<blockquote class=“Quote” rel=“ski_it” style=“font-size: 10pt;”> But was that the system or the manufacturer?</blockquote>
“Yes”.
If you’re referring to the metal toe bar-loop, that’s the original SNS (Salomon Nordic System). IIRC it was made exclusively by Salomon. It was designed as a better system than the duckbill/3 pin (known as NN, the Nordic Norm developed by Rottefella). Rottefella licensed the binding system out to other manufacturers. Salomon kept SNS in house.
Mid 90s or thereabouts, Rottefella came out with NNN, New Nordic Norm. Again, licensed for other manufacturers. If my memory is correct, NNN quickly pushed NN and SNS out of the market.
Salomon responded in the late 90s / early 00s with a reboot (pun not intended) to their proprietary SNS. SNS Profil is what I referred to above as the “new” SNS, it probably accounts for 95% of SNS bindings these days. This is pretty much a copy cat of NNN. Instead of 2 small ribs down the middle you have one larger rib and the metal bar is further forward. For soem reason Fischer joined Salomon on the SNS. This system bad for the Salomon and Fischer (Fischer is huge in XC) racers and they quickly came out with SNS Pilot for them, where there are 2 bars. The front bar was moved back to just behind where it is on NNN and the 2nd bar is about at the ball of your foot. This is popular with skate racing. Fischer dumped SNS in 2005 or so, about the same time NIS (which allows SNS bindings to be used with NNN/NIS boots).
That said, yes, the original SNS was pretty bad. Snow into that loop is a big concern off groomed trails. And it’s pretty easy to slip that loop off it’s hook on the binding. My father would have a lot of trouble with that system. I bc’d on NNN and raced on Fischer SNS. SNS (both old and new) never really took off for the weekend warrior touring skiers and there was still lots of 3-pin/duckbill/NN bindings in use when NNN came out. The fairly proprietary nature of SNS might have something to do with this as well.
With Fischer’s dumping of SNS and the creation of NIS, one wonders how long Salomon’s SNS will last.
All in all, if anybody goes for the SNS, you’re stuck with Salomon boots these days. NNN I’d say is more superior and is far more common among non-racers. With NIS, an NNN boot can fit on an SNS binding but not the other way around . And for the love of god and all that is holy, stick away from 3-pin/duckbill/NN.
