Marker Baron Review

The Good

• Good power Transmission to the Ski
• Low Stack Height
• Easy adjustment between AT and Alpine soles
• The super secure feeling upon clicking in

The Bad

• Heavy
• Transitions are a bit slow
• It tends to ice up on binders

FULL REVIEW

The Baron is the Marker Royal Family’s second in command. The Baron is the Duke’s younger brother, and he is a bit lighter. It is still burly and hefty, but it is probably designed for someone a little lower in weight or more of a recreational side-country skier.

The Marker Baron arrived on a pair of 174 centimeter Volkl Mantras. The Mantras are composed of a lot of metal, and when coupled with the Baron, they make for a hefty arrangement. Stepping into the binding at the top of the gondola gives you a wonderful booming click into place, much like the Marker Duke. That makes me pleased, and it gives the Baron a really Alpine binding feel on the downhill.

Switching to touring mode, like with other Markers touring bindings, necessitates stepping out of the binding. This is not a deal-breaker since this is not a binding that will be utilized for light and quick missions where transitions are critical. This transition procedure, however, might be enhanced.

Review Continuation

I instantly noted the weight of the setup for uphill activity after switching to touring mode. But that is all there is to it–Marker believes you will feel as comfortable as possible in an AT binding on the downhill. After a few steps along the flat, the slope’s inclination increased, and it was time to raise the heel riser. This is where I give Marker a lot of credit. It was simple to alter heel lifters from flat to medium and medium to high with almost any ski pole basket. It just needed a simple flip of the pole to get me back on my way. This is perhaps the Baron’s most endearing trait.

When I got to the top of my skin, I flicked my wrist and was back in flat touring mode. I stepped out of the binding, removed the ice off the tracks, and put the big man back into its preferred mode: downhill. Marker increased the width of their power frame by 28%, allowing for a broader, less fragile connection to the Ski, giving the impression that there was less play in the binding than before.

The Baron is light and simple to operate. When in Alpine mode, the Ski has a responsive feel.

The Baron is lightweight and easy to use. Responsive feel on the Ski when in Alpine mode.

Pros

• Lightweight
• Easy to switch modes
• Two heel lift positions for touring

Cons

• None yet!

I bought these for my wife on some fat K2 skis. This was her first season on them, and so far, she loves them.

In alpine mode, the binding responds nicely through turn initiation and feels true to an alpine binding. She had to get used to the mechanism to change from alpine to touring (and back), but now it’s simple. She does like the 2two different heel lift settings for climbing.

We’re in the Adirondack Mtns. in N.Y., so though we had a very mild winter, we picked some great B.C. locations to get tracks in.

Source: bought it used

Price Paid: $246

THE VERDICT

The Marker Baron binding works well for a lighter-weight aggressive skier who doesn’t have to skin too far to get to their descent. But it’s not so significantly lighter that I was able to significantly cut uphill times. But at 50 bucks cheaper and three few DIN settings, the Baron works well for skiers who don’t need the extra beef of the Duke. It works perfectly fine with Lowa mountain expert GTX.