatibility: any Alpine ISO 5355, GripWalk ISO 23223, Touring 9523 norm boot with a tech toe
• Climbing Risers: 0, 8, 12 degrees

Construction and Design:

From far away, the new CAST Freetour 2.0 binding could easily be mistaken for the old system. In fact, the only major change is in the toepiece assembly (and the fact that if you buy the entire binding from CAST, it comes in a sick limited-edition deep purple color). The heelpiece remains unchanged, with the familiar lever/heel riser assembly that folds over to hold down the brakes. Mount pattern is identical as well, which means you upgrade your older Freetour 1.0 or any ski that has been drilled for a Look Pivot or Rossignol FKS binding.

The new system takes advantage of a completely redesigned toepiece assembly. CAST looked at some of the pain points of the old system, with particular attention to icing and the need for extremely straight and precise mounting. They have now moved to a platform mount that makes swapping between tech toes and downhill toes a much cleaner affair and should allow for some more leniency with mounting by hand.

The new tech toes now only have one-sided springs and are significantly lighter than the older ones thanks to clever CNC machining and better materials. The raised mounting platform on the 2.0 has slots that are designed to push snow and ice out as you push the toepiece in, and the spring-loaded button that allows for release also prevents icing even in nasty, wet conditions.

For you metal-heads out there, most of the binding is still made of metal, ensuring that this thing will hold up better to your abuse than just about anything else on the market. If you do end up breaking something, CAST offers a full warranty and replacement parts for the system. Hit them up, Lars and Silas will take care of you.

How Does the CAST Freetour 2.0 Perform Uphill?

So how does this behemoth actually tour? That’s a complicated question to answer. How any binding “tours” is a complex subject, and really comes down to what you expect or want it to do. The CAST 2.0 is not really comparable to a true lightweight pintech binding like an ATK, Atomic/Salomon MTN, lightweight Dynafit or Marker Alpinist. I say “lightweight Dynafit” for a reason there, as the usability of some of Dynafits heavier bindings is pretty awful.

Here’s a few things to consider. Simply put, the CAST is heavy, and you definitely feel that on long days. However, I would argue that skiing on a binding with that much elasticity and such a smooth feel (and with heavier stiff boots) will make your legs less tired on the descent. The efficiency of a tech toe really helps here, but if you’re skiing real (read: heavy) freeride skis with this setup, your legs will get tired much faster on the uphill

Secondly, despite being much easier and less fussy than with the Freetour 1.0, transitioning the Freetour 2.0 still takes a few extra steps and definitely takes longer than a dedicated tech binding. I’m used to the simplicity of switching over a pin binding like the ATK Kuluar or the Marker Alpinist without taking my skis off, and the process of a CAST transition is nowhere near as smooth, even when practiced. If you’re touring with friends who are on lightweight bindings, they’ll just have to wait.

One major improvement with the 2.0 is that it no longer ices up and jams the way the old tech toe pieces would. I swear I’ve spent hours of my life trying to clean out the slots of the old ones to make them work on deep days where I’d rather be actually immersed in bottomless pow. So far, I haven’t experienced this issue yet with the new ones, and it turned out to be a pretty wet winter.

The actuation of the new tech toe is also far smoother and the lateral clamping force feels higher. I never inadvertently released out of the Freetour 1.0, but my old pair developed quite a bit of play after just a season of light use. The new ones, despite actually having fewer springs, feel much stronger and I have yet to experience any side-to-side play.

One other downside, and this might not be a big deal depending on where you live, is that there is no true flat touring mode, despite CAST calling their 0-degree riser a flat mode. Folding the heel platform down to lock the brakes up gives you a few mm of rise in the heel, even without any of the risers up. Here in the Tetons, I do a lot of flat skinning to get to places, and no flat mode really makes my toes hurt in the tight-fitting boots I like to ski with this binding. Once I was actually heading uphill the problem disappeared. I’m surprised this wasn’t something CAST fully addressed with the updated Freetour 2.0, since I feel that could be an easy fix by raising the toe pins a few mm to match the heel rise.

How does the CAST Freetour 2.0 perform downhill?

Well, the whole reason to buy these things is for the downhill performance. And yes, they ski amazingly well. Like, a hundred times better than any tech or hybrid binding on the market. Why is that? You’re riding the Look Pivot, a binding that’s got the best elasticity and damping on the market.

If you’re only out there exclusively skiing deep untouched pow, which is absolutely a thing, then you probably won’t really find a need for all that elasticity and damping. But if your days in the backcountry involve charging on variable snow surfaces like wind board or dust-on-crust, or if you're spending a ton of time skiing these inbounds, then the extra suspension will really become useful and your knees and back will thank you. It’s like riding a hardtail vs. an enduro mountain bike: both are tools for specific use cases. In the case of the Freetour 2.0, I think the best use case is an 80/20 break of ripping inbounds or chopped up backcountry conditions and ski touring.

Where does the CAST Freetour 2.0 make some compromises?

The biggest compromise I found with the Freetour 2.0 is efficiency of transitions. I noticed the weight penalty on long uphills, but honestly found that shortening my stride and just chilling out on the skintrack made it bearable, especially knowing I had a boot/binding/ski combo I was really excited to ride on the way down.

However, transitioning these things still makes me feel like a helpless first-time splitboarder yardsale-ing their gear every which way. It’s definitely easier than on the 1.0 version with the icing issue taken care of, but it’s still annoying to have to remove my skis, fish around for the toe piece in my pack, swap it, and pack the other part away. I also live in constant fear of forgetting or losing the toes during a transition.

What would a perfect day on the CAST Freetour 2.0 look like?

For me, the best use case for this binding is riding in a place where you’ll mostly ride chairlifts and occasionally tour to sidecountry laps (think Jackson Hole, Chamonix, Hakuba, or Kicking Horse). It’s a great option to bring on a travel adventure where you’d like to pack only a single pair of skis.

I would also highly recommend it for those who work on their skis as patrollers, media, or mechanized backcountry guides. Skiing every day with a heavy pack on a setup like this is much nicer than on a tech binding: the Freetour 2.0 is extremely durable, you have reliable release when you need it, you can ski hard and fast without extra stress on your knees, and you have the ability to tour if necessary.

Usability Notes:

A habit I developed to make operating this thing easier included keeping the tech toes in my jacket pocket while skiing. They’re low profile enough to not be annoying and the warmth helps further keep them from getting snow packed inside the mechanism. Also, operating the brakes with two hands makes locking and unlocking them much quicker. When releasing them, gently push up on the brakes and the locking lever will come undone on its own.

How does the CAST Freetour 2.0 compare?

The updated CAST Freetour 2.0 still falls into the same market category that the older version did, directly competing with the Marker Duke PT and the Salomon/Atomic/Armada Shift ( and Shift 2.0 ). Like many have said before, I’d break that category down by the following generalizations. The Shift is best geared towards those who want a touring setup that can occasionally ski the resort, whereas the Duke and CAST are freeride/resort setups that can tour and are better choices for those looking at a binding first for inbounds skiing that can be occasionally used for touring.

The new Shift2 is still a bit lighter at 920 g, but has similar downsides to usability. The Duke, without its toe piece, weighs in similarly to the Freetour 2.0, and you still have to deal with removing part of the toe. In my experience, neither competitor's options ski as well nor are anywhere near as reliable as the all-metal CAST.

Related: Review: Salomon Shift2 Binding