Tyrolia Drops New Attack Hybrid Freeride Binding

Hybrid freeride bindings are all the rage this season, and Tyrolia Bindings joins the market with an innovative new freetouring binding called the Attack Hybrid. Taking cues from the CAST Freetour, Tyrolia looks to go all-in on robust simplicity with a design that has me scratching my head thinking, "why hasn't someone thought of this before?"

The new Attack Hybrid uses a swappable toe piece, similar to the CAST Freetour 2.0, where the skier can physically change out the toe unit between a full alpine toe (for descending) and a lightweight pin tech toe (for touring). The toe unit (based on the existing Almonte binding) attaches via what looks to be a similar piece to Tyrolia's low-profile metal demo plate. It's so simple! Out back, the heel unit is based on the standard Attack heel, with locking brakes and a single heel riser. 

When touring, you'll put the alpine toe in your backpack, switch it out at the top of the skintrack, and rip down with the tech toe in your pack. The binding reportedly offers an "emergency mode" that allows you ski with the tech toe and a locked down heel, though this likely removes proper releasability from the equation, but seems like a good backup plan in case you lose/forget your alpine toes. Neither the CAST or Marker Duke PT bindings offer this functionality.

While this might not be the best binding option for everyone, especially skiers looking for lighter weight and more efficient touring performance, it's cool to see an evolution of the basic design the CAST Freetour first ushered in nearly a decade ago. I'm always a fan of outside-the-box thinking when it comes to gear design, especially when it comes to keeping things simple while focusing on downhill performance. The new Attack Hybrid seems to check those boxes, and is clearly aimed at hard-charging freeride skiers looking for the option to occasionally tour on the gear to access the goods.

For the sake of clarity, I'm going to define "hybrid" binding as a binding that fully transforms between alpine and touring functionality. That means the toe piece offers full releasability and clamps to your boot the way a traditional alpine binding would. That promises more safety, more elasticity (shock absorption) and a more reliable release, particularly when skiing aggresively in the resort. Yes, most tech bindings these days offer a degree of toe releasability, but almost none offer lateral release (which many skiers would argue can lead to ghastly leg/knee injuries in fall).